VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS - Memorial service held for the victims of the bombing at the Boston

 

AS IT IS - Memorial service held for the victims of the bombing at the Boston

This is AS IT IS.

Hello, I’m Caty Weaver¹.

A memorial service was held in Massachusetts Thursday for the victims of the bombing at the Boston Marathon. President Obama, his wife Michelle and other officials attended the event. Investigators² and security officials continue to gather and examine evidence from the attack and question witnesses. 

The bombings in Boston is our subject today on AS IT IS. 

Thursday morning, Hundreds of people gathered inside and outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the south end of Boston. Avi Arditti tells about the memorial service. 

President Obama and his wife Michelle were seated in the front row of the Cathedral for the service. Religious leaders remembered those killed, the injured, the emergency workers and the spirit of Bostonians.  

Reverend Liz Walker of Roxbury Presbyterian Church spoke³ of the strength of the community when faced with evil. 

“We are members of one another, a community of resilience, hard-pressed but not defeated, confounded but not consumed.” 

There were words of praise from other Christian⁴ clergy⁵, and from Jewish and Islamic religious leaders. 

Boston Mayor Tom Menino also spoke at the service. He remembered the three victims of the attack: eight-year-old Martin Richard, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell and 23-year-old-Chinese student Lu Lingzi. 

Mayor Menino said nothing can “tear down” the spirit of Boston. He said the city and its famous marathon will come back even stronger next year. 

“It will push us forward, push us, thousands and thousands and thousands of people, across the finish line next year. Because this is Boston, a city with courage, compassion⁶ and strength that knows no bounds.” 

The governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, told the crowd that Boston will move forward. 

“We will have accountability without vengeance⁷, vigilance without fear and we will remember, I hope and pray, long after the buzz of Boylston Street is back and the media has turned its attention elsewhere, that the grace this tragedy exposed is the best of who we are.” 

The famed cellist⁸ Yo-Yo Ma filled the building with beautiful music. The Boston’s Children’s Choir⁹ and the cathedral’s choir sang. 

President Obama called the resolve of the people of Boston, “the greatest rebuke¹⁰ ” to those who carried out the bombings. 

“If they sought to intimidate¹¹ us, to terrorize us, to shake us from those values that Deval described, the values that make is who we are as Americans, well it should be pretty clear by now that they picked the wrong city to do it. Not here in Boston.” 

The president said Bostonians “will run again” and the country will be with them on their long journey of recovery. 

To those who carried out the attacks and to anyone who would harm America, he said, “yes, we will find you, and yes you will face justice.” 

White House officials said Mr. and Mrs. Obama visited with the family of Krystle Campbell, one of those killed in the bombings. The president also stopped at Massachusetts General Hospital, which is treating many of the wounded.  

I’m Avi Arditti. 

You are listening to AS IT IS from VOA Learning English. 

American officials are claiming they have made “significant progress” in their investigation¹² of the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon. Investigators are studying a video made near the finish line of the race. The video came from a department store security camera. It captured images of a man carrying a large backpack. The video shows the person dropping the bag and leaving the area before the bomb exploded. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released photographs showing what are said to be parts of the two bombs. The photos show pieces of a metal container, wires and batteries. Investigators say the bombs were carried in dark-colored bags. They say the bombs may have been made from pressure cookers filled with metal objects such as nails and ball bearings. 

Pressure cookers are common household devices and found in many kitchens around the world. They generally cook food faster than other cooking methods.  

Pressure cookers can be used for a number of purposes, from cooking rice to protecting food in cans. But it is possible to make a bomb from one by adding explosives, pieces of metal and a triggering device to activate¹³ the explosion. 

American officials have long warned that pressure cookers can be used in terrorist attacks. In 2004, the Department of Homeland Security said the idea of using pressure cookers as explosive devices was taught at terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. 

A magazine tied to al-Qaida once published guidance on how would-be bombers¹⁴ could use a pressure cooker in an attack. The story was called “How to Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.” Other extremist groups have discussed the use of pressure-cooker bombs. 

Two years ago, an American Army private was charged with plotting to blow up other American troops. Officials found pressure cookers and smokeless gun-power in his motel room. In 2010, a pressure-cooking device containing fireworks were used in a failed vehicle bombing in New York City. 

American officials say this kind of bomb does not require much money or special training to make. And they say the device can look innocent to the untrained eye. 

One problem for attackers is that a large amount of energy is necessary to break through the thick steel walls of the pressure cooker. This limits the power of such a bomb. But those steel walls can fly through the air, making the devices more deadly. 

Late Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released photographs and videotape of two suspects. The FBI hopes the public will help identify them. One suspect was said to have placed a backpack in front of a restaurant near the second explosion. 

And that’s AS IT IS for today. I’m Caty Weaver.  

We want to know what you want to hear about on AS IT IS. Send an e-mail to [email protected]. And remember, you can get the latest world news on VOA at the beginning of the hour Universal Time.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

6 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

7 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

8 cellist   

n.大提琴手

参考例句：

• The cellist's bowing was very sensitive . 那位大提琴手的弓法十分细腻。 来自辞典例句
• World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded The Silk Road Project in 1998. 世界闻名的大提琴家马友友于1998年创建了丝路工程。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

11 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

14 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》