美国国家公共电台 NPR Opinion: Remembering A Victim of the Mercy Hospital Shooting

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Tamara O'Neal grew up in La Porte, Ind., sang in her church choir¹ and returned every weekend from Chicago, where she was an emergency room physician at a South Side hospital that cares for many who have been shot on the city's streets. The hospital is called Mercy.

She loved the action, her father, Tom O'Neal, told the Chicago Sun-Times. She was in on a whole bunch of high-profile cases where people were shot and we'd see it on the news and she'd be treating the victims.

She worked to save lives during the week, then drove back to Indiana to sing praises to God at the church in La Porte where her brother, LaShawn, is pastor². She'd also scoop³ up her nieces and nephews and take them into the city to see shows and try new restaurants. She played the piano. She made fabulous⁴ crab⁵ Rangoon.

Dr. Tamara O'Neal was in a pre-med class at Purdue when she held a human brain in her hand. She felt what her family describes as awe⁶ to see such an intricate, powerful and fragile creation. That's when Tamara O'Neal decided⁷ she could put her sharp mind and skilled hands where they would help the most people.

She really stood out as someone very kindhearted, Trevonne Thompson, associate professor at the University of Illinois, where she went to medical school, recalled this week. She felt emergency care was where she had the most to offer to underserved communities.

Dr. Breana Taylor, now at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said Tamara O'Neal was the force of gravity at the center of her and several other African-American medical students who coached, quizzed and supported each other through the exhausting and exacting⁸ demands of med school. She organized us, Dr. Taylor told the Chicago Tribune, and it was that bond that got us through.

Dr. Tamara O'Neal was shot to death this week in front of Mercy Hospital. Police officer Samuel Jimenez also died, along with Dayna Less, who was training to become a pharmacist. Their killer⁹, who also died, was once engaged to Tamara O'Neal. She had called off their engagement. He had a history of domestic violence.

Dr. Tamara O'Neal was 38 years old, but she'd already saved and uplifted many lives, relieved suffering and gave joy. The people she touched with her hands and heart will go on to help many more. One of the tragedies of her loss is that, as has happened so many times this year, it took someone's death to help us grasp how thankful we should be for their life.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

2 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

3 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

4 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

5 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

6 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 exacting   

adj.苛求的，要求严格的

参考例句：

• He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
• The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移，公众的要求更趋严格。

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。