美国学生被朝鲜当局判处15年劳改

AS IT IS 2016-03-18 N Korea Gives US Student 15 Years Hard Labor¹ 美国学生被朝鲜当局判处15年劳改

North Korea has sentenced an American college student to 15 years hard labor for trying to steal a political banner.

Otto Warmbier of Ohio was arrested in January at the airport as he was leaving the country after a budget youth tour.

Last month, the 21-year-old student at the University of Virginia appeared before journalists in Pyongyang. He admitted to removing a political banner from the hotel where the tour group was staying.

The North Korean court convicted Warmbier of a crime "to impair² the unity³ of (North Korean) people after entering it as a tourist." He received the sentence in a one-hour trial.

Statements of Westerners arrested by North Korea are widely considered to be false. When released, detainees usually say their confessions⁵ were made at the urging of North Korean officials.

During Warmbier’s confession⁴, he said the mother of a friend offered him a used car worth $10,000 in exchange for the banner. She wanted to display it as a "trophy⁶" in her church.

The woman said if he was caught, Warmbier's mother would get $200,000, he said.

Words in This Story

detainees -- n. people who are held against their will 

confession -- n. statements made to be responsible for an act

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 impair   

v.损害，损伤；削弱，减少

参考例句：

• Loud noise can impair your hearing.巨大的噪音有损听觉。
• It can not impair the intellectual vigor of the young.这不能磨灭青年人思想活力。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

5 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。