2006年VOA标准英语-Blair: British Judges Out of Touch With Pe

By Michael Drudge¹
London
15 May 2006

British Prime Minister Tony Blair says his country's criminal justice system is in disrepair, after judges gave freedom to a group of Afghan hijackers, and a convicted rapist killed a woman.

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Tony Blair (file photo)  
  

In a speech in London, Mr. Blair said the criminal justice system is the one public service that is "most distant from what reasonable people want."

The prime minister said the protection of individual civil rights must be weighed against the threat society faces from international crime and terrorism. "The demands of the majority, law-abiding community have to take precedence, and what does that mean?" he said. "It means we should not have to fight continual legal battles to deport² people who are committing serious crimes or inciting³ extremism. We cannot allow violent or drug-abusing offenders⁴ to be put back out on the street again without proper supervision⁵ and if necessary, restraint."

These were Mr. Blair's first comments on the issue since a High Court judge last week criticized the government for not granting permanent residency to a group of nine Afghans who had hijacked⁶ a plane to Britain in 2000. The government had wanted to deport the men.

Also, it was learned last week that a convicted rapist on parole had killed a 40-year-old woman. Prison authorities had complained the man was treated too leniently⁷ in order to protect his rights.

Earlier this month, Mr. Blair removed his chief law-and-order minister, Charles Clarke, amid revelations that more than 1,000 convicted foreigners were released from prison without considering their deportation⁸.

Adding to the controversies⁹, there is concern among some legal experts that Mr. Blair is exploiting the incidents for political advantage.

"It seems to me that [Prime Minister Blair] is running a populist thing, picking fights with liberals and whipping up public opinion in a way that I think is going to be detrimental¹⁰ to our basic rights and freedoms in this country," said Anthony Lester, a member of the opposition¹¹ Liberal Democrat¹² party in the House of Lords and a leading human-rights lawyer.

Mr. Blair may find the path of judicial¹³ reform complicated by his earlier legislation that allows British court rulings to be reviewed, and even overturned, by the European Court of Human Rights.

The prime minister has asked the home office to consider if new laws are needed to bring British court rulings into line with the often tougher interpretation¹⁴ in other European countries of the continent's human rights convention.

1 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

2 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

3 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

4 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

5 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

6 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

7 leniently   

温和地，仁慈地

参考例句：

• He marked the paper leniently. 他改考卷打分数很松。
• Considering the signs he showed of genuine repentance,we shall deal leniently with him. 鉴于他有真诚悔改的表现，我们将对他宽大处理。

8 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

9 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

10 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

12 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

13 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。

14 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。