2007年VOA标准英语-Gunman Kills 32 at US University

By Peter Fedynsky
Washington
16 April 2007

At least 32 people were killed in Blacksburg, Virginia, when a gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech University Monday in the deadliest mass shooting rampage in the United States. The gunman, then took his own life, campus police chief Wendell Flinchum told reporters. VOA's Peter Fedynsky reports.

Susan Hylton (l) hugs her daughter, Mary McFillin - a student at Virginia Tech

A student reporter with a cell phone recorded scenes of police approaching one of the buildings on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg where the shootings occurred.

The events unfolded in the morning over two hours in two separate locations. University President Charles Steger says only one gunman seems to have been involved.

"The shooter in Norris Hall is deceased," he said. "There are multiple fatalities¹. The number of fatalities has not been confirmed."

Steger says Virginia Tech University was hit with a tragedy of monumental proportions.

"The university is shocked and indeed horrified² that this would befall us and I want to extend my deepest and most sincere and profound sympathies to the families of these victims, which include our students," he said.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says President Bush is horrified by the killings³ and that his thoughts and prayers are with the victims. Asked about gun control policy, Perino says Mr. Bush believes in the people's constitutional right to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed.

SWAT team members head to Norris Hall, the site of a shooting on campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, 16 Apr 2007

"If there are changes to the president's policy, then we will let you know," she said. "But we've had a consistent policy of ensuring that the Justice Department is enforcing all of the gun laws that we have on the books and making sure that they are prosecuted⁴ to the fullest extent of the law."

Perino says state and local authorities are leading the investigation⁵, adding that federal law enforcement assets are available, if Virginia should request them.

America's first encounter with a campus massacre⁶ occurred in 1966, when a sniper at the University of Texas shot and killed 16 people. In 1999, 12 students and a teacher were killed by two boys at Columbine High School in the suburban⁷ town of Littleton, Colorado. In October 2006, an armed gunman killed six girls in a one room Amish schoolhouse in rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Virginia Tech President Charles Steger says the university will hold convocation on Tuesday to commemorate⁸ victims of the tragedy in Blacksburg.

1 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

5 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。

6 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

7 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

8 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。