英语听力—环球英语 692 Choosing Cotton, Part Two

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Robin² Basselin.
Voice 2
And I’m Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Everyone makes mistakes. No person is perfect. However, some mistakes cause very negative effects. One person’s mistake can hurt another person - even if they did not mean to hurt anyone. Jennifer Thompson made a mistake like this. She identified the wrong man as her attacker. However, Jennifer’s mistake began an amazing story - a story of freedom through forgiveness. Today’s Spotlight is the second program in a two part series³ on the story of Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton.
Voice 2
In 1985, Jennifer Thompson was the victim⁴ of a terrible attack. Her attacker broke into her house. He threatened her with a knife and forced her to have sex with him.
Voice 1
After the attack, Jennifer escaped. She worked with the police to find her attacker. When the police found a suspect, Jennifer believed that he was her attacker. She identified him twice - from a group of photograph pictures and from a group of people.
Voice 2
The police and Jennifer were sure they had found the right man - Ronald Cotton. Ronald was charged with Jennifer’s attack and found guilty⁶ in court. He was sent to prison for the rest of his life.
Voice 1
After eleven years, a new scientific test proved that Ronald was NOT the man that attacked Jennifer. A DNA⁷ test proved that another man had attacked Jennifer. The man’s name was Bobby Poole. This new evidence⁸ changed both Ronald and Jennifer’s lives forever.
Voice 2
After the new evidence was presented in court, Ronald was released¹⁰ from prison. After many difficult years, he was finally free. Soon, Ronald began a new life. And he was happy.
Voice 1
However, Jennifer was not so happy after Ronald’s release⁹. She did not fear Ronald like she used to. She knew he was innocent¹¹. But, Jennifer felt very guilty. She felt that she was to blame for ruining Ronald’s life.
Voice 2
You see, Ronald and Jennifer were the same age. And during the eleven years Ronald was in prison, Jennifer did many things. She found love. She married and she had three beautiful children. However, because of Jennifer’s mistake Ronald had none of these things. In a book about their experience, Picking Cotton, Jennifer wrote,
Voice 3
“He had lost eleven years of time with his family, eleven years of falling in love, getting married, having children...The guilt⁵ was so great, I could not breathe.”
Voice 1
For two years, Jennifer struggled with her emotions of guilt. Then one day, she decided¹² to meet with Ronald. Jennifer was afraid - afraid that Ronald would be angry, afraid that he would hate her, afraid that he would want to punish her. But Jennifer knew this was something she must do.
Voice 2
So Jennifer invited Ronald to meet her at a local church. Ronald agreed to come. At the meeting, Jennifer and her husband sat together with Ronald and his new wife. Everyone was quiet. Then Jennifer said,
Voice 3
“Mr. Cotton. If I spent the rest of my life telling you how sorry I am, how much I regret what happened, it would not come close to how I feel. Can you ever forgive me?”
Voice 1
Jennifer did not know what to expect. Then, suddenly, Ronald spoke¹³. He said,
Voice 4
“I forgive you. I am not angry at you. I do not want you to spend the rest of your life worrying, thinking I want to punish you, or harm your family...All I want is for us to go on and have a happy life.”
Voice 2
Jennifer could not believe it. Ronald was so quick to forgive her. And he did it so easily. After Ronald finished talking, he reached for Jennifer’s hand. They put their arms around each other. They hugged and cried. Jennifer wrote about what this event meant to her.
Voice 3
“I do not think, until I stood weak before Ronald, that I had any idea what forgiveness was or how powerful¹⁴ it could be. Ronald gave me something that I had been searching for since my attack: the gift of forgiveness -- not because I deserved¹⁵ it, but because that is what grace¹⁶ is about.”
Voice 1
After that day, Jennifer finally felt free. For years, she had been angry - angry at her attacker and angry at herself for making a mistake. For Jennifer, that day was the beginning of her emotional¹⁷ healing¹⁸. Jennifer accepted Ronald’s forgiveness and was finally able to forgive herself.
Voice 2
Jennifer was surprised by how quickly Ronald forgave her. She was also surprised by the peace he had. However, Ronald did not always know the peace and freedom of forgiveness. For years he was angry - angry at the court system and angry at Jennifer. In prison, Ronald had no freedom and few choices in life. One day, he got so angry that he wanted to kill someone. In the book “Picking Cotton”, Ronald wrote about a choice he made that day.
Voice 4
“There was not much I could control about the way my life was going, but I could control my anger. I could make sure anger did not define¹⁹ me.”
Voice 1
From that time forward, Ronald knew that anger was not the answer to his problems. Ronald knew he needed to be free in his own heart. Ronald explained,
Voice 4
“Guilt, fear, anger -- they were all their own kinds of prison...”
Voice 2
Ronald also began to think about Jennifer. Slowly, Ronald began to recognize that he and Jennifer were both victims²⁰ - victims of Bobby Poole. So, he chose to let go of his anger toward²¹ her. In the book “Picking Cotton” Ronald explained,
Voice 4
“In prison, I made a choice to let go of the anger. Since my release, I went to church, and I felt like God had given me a second chance at life...I had to move forward. Anger would have only kept me from moving forward, as if I had never left prison.”
Voice 1
So, on that day when Jennifer asked Ronald for forgiveness, he was ready. He had already forgiven Jennifer. And he already found his own freedom through forgiveness. But on that day, he knew that Jennifer needed to be free too.
Voice 2
After Ronald forgave Jennifer, they became very good friends. They have a very UNUSUAL history. But their shared experience of forgiveness is the base of their strong friendship. Today, Ronald and Jennifer travel to many places and talk about memory, witness²² identification²³ and the court system. They want to help make the justice system better - so that other innocent people do not suffer like Ronald.
Voice 1
They also speak and write about forgiveness. And they hope other people can learn from their story and find their own forgiveness.
Voice 2
Today’s program will close with the words of Ronald and Jennifer. They wrote these words for the National Public Radio program called “This I Believe,”
Voice 3
“I believe in forgiveness — the kind that has the power to release a person from a place of anger and hate, to a place of peace.”
Voice 4
“I also believe in the healing power of forgiveness. I had gone to prison an angry man...But that kind of emotion was keeping me a prisoner²⁴ in my own private prison. I had to let the hate go, and learn to live and forgive.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 series   

