2007年VOA标准英语-Virginia Shooting Victims Mourned across the US

By Jim Malone
Washington
20 April 2007

Friday was a day of mourning in southern U.S. state of Virginia and across the United States in memory of the 32 students and teachers who died Monday at Virginia Tech University in the worst mass shooting incident in U.S. history. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

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A crowd gathers to observe a moment of silence at Virginia Tech University to remember the victims of the massacre, 20 Apr 2007

Bells in Virginia's capital of Richmond tolled² 32 times for each one of the victims in the Virginia Tech massacre.

Similar tributes in the forms of vigils, prayer services and memorials were held in state capitals and churches throughout the country.

There was silence at midday Friday on the Virginia Tech campus, as students reflected on the scope of the tragedy and those who lost their lives.

"They are just not here, and you cannot hug them and you cannot talk to them. It just hurts," a student said.

At a memorial service in Richmond, mourners read aloud the names of the 32 victims who died Monday at the hands of deranged³ gunman Cho Seung-Hui.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine said the feelings of grief evident on the Virginia Tech campus were shared by millions of people around the world, along with the hope for a brighter future.

"And that universality of hope is something that all around this world and I know here in this audience have embraced," he said. "We need to embrace that, we need to hold on to that spirit of hope and community, celebrating the lives of those who have been lost."

President Bush (l) and Laura Bush, second from left, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (r) participate in a convocation to honor the victims of a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech, 17 Apr 2007

President Bush also focused on the tragedy at Virginia Tech in his weekly radio address.

"This week, we reflect on what has been lost and comfort those enduring a profound grief. And somehow we know that a brighter morning will come," said President Bush. "We know this because together Americans have overcome many evils and found strength through many storms."

"And we know there will be a day, as promised in Scripture⁴, when evil will meet its reckoning and when every tear shall be wiped away," he added.

The president has asked officials from several government departments to make recommendations on how to avoid similar tragedies in the future.

Virginia Governor Kaine has also appointed an independent panel to look at how university officials handled the situation at Virginia Tech this week and what might be done to better secure colleges and universities.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge⁵ is among those on the panel. He spoke⁶ to CBS television.

"We will never be able to eliminate the risk," he said. "But our goal is to be as comprehensive as we possibly can and then make some recommendations to reduce the risk that this could happen again."

Students and faculty⁷ at Virginia Tech said they were pleased that the focus of the tragedy in recent days had shifted back to the victims, and away from the gunman responsible.

In addition, U.S. television networks drastically cut back their airing of Cho's rambling⁸ video diatribe⁹, which had received prominent media coverage¹⁰ earlier in the week.

Questions are also being raised about why university officials did not know more about Cho's psychiatric problems and what can be done to detect dangerous individuals in the future.

Jack¹¹ Levin is a criminologist at Northeastern University who has studied mass murderers for the past 25 years.

"There are many warning signs," said Levin. "The problem is that they apply to hundreds of thousands of people who have not killed anyone and do not intend to. The warning signs tell us who is troubled, not who is troublesome."

Students have been invited to return to classes at Virginia Tech on Monday, but only if they feel emotionally ready.

1 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！

2 tolled   

鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Bells were tolled all over the country at the King's death. 全国为国王之死而鸣钟。
• The church bell tolled the hour. 教堂的钟声报时。

3 deranged   

adj.疯狂的

参考例句：

• Traffic was stopped by a deranged man shouting at the sky.一名狂叫的疯子阻塞了交通。
• A deranged man shot and killed 14 people.一个精神失常的男子开枪打死了14人。

4 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

5 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

6 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。

7 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

8 rambling   

adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的

参考例句：

• We spent the summer rambling in Ireland. 我们花了一个夏天漫游爱尔兰。
• It was easy to get lost in the rambling house. 在布局凌乱的大房子里容易迷路。

9 diatribe   

n.抨击，抨击性演说

参考例句：

• He launched a diatribe against the younger generation.他对年轻一代发起了长篇抨击。
• The book is a diatribe against the academic left.这本书对学术左派进行了长时间的谩骂。

10 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

11 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。