英语访谈对话 439 The Gun Debate

 　　Mark: Hey, Mike, how's it going?

　　Mike: Good, thanks

　　Mark: Mike I have a question for you. What do you think about the issue of guns? Do you think that people should have a right to own a gun or do you think that it should be illegal, that people should not be able to own guns?

　　Mike: Right, well, I think if there was a reason for it, like if it was the 1890's, let's say, and there was, you had to hunt for your dinner, then I could see the purpose or the point of having a gun, but I think in this day and age, again, being from Canada, I'm very much against ownership¹ of guns and I just see, you know, bad things happening when I see people with guns.

　　Mark: I definitely² see your point, and generally I'm a kind of liberal³ person but when it comes to guns, I feel like it's sort of too late to make them illegal. In the Unites States, anyway, because if you take away the guns, you're really only taking away guns from the good people who actually register⁴ their guns and make their guns legal, but the criminals, or the bad people, they will still have their guns because they're not going to turn their guns in legally anyway.

　　Mike: But if you punished people who had guns, in other words, if there were strict fines and those fines were enforced⁵, you don't think that then people would, I mean, you know, turn in or, at least that violent gun crime would diminish⁶ or decrease.

　　Mark: Again, I hear what you're saying but who is committing violent gun crime? It's not people who would actually turn in their guns. It's people who are already criminals, so if you take away the right to have a gun, let's say I have a family, and I just want a gun to protect my family in my house, but suddenly the law changes and it's illegal, then I give up my gun. Well, if someone comes in my house, and has a gun, I have no way of protecting myself, no way of protecting my family.

　　Mike: But isn't that what the police should be doing and taking care of, and with, sorry, but with less guns, wouldn't there be, it would be easier for the police to police the amount of guns that are out there, then if there was gun shots going off, because they know that there aren't guns around that area, they'd have a ... it's be easier for them to try to contain and control and capture⁷ the people who are responsible.

　　Mark: That's a great idea, but there won't be a policeman at my house all the time, so at that moment, when someone does come into my house and I call the police maybe it takes too long for the police to get there.

　　Mike: I see. OK. Well. Interesting point.

　　Mark: Anyway, yeah, thanks.

1 ownership   

n.所有(权)，所有制

参考例句：

• The house is under new ownership.那栋房子已易新主。
• He claimed ownership of the house.他声称那幢房子归他所有。

2 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

3 liberal   

adj.心胸宽阔的；自由(主义)的；慷慨的

参考例句：

• He has a liberal attitude to divorce and remarriage.他对离婚和再婚看得很开。
• This country adopts a liberal foreign policy.该国采用的是开放的外交政策。

4 register   

n.登记簿，花名册，注册员；v.登记，注册

参考例句：

• Please list your name in the attendance register.请在点名册上登记你的名字。
• He was looking over a hotel register.他正在仔细检查旅馆住宿登记表。

5 enforced   

n.强迫的v.实施( enforce的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；强迫；强制执行

参考例句：

• a period of enforced absence 不得不离开的一段时间
• This reform must be enforced. 此项改革势在必行。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 diminish   

vi.变少，变小，降低；vt.减少，减小，降低

参考例句：

• We should try to diminish the cost of production.我们应尽力减少生产成本。
• He likes to diminish the skill of others.他喜欢贬低别人的技术。

7 capture   

vt.捕获，俘获；占领，夺得；n.抓住，捕获

参考例句：

• The company is out to capture the European market.这家公司希望占据欧洲市场。
• With the capture of the escaped tiger,everyone felt relieved.逃出来的老虎被捕获后，大家都松了一口气。