VOA慢速英语2013 India Looking for Answers After the deadly Rape of a Young Woman in New Delhi

 

India Looking for Answers After the deadly Rape¹ of a Young Woman in New Delhi

 

From VOA Learning English, this is In the News in Special English.

The recent gang-rape of a young woman in India has caused major protests by those outraged² by the crime. The woman later died of her injuries. The crime has also brought attention to the issue of women’s rights in India.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has repeated that the government will bring to justice those guilty of the violent rape. Prime Minister Singh said he and ruling Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi share the country’s anger over the crime.

Police have arrested six people accused of the attack which took place on December sixteenth. The driver of the bus was also seized. The victim was a twenty-three-year-old medical student. She and a male friend received a ride on the private bus where a group of men severely³ beat her for an hour and then threw her off. Her male friend was also beaten.  

After receiving treatment in a hospital in the capital, the victim was taken by air to Singapore where she died at Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Doctors said the woman suffered severe brain injury.

Prime Minster Singh told a conference Thursday that attacks against women happen in all states and areas. He said they require greater attention by national and local officials.

“The safety and security of women is of the highest concern to our government. A commission of inquiry⁴ is being set up to look into precisely⁵ these issues in the capital.”

Officials say two committees will be set up in reaction to the protests. One group is to investigate the possibility of faster trials in cases of sexual violence. Another will examine police reaction to the crime and suggest measures to improve women’s safety.

India’s junior home minister announced another new measure. The official said people who have been found guilty of rape will be publicly dishonored. They are to have their names and pictures placed on a ministry⁶ Web site.

In West Bengal State Friday, the chief minister announced plans for establishing sixty five all-female police stations. Mamata Banerjee leads the Trinamool Party. She said stations will be set up across the state to deal with crimes against women. Ten stations are already operating. Ms. Banarjee spoke⁷ to a public gathering⁸ in the state’s north.

Thousands of people protested the attack in widespread demonstrations⁹ this week in New Delhi and across the nation. On Thursday, hundreds tried to march on government buildings in the capital. But riot police armed with tear gas and water cannon¹⁰ stopped them.

At least sixty-five demonstrators were injured in protests earlier in the week. One policeman was killed in the violence and almost eighty security officials were hurt.

Last year, New Delhi alone reported more than five hundred seventy rapes¹¹. More than 600 of the crimes have been reported this year.

Some lawmakers in India have now suggested that rape should be punished by death.

1 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

2 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

4 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

5 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 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。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

10 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

11 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网