VOA标准英语2010年-Prosecutor Works to Prevent Crime in M

Zulima Palacio | Washington, DC 04 February 2010

C.T. Wilson, prosecutor¹ and champion for children

C.T. Wilson is a successful prosecuting² attorney for the eastern U.S. state of Maryland.  But he recalls his childhood - spent in foster care where he endured beatings and sexual abuse.  He grew up angry and rough, but he mustered³ the strength to turn his life around.  We meet him in this edition of Making a Difference.

C.T. Wilson is in charge of prosecuting young adults in Prince George's County, Maryland. Many of these files belong to offenders⁴ who committed adult crimes such as robbery, carjacking and homicide.

"A lot of these are minors⁵.  In court last week, a judge sentence three kids in a row for like 20 years and they are all 17-years-old," Wilson explained.

 

Wilson says many young people convicted of such crimes have a life like his.  Wilson was the oldest of 17 children.  His mother was addicted⁶ to drugs and alcohol.  He never met his father.

Wilson remembers the last time he saw his mother, at the age of four, when foster care was coming to take him away. "She knew they were coming to pick me up, so she gave me my stuffed animal and told me I had to be a man now.  And she put me outside on the porch and locked the door and I was banging [on the door] to get back in.  I know she probably did it for the best, but it was pretty tuff,"  he said.

Wilson took a long and painful path through successive foster families.  He was finally adopted at the age of nine.

"That's when the story goes from pretty bad to worse.  My father, he was a minister in the church with the kids, he was a kindergarten teacher; he was a Boy Scout⁷ and Cub⁸ Scout leader.  And he was a pedophile," he said.

Wilson says he was abused and beaten until he was 14-years-old.  By 18, he joined the military. "The military taught me I could accomplish anything," he said. "If I set my mind to it."

After seven years in the military, C.T. Wilson studied to be an attorney.  Soon after graduation, he started working for the State of Maryland.  That is when he noticed youngsters coming from foster care, getting in trouble with the law. "You are not going to stop crime by arresting people every day," he stated.  "You are not going to stop crime by convicting people every day.  You have to get in and actually get to the root of the problem."

Three years ago, C.T. Wilson decided⁹ to talk regularly with trouble youths.  He tells them his story, and encourages them to believe in themselves and in a better life. "If I can be a lawyer, you can be anything you want to be," he said.

Thousands of children in foster care have heard Wilson speak.  At this meeting here in Washington, parents who have spent years in jail were reunited with their children.

Raquaa is a 13-years-old who spent a year in foster care.  He has re-united with his parents, but has been in trouble at school for fighting.  He says he feels inspired by Wilson. "I felt like I could do anything such as what he does like - going to the military, going entrepreneur or [being a] lawyer," he said.

C.T. Wilson says he owes most of his transformation¹⁰ to his three small daughters, who taught him about love and how to be a family man.
 

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

3 mustered   

v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发

参考例句：

• We mustered what support we could for the plan. 我们极尽所能为这项计划寻求支持。
• The troops mustered on the square. 部队已在广场上集合。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

7 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

8 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。