VOA常速英语2020--加州监狱艰难保持安全

Demonstrators chained themselves to the gate in front of California Governor Gavin Newsoms Sacramento home, calling for mass release of prison inmates¹ statewide due to COVID-19 outbreaks in the states prisons. For Chanda Williams, the fight is personal. She has been teaching yoga to inmates at San Quentin state prison for the past six years. The prison has the worst coronavirus outbreak in the states prison system, which houses more than a hundred thousand inmates. Williams has written letters urging authorities to release prisoners. These people were sentenced for crimes. They were not sentenced to die in prison, and certainly not by the negligence² of the state. The state has a responsibility to maintain their health and their safety and their well-being³, and the state has failed in that. The CDCR has failed in that. Like other institutions caught off guard by the virus, prisons in the US have struggled about how to keep people and maintain staff safe. California is conducting widespread testing, and the governor has given early releases to about 3 500 inmates to ease overcrowding, but there have been setbacks, like in May, when it's believed prisoners transferred from the California institution - four men in Chino to San Quentin brought the virus with them; in July a top prison official addressed inmates in a video. We are making unprecedented⁴ changes to our operations and we recognize the burden that has placed on those incarcerated⁵ in our prisons.

示威者们用链子将自己锁在加州州长加文·纽瑟姆位于萨克拉门托的家门口的大门上，他们呼吁在加州范围内大规模释放监狱囚犯，原因是加州监狱爆发了新冠肺炎疫情。对于昌达·威廉姆斯来说，这是一场个人战。在过去的六年里，她一直在圣昆廷州立监狱教囚犯瑜伽。圣昆廷州立监狱关押着超过10万名囚犯，在加州的监狱系统中，这座监狱爆发的新冠肺炎疫情最为严重。威廉姆斯写信敦促当局释放囚犯。这些人因犯罪而被判刑。但他们并没有被判处死刑，国家当然也不应该忽视他们。国家有责任维护他们的健康、安全和幸福，但国家并未做到这一点。美国疾病防控中心在这方面也失败了。与其他因病毒而措手不及的机构一样，美国的监狱也在为如何保护人民和维护工作人员的安全而苦苦挣扎。加州正在进行广泛的检测，州长已经提前释放了大约3500名囚犯以缓解监狱的过度拥挤现象，但还是遇到了一些挫折，比如5月份，据信当时有多名囚犯从加州监狱转移，其中有四名从奇诺监狱转移到圣昆廷的囚犯携带病毒；7月，一名监狱高级官员在一段视频中对囚犯发表讲话。我们正在对我们的行动进行前所未有的改变，我们也认识到了那些监禁在狱中的囚犯所承受的重负。

At San Quentin, at least 19 inmates have died of coronavirus, including 10 on death row. Nationwide more than 70 000 prisoners have tested positive and at least 100 have died, according to the Federal Bureau of prisons. One of Williams' students, 41-year-old Chanthon Bun tested positive July 1st, the day he was released. Bon was not given early release but earned parole, he says. After serving 23 years of a 50-year sentence, he called the president's handling of COVID-19 cases a chaotic⁶ experience, because they had this thing where they like, you guys got to space out, and we told we can't space out in our cell. Our cell is five, by nine, by fourteen and then they came out with a memo⁷, "you guys gotta sleep head to toe", and were like what does that do. The prison did not respond to a request for comment. In a video to the prison community, officials proposed steps to increase physical distancing, like moving inmates to alternative housing or other prisons, and changing schedules to allow for more sanitation⁸. The inmates released so far were within 180 days of completing their sentences. The state is planning to release several thousand more, but says it must be done carefully. You don't want to just send people out, into park benches, in homeless shelters. We've got to make sure that we responsibly move people out but with a deep sense of urgency. Releases on a much bigger scale than what we're seeing need to happen, if we're going to keep people safe. While officials say they are working to release more inmates, as a way to limit those exposed to coronavirus, advocates continue to protest, saying it's not happening fast enough. For VOA news Dina Mitchell Oakland California

在圣昆廷监狱，至少有19名囚犯死于冠状病毒，包括10名死囚。据联邦监狱局称，全国有7万多名囚犯检测呈阳性，至少100人死亡。41岁的尚敦·本是威廉姆斯的一名学员，他在7月1日释放当天被检测出阳性。他说，本没有被提前释放，而是获得了假释。本被判刑50年，而在服刑23年后，他表示总统对新冠肺炎疫情的处理一塌糊涂，因为他们按照自己的意愿来处理这次危机，他们要求我们保持距离，而我们在牢房里没法分隔开。我们的牢房有5人间、9人间和14人间，然后他们就发出了一份通知，“你们睡觉时要头对着脚”，但这并没有什么用。监狱方并没有对置评请求做出回应。在一段给监狱社区的视频中，官员们提出了一些措施来增加人与人之间的距离，比如将囚犯转移到替代性住房或其他监狱，以及改变日程安排，以便实行更多的卫生措施。目前获释的囚犯都是距离刑满释放时间在180天以内的。加州计划再释放数千人，但表示必须谨慎行事。你不能只是把囚犯们送到外面，送到公园里的长椅上，送到无家可归的庇护所里。我们必须确保我们以负责任的方式把人们转移出去，但要有一种强烈的紧迫感。如果我们要保证人们的安全的话，释放囚犯的规模比我们所看到的大得多。尽管官员们表示，他们正在努力释放更多囚犯，以此来限制人们暴露于冠状病毒，但支持者继续抗议，表示这还不够快。VOA新闻蒂娜·米切尔，加利福尼亚奥克兰报道

1 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

3 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

4 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。

5 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

6 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

7 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

8 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。