VOA标准英语2013--Cleveland Women's Escape From Long Captivity Unprecedented

Cleveland Women's Escape From Long Captivity¹ Unprecedented²

The news that Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight³ were alive and free - after being kidnapped a decade ago - sparked celebrations in their home town. Robert Lowery, with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, said their miraculous⁴ escape from years of captivity is unprecedented in the U.S.

“This is the first time we’ve ever seen multiple women held by an abductor, or it looks like it may have been singular, but we are not sure yet.  We haven’t got all the details from Cleveland, but it is highly unusual and it is not something that we see every day,” said Lowery.

Usually, the longer children go missing, the smaller the chance they will be found alive. But Lowery said this case and others give new cause for hope. Jaycee Dugard was found alive 18 years after she was kidnapped in California, and Elizabeth Smart spent nine months in captivity in Utah before she was found.

In Cleveland, public joy over the return of the missing women is tempered by the horror of their ordeal⁵. The women say Ariel Castro, the 52- year-old man charged with kidnapping and rape⁶, chained them in the basement, impregnated some and repeatedly beat them.  

Lowery said it is important for children to know that there are sexual predators⁷ out there, and that they should be on guard when strangers approach them.  

“If someone tries to grab them, we really encourage parents to tell their children, ‘Fight back, kick, scream, bring as much attention to that situation as you can' because it is the assertive⁸ children that we find are escaping from the clutches of these kind of offenders,” said Lowery.

While horrific kidnappings are relatively⁹ rare, Lowery says public awareness¹⁰ can help deter¹¹ future abductions and find those who are still missing.

1 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

4 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

5 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

6 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

7 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

11 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。