零距離美語會話[社會問題]Lesson 1

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Unit 7      Social Issues
   One    Breaking the law.
違法
1    Introduction
      Most Americans never have any contact with the police except for traffic violations. However，when other Americans break the law, they are supposed to be guaranteed a fair trial.   If it is a serious crime, a jury will conclude the defendant’s guilt or innocence.
多數(shù)美國人除了違反交通規(guī)章制度外從未和警察打過交道。然而，一旦有美國人違法，他們就被保證有一個公正的審判。如果是重大的罪行，陪審團(tuán)就會宣判被告有罪，或者無罪。
2    Sample Sentences
1. He committed a serious crime.
    他犯了重罪。
2. STOP THIEF!
    捉賊！
3. He was found guilty after so many years.
    經(jīng)過這么多年后，他被判有罪。
4. Do you think I would break the law? Absolutely not! I’m very lawful.
    你認(rèn)為我會犯法嗎？當(dāng)然不會！我是非常守法的。
5. Call the police!
叫警察！
6. How much crime is there in Baltimore?
巴爾的摩的犯罪率有多高？
7. It’s against the law to let the dog run around the street.
    讓狗在街上到處跑是違法的。
8. I live on the ninth floor. I’m not afraid of burglars breaking into my window.
我住在九樓。我不擔(dān)心盜竊者從我的窗戶口闖入。
9. He is not a legal resident yet.
他還不是合法的居民。
10. Maybe we need consult an immigration lawyer.
     也許我們需要找一個移民律師咨詢一下。
3   Conversations
1.    Injustice.
Gina: Can you believe the headlines?
Harold: What are you reading?
Gina: I’m reading about Michael Milliken, the Bond1 King.
Harold: Didn’t he sell worthless stocks2 to people or something? He got arrested3 for that, didn’t he?
Gina: He got arrested all right.
Harold: If I remember, he got off with a light sentence4. Something like three years in a minimum-security prison.
Gina: Yup, that’s him. He made millions of dollars selling bonds to people and ended up with a pile of cash when they became useless.
Harold: I think the government fined him a small amount, and he kept the rest in his foreign bank accounts. He’s still a millionaire.
Gina: That’s the kind of thing in America that gets me mad. Some guy pulls off a stock scheme5 and makes millions while spending the bare minimum sentence in jail.
Harold: I know. And some poor guy that robs a liquor store makes $500 at most and ends up in jail for five to ten years.
Gina: Yup, you got it. Criminals in America do a lot better if they’re white-collar thieves.
Harold: So what’s Michael Milliken up to these days?
Gina: He’s giving lectures on business at colleges.
【譯文】
——你相信新聞報道嗎？
——你在看什么？
——我在看關(guān)于保債券大王麥克•米昂肯。
——難道不是他賣給人們一些無價值的股票或什么的嗎？他因此事被捕了，是不是？
——他罪有應(yīng)得。
——如果我沒有記錯，他判刑很輕。好像只在一個安全保障最低的監(jiān)獄里呆三年。
——是，那就是他。他賣保債券給別人，賺了數(shù)百萬美元，當(dāng)這些債券變得毫無價值時，他卻得到了一堆現(xiàn)金。
——我認(rèn)為政府罰得很少，他把剩余的錢存在他國外的賬戶里。他還是百萬富翁。
－—在美國那是我狂怒的一件事。一個家伙搞證券陰謀，賺取了數(shù)百萬，而只判了明顯最輕的罪入獄。
——我知道。而一個窮人搶劫一個小酒店最多得到500美元而同時判刑入獄5至10年。
——是，你說得對。在美國，如果罪犯是白領(lǐng)階層的，判罰就會輕得多。
——那么，麥克•米昂肯現(xiàn)在在忙什么？
——他在大學(xué)做商業(yè)演講。
2.   A pyramid scheme.
Val: Hey, look at the offer I got in my e-mail. It says that I can get rich quickly while working at home!
Peter: Do you also believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy?
Val: What do you mean?
Peter: I mean that you’re gullible6. You shouldn’t believe everything you read, especially on the Internet.
Val: But it seems like a good idea. All I have to do is first send some money to the person who sent me the letter. After that he’ll tell me how to earn much more money.
Peter: Sounds like a pyramid scheme. Have you heard of those before?
Val: Pyramid scheme? What is that?
Peter: It’s a scam7 that’s based on a hierarchy8, like a pyramid. The person at the top asks the people below him for money, and then tells them to go and ask other people for money while sending some of it back to him.
Val: Sounds good to me. The guy at the top gets money and so do the people below him.
Peter: Not exactly. The scam keeps on going, with the people at the bottom paying more and more money until they reach the very bottom.
Val: What happens then?
Peter: Nothing. The people at the bottom give their money to the people above them, and they get nothing. They end up losing. That’s why it’s a scam.
Val: I see. I guess I should be more careful about what I read, especially on the Internet where you have no idea who anybody is.
