VOA慢速英语2013 西班牙脱轨列车司机被控79项杀人罪

 

AS IT IS 2013-07-31 Conductor in Spain Charged with 79 Train Crash Deaths 西班牙脱轨列车司机被控79项杀人罪

Welcome to As It Is, the daily magazine show from VOA Learning English! I’m Mario Ritter.

This week, we get the latest information about the case of Chinese politician Bo Xilai. His fall from power was one of the biggest Chinese political stories in recent years. But first:

“My car came ripped apart from the car next to it…”

We learn about the deadly train accident in Spain’s northwest.

Since the Middle Ages, Christian¹ pilgrims have been coming to the beautiful city of Santiago de Compostela. The city is considered a holy place to Christians² from all over Europe and around the world. Santiago de Compostela is said to be the final resting place of Saint James, an early follower³ of Jesus. Some on the train were planning to attend a festival honoring the saint. The event was to take place the next day.

Reports say the train was traveling too fast. It may have been going more than two times the 80-kilometer-per-hour speed limit when it reached a curve near the city and derailed. Cars struck other cars, sending wreckage⁴ and bodies through the air. At least 79 people died. About 140 people were injured.

Video from a security camera shows the train striking a concrete wall next to the track. Then its first car overturns violently. One survivor⁵ described the damage this way.

“My car came ripped apart from the car next to it, and there was nothing there, just a whole in the end of the train car. I walked through it. Someone was helping⁶ me. I have no recollection of who it was. If I did I would give them a big thank you.”

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was born in Santiago de Compostela. Soon after the accident, he returned to the area and visited with some of the injured.

He said, "For a native of Santiago, like me, believe me, this is the saddest saint's day of my entire life.”

Prime Minister Rajoy declared three days of national mourning after the crash.

As people began to investigate what happened, the driver of the train came under suspicion. It quickly became known that the train was traveling at a high rate of speed. By Saturday, investigators⁷ were questioning the driver, 52-year-old Francisco Jose Garzon. Within days, he had been charged with 79 counts of reckless homicide because of the train’s high speed at the time of the accident. Mr. Garzon was released on Sunday to face trial at a later date.

The High Court of Galicia says the judge ordered Mr. Garzon to report to the court every week. The suspect is barred from leaving Spain and not permitted to drive a train for six months. 

Officials say they have recovered the train’s black box, a device that records speed and other information. Investigators say that the black box shows the driver was on his cellphone at the time of the accident. Spanish officials have opened two investigations⁸ of the incident. Judicial⁹ officials are carrying out one while the public works department is performing another. 

The train accident is one of the deadliest in Spanish history.

1 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。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。

4 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

5 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 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》

8 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

9 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。