CNN 2011-02-19

Have you heard about Bernie's bombshell? Bernie Madoff, that is. The man among con¹ men giving his first published interview since he was arrested two years ago. "The New York Times" actually talked to him in the North Carolina prison where he is serving 150 years. Madoff told the paper there's no way banks and hedge funds were clueless about his monster pyramid scheme. You know, the $85 billion fraud that ruined so many peoples’ lives. He tells The Times, quote, "They had to know but the attitude was sort of, 'If you're doing something wrong, we don't want to know.'" Until now, Madoff said he acted alone. Madoff still says his family had no idea what he was up to.

And the story about Bell, California, just keep getting juicier, like bacon cooking on the skillet. Remember Bell, that tiny, poor town that put government corruption² on the map? A city manager making about $800,000. Other officials making huge salaries for doing hardly no work, sometimes no work at all.

And when the people found out their leaders might be bleeding them dry, they hit the streets in protest. Ran a lot of those folks out of office, and out of town.

Eight people now face corruption charges. Robert Rizzo, how can you forget this guy? The former city manager accused of being the ringleader. Prosecutors³ now showing e-mails from 2009 that say that Rizzo and his assistant, Angela Spaccia, plundered⁴ the town's bank accounts and tried to hide their actions.

Take a look at this. This one is between Spaccia and the now former police chief, Randy Adams. Randy Adams actually writes, quote, "I'm looking forward to seeing you and taking all of Bell's money." Spaccia responds and "LOL. Well, you can take your share of that pie, just like us. We will all get fat together. Bob" -- talking about Rizzo - "has an expression he likes to use on occasion. Pigs get fat, hogs⁵ get slaughtered⁶. So long as we're not hogs, all is well." There's that juicy bacon we were talking about.

E-mail never dies, folks. Adams was making about 450 grand per year. He was never indicted⁷ because there was no proof that he took the money illegally.

Okay, step one. You meet Mr. Or Mrs. Right. Step two, you get the bling, you tie the knot. Step three, move in together, buy the perfect pad.

Now, that's been the relationship protocol⁸ for generations. But you know what? It's changing. More couples are nixing the second step and just shacking⁹ up without the wedding, the rings, and all of the rice in the hair.

Just over half of American adults were married in 2009, according to the Population Reference Bureau. That's the lowest percentage since the census¹⁰ began taking marriage data a century ago. But the number of couples living together is through the roof. The most recent census says eight million couples are living together outside of marriage. That's up one million from just a year ago.

1 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 plundered   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Many of our cultural treasures have been plundered by imperialists. 我国许多珍贵文物被帝国主义掠走了。
• The imperialists plundered many valuable works of art. 帝国主义列强掠夺了许多珍贵的艺术品。

5 hogs   

n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人

参考例句：

• 'sounds like -- like hogs grunting. “像——像是猪发出的声音。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• I hate the way he hogs down his food. 我讨厌他那副狼吞虎咽的吃相。 来自辞典例句

6 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

8 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

9 shacking   

vi.未婚而同居（shack的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• The other detective, Siriani, said roughly, "We know you two have been shacking up together. 另一个侦探粗暴他说：“我们知道你同他一直在一起过夜。 来自教父部分
• He is shacking up with his girlfriend. 他正兴女友同居。 来自互联网

10 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。