英语PK台 第68期:英语新闻轻读汇--虐童是否应该入罪?

 4. Should “child abuse” be recognized in criminal law?

虐童案关注，虐童是否应该入罪？

The police bureau in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, has announced on Sunday that a woman who is in her 50s, has been detained by police for alleged¹ crime of willful and malicious² abusing her adopted son. According to the Nanjing Morning Post, the boy was legally adopted when he was six and the parents are highly educated, one is a journalist and the other a lawyer.

According to the police, the boy was abused by his adoptive mother because he could not finish the extra homework she gave him. Scars were found on the boy’s hands, feet and back. Police said he was hit with a scratching rod, whipped with ropes and kicked. The boy told the teacher that his parents were beating him with water pipes and branches, burning him with water vapor³, and jabbing him with nibs⁴.

Last month, a six-year-old girl in Yiwu City, East China's Zhejiang province, was allegedly beaten to death by her mother during a "family dispute". Of the 697 child abuse cases exposed by the media from 2008 to 2013, 74.75 percent were committed by parents, the Beijing Youth Legal Assistance Research Center revealed.

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

3 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

4 nibs   

上司，大人物； 钢笔尖，鹅毛管笔笔尖( nib的名词复数 )； 可可豆的碎粒； 小瑕疵

参考例句：

• They were careful not to offend his nibs. 他们小心翼翼，不敢冒犯这位大人。
• Please tell his nibs that we'd like his help with the washing-up! 请转告那位大人，我们想请他帮助刷锅洗碗！