n.连续；系列

参考例句：

• The students have put forward a series of questions.学生们提出了一系列问题。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 victim   

n.受害人，牺牲者，牺牲品

参考例句：

• What is your relationship with the victim?您与受害人的关系？
• The victim was found lying dead on the river bank.发现被害人倒毙于河岸。

5 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

6 guilty   

adj.犯罪的；有罪的；内疚的

参考例句：

• There wasn't enough evidence to prove him guilty.没有充分的证据证明他有罪。
• Really honest people are ofter made to feel guilty.真正老实的人常被弄得感到犯了罪似的。

7 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

8 evidence   

n.明显，显著，明白，迹象，根据，[物]证据，证物

参考例句：

• The first signs of spring are in evidence.春天的最初迹象已显然可见。
• From the evidence I must conclude that you are wrong.从证据看，我敢断定你错了。

9 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。

10 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

11 innocent   

adj.无罪的，清白的；无害的；天真的，单纯的

参考例句：

• I'm not quite so innocent as to believe that.我还不至于简单到相信那种事的地步。
• I was very young,and very innocent.我那时非常年轻，幼稚无知。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 powerful   

adj.有力的，有权力的，强大的

参考例句：

• The UN began to get more and more powerful.联合国开始变得越来越强大了。
• Such are the most powerful voices of our times!这些就是我们时代的最有力的声音！

15 deserved   

adj.应得的，当然的v.应受，应得，值得( deserve的过去式和过去分词 )；应受报答；应得报酬；应得赔偿

参考例句：

• Some of you deserved to succeed and others only scraped through. 你们当中有些人成功是理所当然，而有些人只是勉强及格。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Don't glare at me like that, you deserved the scolding. 不要那么瞪着我，你本该受到训斥的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 grace   

n.优雅，雅致，魅力，恩惠，慈悲

参考例句：

• She is a beautiful girl with the grace and poise.她是一位仪态优雅的佳丽。
• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。

17 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

18 healing   

n.康复，复原adj.有治疗功用的v.（使）愈合( heal的现在分词 )；治愈；（使）结束；较容易忍受

参考例句：

• miraculous powers of healing 神奇的治病能力
• She seems to have a vocation for healing. 看来她具备治病救人的才能。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。

20 victims   

n.牺牲者( victim的名词复数 )；牺牲品；受骗者；为祭祀杀死的动物（或人）

参考例句：

• Many charities sent money to help the victims of the famine. 许多慈善机构捐款赈济饥民。
• victims of child abuse 受虐待的儿童

21 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

22 witness   

n.证人，目击者，证据，证明，证词；vt.目击，作证，证明，表明，经历；vi.作证人

参考例句：

• She was a witness of the incident.她是事件的目击者。
• A witness was examined by him in a court of law.他在法庭上质问一个证人。

23 identification   

n.视为同一，证明同一，确认

参考例句：

• He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
• We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。

24 prisoner   

n.俘虏，囚犯，被监禁的人

参考例句：

• The soldier reported that a prisoner was at large.士兵报告说一名囚犯在逃。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。