VOA标准英语2013--Zimmerman Trial Wrapping Up

 

Zimmerman Trial Wrapping Up

For nearly two weeks jurors have been hearing what happened in this gated Florida community the night George Zimmerman went on patrol as a neighborhood watch coordinator¹ and encountered 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Police dispatchers in a phone call told Zimmerman to back off.

There was a fight.  Trayvon Martin lay dead. George Zimmerman claimed it was self defense². And for a time, there were no criminal charges.

After angry protests, the state charged Zimmerman with murder.

“Race is unfortunately still a very close to the surface issue in this case," said Jennifer Page, who has been a prosecutor³ and is now a criminal defense attorney.  

“The prosecution⁴ and the police did not charge George Zimmerman for 44 days which to the black community in Florida was taken as a sign that the life of this young black man did not count for much," she said.

During the final days of testimony⁵, Zimmerman's attorneys bolstered⁶ the self-defense claim by demonstrating to jurors how they say their client was forced to fight for his life.

"Were the injuries on Mr. Zimmerman, the back of his head, consistent with someone doing this," asked his lawyer.

Prosecutors⁷ argue Martin was visiting his father's fiancée and that Zimmerman picked him out for the way he was dressed - in a gray hoodie similar to this one - deciding then and there that Martin was a dangerous black man who had to be stopped.

Zimmerman faces life behind bars if convicted.  But with a case that has touched on racial sensitivities, some Florida police departments are preparing for more protests - and even violence - if the verdict goes the other way.

1 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 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。

4 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

5 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

6 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

7 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。