VOA标准英语2008年-Texas Authorities Prepare to Return Children to

By Greg Flakus
Houston
30 May 2008

Authorities in the western U.S. state of Texas are preparing to return children to their parents in a polygamous sect¹, following a ruling by the state supreme² court that the state overstepped its authority in taking the more than 450 children from their home. VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Houston.

State officials say they are disappointed in the court ruling, but that they will begin taking steps to comply.  Members of the sect, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS) are celebrating the ruling and criticizing what they call an illegal action by the state, which they say targeted their religion.

Church elder Willie Jessop says the court ruling will reunite many small children with parents they have not seen for several weeks.

"It will be a great, great afternoon or day when there are fathers and mothers hugging little children that were ripped away from them," he said.

The Texas Supreme Court ruling upholds an appeals court ruling from May 22 that the state did not have sufficient evidence of child abuse to take away every child living at the FLDS ranch³ in west Texas.  State officials say they took action to protect teenage girls who, they said, were at risk of sexual abuse by older men. But, when authorities raided the sect's ranch on April 3, they took all the children found there. The children are now dispersed⁴ around the state in foster care homes.

Attorneys representing the FLDS families argued that the state had overstepped its authority by conducting the raid and taking away all the children, even though the evidence of abuse cited by authorities applied⁵ only to a few of the underage girls.  The court ruling applies directly to 126 children, but officials say it is likely to apply to most, if not all of the children.

Members of the polygamous sect and their attorneys have also questioned the basis for the raid on the ranch, where church members live in a communal⁶ atmosphere, isolated⁷ from neighbors.  State officials obtained a warrant based on a telephone call they said came from a 16-year-old girl at the ranch, who claimed she had been sexually abused. But officials have failed to produce this girl and admit that the call may have been a hoax⁸.

Texas Child Protection Services is not dropping the investigation⁹ of abuse at the FLDS ranch, and legal experts say the court's ruling could allow authorities to monitor child welfare at the ranch.  Investigators¹⁰ have taken DNA¹¹ tests to determine the parentage of some small children whose mothers may have been under the legal age for marriage at the time they were pregnant. 

Several former members of the FLDS sect from Arizona have testified that men routinely take underage girls as wives, and that both the women and children living in such communities are intimidated¹² and indoctrinated to keep quiet about abuses.

State officials are trying to establish the birth dates and parentage of all the children, using the DNA evidence as well as documents seized during the April raid.  The FLDS is an offshoot of the much larger Mormon Church, which also allowed polygamy when it was founded in the early part of the 19th century. The church banned polygamy over a century ago, however, and does not recognize the sects¹³, like the FLDS, that continue with the practice.

1 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

4 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

5 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

6 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

7 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

8 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

9 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。

10 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

12 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句