VOA标准英语2014--Drama, Tears as Pistorius Testifies in Murder Trial

 

Drama, Tears as Pistorius Testifies in Murder Trial 

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA — It has been an intense week at the Oscar Pistorius trial here in Pretoria.

The South African athlete took the witness box on Monday as the defense¹ launched its case - in a trial that has drawn² global interest.

Pistorius delivered the anticipated drama within seconds of taking the stand.

"I would love to take this opportunity to apologize to [long pause] to Mr. and Mrs. Steenkamp, to Reeva's family, to those of you who knew her and are here today," he began. "I'd like to apologize and say there's not a moment and there hasn't been a moment since this tragedy happened that I haven't thought about your family. … I can't imagine the pain and the sorrow and the emptiness that I've caused you and your family. I was simply trying to protect Reeva. I can promise that when she went to bed that night she felt loved."

Pistorius is charged with murdering his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, at his Pretoria home last year. He says he mistook her for an intruder and that he didn't stop to think before firing four bullets through a locked bathroom door, killing³ her.

Prosecution⁴ casts doubt

But the prosecution argued that he meant to kill her, and set up a blistering⁵ argument that attacked the athlete's story of that night, and his claim that he constantly felt fearful in crime-ridden South Africa.

Head prosecutor⁶ Gerrie Nel, who has earned the nickname "the bulldog" for his tenacious⁷ take-downs of witnesses, showed why when he began his cross-examination Wednesday.

In a move that provoked intense criticism from trial viewers, Nel put up a photo of Steenkamp's gruesome head injury on courtroom screens.

That's it, have a look there. I know you don't want to because you don't want to take responsibility, but it's time you take a look at it," he told Pistorius. "Take responsibility for what you've done, Mr. Pistorius.

"My lady, I've taken responsibility," the athlete addressed the judge, "by me waiting, and not wanting to live my life, but me waiting for my time on this stand to tell my story for the respect of Reeva, and for myself I've taken responsibility. But I will not look at a picture where I am tormented⁸ by what I saw and felt  that night. As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head, I remember! I don't have to look at a picture. I was there."

Nel then accused the athlete of mixing up his lies. He also systematically⁹, and often sarcastically¹⁰, challenged Pistorius' character, painting him as an egocentric young man who is unwilling¹¹ to take responsibility for his actions.

Nel, a theatrical¹² prosecutor, often leaned on his rostrum, hand on one hip¹³ and the other hand twirling his glasses impatiently. On Friday, Nel, full of energy, continued to question a weary-looking Pistorius, who broke down many times while describing the events of the night of the murder - February 14, 2013.

Audience riveted¹⁴ 

The trial has riveted South Africa, and it's the first major criminal trial to be broadcast live.  Social media in South Africa has erupted with opinions on the trial, and the courtroom's public gallery is regularly packed.  A South African broadcaster has even created a pop-up TV channel dedicated¹⁵ to the trial.

This week, Judge Thokozile Masipa made a rare comment to the public, prompted by laughter in the court during the cross-examination.

"I also want to say something to people out there; you possibly think this is entertainment. It is not," she scolded. "So please restrain yourselves."

The trial continues next week when defense lawyer Barry Roux calls on between 14 and 17 witnesses.

Judge Masipa will ultimately decide Pistorius' fate - which could be life in prison. But in this very courtroom, she is not his only judge.

Reeva Steenkamp's mother June Steenkamp has sat in court all week, staring stonily¹⁶ at the athlete throughout his emotional account of events.

 

On Thursday, she told a British paper that he has left her "unmoved" .

1 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。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

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 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 tenacious   

adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的

参考例句：

• We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
• We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。

8 tormented   

饱受折磨的

参考例句：

• The knowledge of his guilt tormented him. 知道了自己的罪责使他非常痛苦。
• He had lain awake all night, tormented by jealousy. 他彻夜未眠，深受嫉妒的折磨。

9 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

10 sarcastically   

adv.挖苦地，讽刺地

参考例句：

• 'What a surprise!' Caroline murmured sarcastically.“太神奇了!”卡罗琳轻声挖苦道。
• Pierce mocked her and bowed sarcastically. 皮尔斯嘲笑她，讽刺地鞠了一躬。

11 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

12 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

13 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

14 riveted   

铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意

参考例句：

• I was absolutely riveted by her story. 我完全被她的故事吸引住了。
• My attention was riveted by a slight movement in the bushes. 我的注意力被灌木丛中的轻微晃动吸引住了。

15 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

16 stonily   

石头地，冷酷地

参考例句：

• She stared stonily at him for a minute. 她冷冷地盯着他看了片刻。
• Proudly lined up on a long bench, they stonily awaited their victims. 轿夫们把花炮全搬出来，放在门房里供人们赏鉴。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）