VOA标准英语2013--Parents of Boston Bombers Regret Coming to America

 

Parents of Boston Bombers¹ Regret Coming to America

Wall Street Journal Moscow correspondent Alan Cullison has known the Tsarnaev family since 2003, years before the two brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly set off two bombs at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured more than 260.   He says it was also before Tamerlan embraced radical² Muslim views.

 “They were people with very, I would say, outsized and ambitious goals for their life in America. All the children wanted to go to Harvard. Everyone wanted to make a lot of money and get a great big house and have fancy cars," said Cullison.

The older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died in a gun battle with police, is described as boxer³ who was involved in drugs and alcohol before turning to radical Islam. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was allegedly a drug dealer⁴ and is now in a Massachusetts jail and faces life imprisonment⁵ or the death penalty if convicted on terrorism and other charges. Cullison recently talked to the parents, Zubeidat and Anzor Tsarnaev, who admit the family did not adjust well in America.  

 “There are moments of candor⁶ when they talk about what life was like in America, and their regrets about it, and the problems they had as a family. I think there is quite a bit of candor," he said.

But he says they maintain that their sons are innocent despite seemingly overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

“They say that it is all contrived⁷. They repeat a lot of things that you can see in conspiracy⁸ theory websites in the United States that it was contrived - [that] there were actors involved, that it was set up and that the people were not really injured," said Cullison.

Cullison says the parents were not forthcoming about who Tameraln Tsarnaev met with during his trip to Dagestan last year and if he made contact with any militant⁹ groups there.

1 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

4 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

5 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

6 candor   

n.坦白，率真

参考例句：

• He covered a wide range of topics with unusual candor.他极其坦率地谈了许多问题。
• He and his wife had avoided candor,and they had drained their marriage.他们夫妻间不坦率，已使婚姻奄奄一息。

7 contrived   

adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的

参考例句：

• There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
• The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。

8 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

9 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。