VOA慢速英语2013 华盛顿海军船坞枪击事件

 

Washington Navy Yard Shootings 华盛顿海军船坞枪击事件

From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.

这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。

Americans are expressing anger and sadness at the latest shooting incident in the United States. This one took place last Monday in Washington, DC, just a short distance from the Capitol building.

美国人对美国最近发生的枪击事件表达了愤怒和悲伤。这起枪击事件于上周一发生在华盛顿特区距离国会大厦不远的地方。

Twelve people were killed and several others wounded in the attack at Washington's Navy Yard. Police shot dead the gunman after a search at the base. He was identified as 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, a former Navy Reserve sailor. At the time of the shooting, he was an information technology specialist with a private company that worked for the Defense¹ Department.

华盛顿海军基地的这次袭击造成了12人死亡，多人受伤。警方在基地搜查后击毙了这名枪手。他被确定为34岁的前海军预备役水兵亚伦·亚历克西斯（Aaron Alexis）。在枪击案发生时，他是一家为国防部服务的私营公司的信息技术专家。

His mental condition has become a central issue in the investigation². He had recently told police that he was hearing voices. Mr. Alexis was arrested in two separate shooting incidents in 2004 and 2010. Yet he held a security clearance³, which enabled him to enter a secure military area. 

他的精神状况已经成为调查的一个核心问题。最近他曾告诉警方自己听到了什么声音。亚力克西斯曾在2004和2010年发生的两起独立枪击事件中被捕。然而他参加了一次安全调查，使他得以进入军事安全区。

This week, many Americans were remembering the victims of the attack. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers suspended debate for a few minutes. Senate Majority Leader Harry⁴ Reid said a few words. 

本周，许多美国人在悼念这次袭击的受害者。在国会山，国会议员们暂停了几分钟的辩论，参议院多数党领袖哈里·里德（Harry Reid）说了几句话。

"My thoughts are with those who are suffering as a result of the loss of their loved ones and also those people recovering from the wounds." 

里德说，“我的心和那些失去亲人者以及受伤者同在。”

Senator Chris Murphy represents Connecticut, where a gunman killed 26 people at an elementary school in Newtown last year. Since then, he has been the Senate's leading supporter of gun control legislation. He says the Navy Yard shootings show why stronger laws are needed. 

参议员克里斯·墨菲（Chris Murphy）代表的是康涅狄格州，去年一名枪手在该州纽敦(Newtown)的一所小学杀害了26人。从那时候起，他一直是参议院枪支管制立法的主要支持者。他说，这起海军基地枪击案表明了为什么需要更严格的立法。

"People out there do not understand why Congress does nothing as these shootings continue to mount. I think people in Newtown shake their heads when they see another shooting and further potential indifference⁵ from Congress." 

墨菲先生说，“那里的人们不明白为什么在枪击案不断发生之际，国会却无动于衷。我认为纽顿人民看到又一起枪击案和国会的进一步冷漠时会大摇其头。”

Like Mr. Murphy, Illinois Senator Richard Durbin is a member of the Democratic Party. Mr. Durbin notes that gun control legislation died in the Senate earlier this year. He says the failure was mainly the result of Republican opposition⁶ to new restrictions⁷ and requirements for gun purchases. 

和墨菲先生一样，伊利诺伊州参议员理查德·德宾（Richard Durbin）是民主党成员。德宾先生指出，今年早些时候枪支管制立法在参议院胎死腹中。他说，这一失败主要是由于共和党反对购买枪支的新限制和要求。

"We have to do everything we can to keep guns out of the hands of those who would misuse⁸ them – felons⁹ who have a history of misusing¹⁰ firearms, the mentally unstable¹¹ who cannot be trusted to have a firearm."

德宾先生说，“我们必须竭尽全力使得枪支远离可能会滥用枪支者之手，有滥用枪支史的重刑犯、精神状态不稳定者不能信任他们拥有枪支。”

Republican lawmakers have shown little interest in re-opening the gun control debate. But several say the Navy Yard shootings raise other important issues. Senator Lindsey Graham says the shooter never should have been cleared for duty as a military contract worker. 

共和党议员对重启枪支管制辩论表示兴趣不大。但一些人说，这起海军基地枪击案提出了其它一些重要问题。参议员林赛·格雷厄姆（Lindsey Graham）说，枪手就不应该被准许担任军事合同雇员。

"To me, it is not about gun control. It is about what has happened with our contractor¹² force. How could he pass a background check to get a job with the federal government after he had misused¹³ a weapon twice? When you shoot a guy's tires out because you are mad at him, you are a good candidate not to work for the federal government."

格雷厄姆先生说，“对我来说，这件事和枪支管制无关，而是和我们的军事承包商发生了什么有关。他怎么能在两次滥用武器之后通过背景核查，在联邦政府获得一份工作？因为对别人生气就拿枪射击别人的轮胎，这种人就不该为进入联邦政府工作。”

Another Republican senator, John McCain, had this to say:

另一位共和党参议员约翰·麦凯恩是这样说的：

"We also should focus our attention on people who show mental instability and whether they should have access to weapons or not. I think all Americans are in agreement on that."

“我们还应该把注意力集中到谁显示出精神不稳定，以及他们是否应该获得武器。我认为所有美国人都会同意这点。”

Congressional members say something should be done to prevent attacks like the one on Monday. But there is no solution acceptable to everyone. 

国会议员们表示，政府应该有所作为防止周一这类事件再次发生，但现在没有一个大家都能接受的解决方案。

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 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

4 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

5 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

9 felons   

n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 )；瘭疽；甲沟炎；指头脓炎

参考例句：

• Aren't those the seats they use for transporting convicted felons? 这些坐位不是他们用来押运重犯的吗？ 来自电影对白
• House Republicans talk of making felons out of the undocumented and those who help them. 众议院共和党议员正商议对未登记的非法移民以及包庇他们的人课以重罪。 来自互联网

10 misusing   

v.使用…不当( misuse的现在分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• This means we must stop misusing them. 也就是说，我们已必须停止滥用抗菌素不可了。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器
• Misusing organic fertilizer may cause a decrease in the soil's quality. 滥用有机肥料可能会导致土地的土质下降。 来自互联网

11 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

12 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

13 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》