2007年VOA标准英语-Virginia Tech Awards Posthumous Ph.D. to Indone

By Sondang Sirait
Blacksburg, Virginia
15 May 2007
 

The university in the southern U.S. state of Virginia where a student killed 27 other students and five faculty¹ members last month held graduation ceremonies last week.

Among the graduates were those students who died in the shooting rampage. Virginia Tech awarded posthumous² degrees to 18 undergraduates and five graduate students. A promising³ young man from Indonesia was among those to receive advanced degrees.  Sondang Sirait of VOA's Indonesian service has more.

It was a touching⁴ moment for the Lumbantoruan family, accepting a posthumous Ph.D. diploma on behalf of their slain⁵ son, Partahi Mamora, better known as Mora, who died in the Virginia Tech shooting in April.

The tragedy has left the family broken-hearted. His mother still struggles with the fact that her only hope is gone.

And his father, a retired⁶ army lieutenant⁷ colonel, wears a necklace with Mora's picture, a ring engraved⁸ with Mora's name, his blood-stained watch, and he carries a wallet containing dollar bills, also stained with Mora's blood.

But he says he carries no hard feelings for Mora's killer⁹ and won't file any lawsuit¹⁰. "We hope our son's sacrifice will bring peace, well-being¹¹, love and forgiveness. We forgive the killer, who shot Mora brutally¹² and pray that God may forgive him."

Mora was one of 16 Indonesian students at Virginia Tech, an excellent student who had been working toward a Ph.D. in environmental and water resources engineering after obtaining a master's degree in geo-technical engineering.

Professor Panos Diplas, a Virginia Tech expert on environmental fluid mechanics, was one of Mora's two advisers¹⁴. "What we were trying to do,” said Diplas, “was we were trying to combine his expertise¹⁵ from geotechnical with some other issues in water resources, trying to come up with a project to capitalize on his geo-technical background to break some new ground within environmental and water resource engineering."

Mora's other adviser¹³ was geo-technical engineering professor Marte Gutierrez, who at the time of Mora's death had been waiting for results of a study they both conducted on how to design better ways for vehicles to move in difficult terrains¹⁶.

It was Mora's intelligence and good manners that left a deep impression on Professor Gutierrez, who plans on creating a web site in honor of his beloved student. "People should not remember the way he died, but the way he lived, the way he tried to improve his life, and I hope that he will remain as a model for many young people who want to study and improve their lives, because it's by studying that you become a better person," said the professor.

1 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。

2 posthumous   

adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的

参考例句：

• He received a posthumous award for bravery.他表现勇敢，死后受到了嘉奖。
• The legendary actor received a posthumous achievement award.这位传奇男星在过世后获得终身成就奖的肯定。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

5 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

8 engraved   

v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• The silver cup was engraved with his name. 银杯上刻有他的名字。
• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back. 此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

10 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

11 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

12 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

13 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

14 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

15 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

16 terrains   

n.地形( terrain的名词复数 )；地面；地域；地带

参考例句：

• Scientists call these pieces exotic or suspect terrains. 科学家们把这些小陆块叫外来或嫌疑地块。 来自辞典例句
• In the western of China are intricate terrains and many hilly regions. 我国西部地区地势复杂，多丘陵。 来自互联网