VOA标准英语2012--Rodney King Remembered, Police Beating Led to LA Riots

 

Rodney King Remembered, Police Beating Led to LA Riots

Shocked family members gathered at King's home in the Los Angeles suburb of Rialto, where his fiancee found him at the bottom of a swimming pool. Authorities say there are no signs of foul¹ play.

This year is the 20th anniversary of riots that shook Los Angeles, after the acquittal of three police officers -- and the mistrial of a fourth officer -- who were videotaped beating King following a road chase.

Six days of riots after the verdict left 53 people dead, thousands injured and $1 billion in property damage.

A shaken Rodney King appealed for peace. “I just want to say can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it horrible for the older people and the kids?,” he said.

King found himself uncomfortably the center of attention. Troubled with alcohol and drug abuse, he had more brushes with the law, but wrote a book and sometimes spoke² in public and would come to grips with his unexpected fame.

On the 20th anniversary of the riots, he reflected on his life in an interview with Los Angeles television station KABC.

“I have no regrets. I've made some childish moves in life, but I've learned from a lot of them. I've learned from all of my mistakes. I'm a work in process,” King said.

Much of south Los Angeles, devastated³ in the 1992 riots, has been rebuilt. But unemployment remains⁴ high in the inner city and minority residents are still coping with gang crime and other social problems.

King received a settlement of nearly $4 million in a civil lawsuit⁵. Much of it went to legal fees, but he bought a modest home in the suburbs, where he was found in the swimming pool early Sunday. 

1 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

2 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。

3 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 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。