美国国家公共电台 NPR Children's Cries Brought Down Walls Of Indifference

 

(SOUNDBITE OF CHILDREN CRYING)

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Cries of children pierce our hearts. Scientists say they're meant to. They move us to love and protect children. Their response is healthy. It's human. And it keeps humanity going. Dr. Marc Bornstein, at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, says the infant cry and the caregiver response have developed together to ensure the survival of the species. Public figures, including the Pope, bishops¹, senators of both parties and every living spouse² of a president, spoke³ out against the Trump⁴ administration policy that separated 2,300 children crossing the border from their families. Laura Bush called the policy cruel. It is immoral⁵, she said, and it breaks my heart.

But the cries of children from a recording⁶ of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol facility, obtained by ProPublica, seemed to reach into and wrench⁷ so many hearts. The cries of children brought down walls of indifference⁸. Politicians, including Republicans, rushed to distance themselves - if not outright⁹ denounce policies that caused such manifest pain. Governors, including a couple of Republicans, withdrew their National Guard units from border areas to avoid being a part of those policies. Airlines said they would refuse to fly groups of children who had been taken from their families. Several airline attendants said they would walk off any flights that tried to transport those children to keep them from taking off. The cries of children pricked¹⁰ consciences across the country. It made people look into their lives and wonder what they might do - what they should do to help those children.

The executive order signed by the president to end family separation apparently¹¹ does nothing to reunite the 2,300 children who've already been torn from their parents. Some of those children have been moved hundreds - even thousands of miles away into detention¹² centers that have not been opened to the press - and, public officials say, for a carefully approved visit of the kind Melania Trump made on Thursday. But we know and must find a way to report about the children and families who are still locked up and being kept apart. There are still cries to be heard.

(SOUNDBITE OF SLEEP DEALER'S "THE WAY HOME")

1 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

2 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 wrench   

v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受

参考例句：

• He gave a wrench to his ankle when he jumped down.他跳下去的时候扭伤了足踝。
• It was a wrench to leave the old home.离开这个老家非常痛苦。

8 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

9 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

10 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

11 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

12 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。