【譯文】
——嘿，看我電子信箱里別人寄過來的郵件。上面說我在家工作也能快速致富。
——你也相信圣誕老人和牙齒仙女？
——你什么意思？
——我是說你很容易受騙。你不應(yīng)該相信所有你看到的，尤其是在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上看到的。
——但是看起來好像是個好主意。我所要做的就是先給發(fā)給我這封信的人寄一些錢。然后他就告訴我怎樣去掙更多的錢。
——聽起來像是傳銷。你以前聽過那些東西嗎？
——傳銷？是什么？
——它是一個以等級為基礎(chǔ)的詭計，像一個金字塔。上層的人向他下面的人要錢，然后告訴他們?nèi)ハ騽e人要錢并同時把一部分返回給他。
——聽起來不錯。上面的人得到錢，而且他下面的人也得到錢。
——并不如此。詭計一直玩下去時，底部的人付的錢越來越多，直到他們成為最底部的人。
——那會怎么樣？
——不怎么樣。底部的人把他們的錢給他們上面的人，他們自己什么也得不到。他們最終遭受損失。這就是為什么它是個詭計的原因。
——我明白了。我想我應(yīng)該對我看到的要多加小心，尤其是在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上的，你都不知道誰是誰。
3.    Clever thieves.
Harry: So Kim, have you ever had anything stolen?
Kim: Stolen? No, why?
Harry: My uncle just had his motorcycle stolen a few nights ago. I was just thinking about how clever criminals9 are these days.
Kim: Criminals are clever? They’re only successful when people are careless.
Harry: I don’t know. The ones who stole my uncle’s motorcycle were pretty good.
Kim: If your uncle had an alarm system10, then it wouldn’t have happened.
Harry: He did. It was one of the best ones available. But that didn’t stop them from disabling11 it. And on a crowded street too.
Kim: Didn’t anyone stop them?
Harry: You would think that people would be smart enough to stop something like that. No one knew his motorcycle was being stolen. The thieves came in a truck and convinced everybody that my uncle was parked illegally and they were there to tow12 it away.
Kim: Wow, they were good. I guess criminals aren’t that dumb13 after all.
Harry: That’s not the end. They were so good that they convinced a bystander14 to help them lift the motorcycle and put it in the truck.
【譯文】
——那么，金，你有沒有被偷過東西？
——被偷過？沒有，問這干什么？
——幾天前我叔叔的車被偷了。我在想現(xiàn)在的小偷真是太聰明了。
——小偷聰明？只有當(dāng)人們粗心時，他們才得手。
——我不清楚。偷我叔叔摩托車的那些小偷很聰明。
——如果你叔叔裝了報警系統(tǒng)，那就不會發(fā)生這樣的事了。
——他有報警器。是能買得到的最好的一種。但它沒有阻止小偷偷車，而且還是在人群擁擠的大街上。
——難道沒有人阻止他們？
——你認(rèn)為有人會那么聰明去阻止那種事情。沒人知道有人在偷摩托車。小偷坐卡車來的，告訴每個人我叔叔是非法停車，他們?nèi)ツ蔷褪前衍囃献摺?
——喔，他們太絕了。我想罪犯畢竟不是那么啞巴。
——那還沒有完。他們偽裝得如此好以致于一位旁觀者還幫助他們把摩托車抬進(jìn)卡車。
4. Getting a ticket.
Policeman: Sir, may I please see your license and registration15? Do you know how fast you were going?
Bob: No, I’m not sure. I think about 65 mph, right?
Policeman: You’re not sure? You were going at 90 miles per hour! That’s 25 mph over the legal speed limit16! Have you been drinking?
Bob: No, Officer, not at all.
Policeman: Then how can you explain your behavior?
Bob: Well, I guess I just wasn’t paying attention to the speedometer17.
Policeman: Not paying attention to the speedometer? Why not?
Bob: Um, because I was busy talking to my friend.
Policeman: On a cell phone?
Bob: Yes, I was using a cell phone. I just bought it, so I decided to give my friend a phone call to tell him about it. While I did that I also turned on the radio and was listening to one of my favorite songs, and eating some food I had bought at a fast food restaurant, and, um…… guess I had too many distractions18.
Policeman: That’s definitely true. I’m going to have to give you a ticket. Please remember to drive more carefully next time.
【譯文】
——先生，我可以看看你的駕照和登記證嗎？你知道你開得有多快嗎？
——不，我不知道。我想時速大約是65英里，對嗎？
——你不知道？你正以90英里的時速行駛！超過法定時速25英里！你在喝酒嗎？
——沒有，警官，我根本沒有喝酒。
——那你怎么解釋你的所作所為？
——唔，我想我只是沒有注意速度計表。
——沒有注意速度計表？為什么沒有注意？
——嗯，因為我忙著和朋友談話。
——用手提電話？
——是的，我在用手提電話。我剛買的，所以我決定給我的朋友打個電話，告訴他這件事。與此同時，我還打開了收音機(jī)，正在聽一首我特別喜歡聽的歌，吃一些我在速食店買的食物，還有，嗯……我想我分心的事太多了。
——肯定是這樣了。我要給你一張罰款單。請記住下次開車時要多加小心。
4    Words and Expressions
1. bond 債券;公債
2. stock 股票,股份
3. arrest   逮捕;拘留
4. light sentence 輕的判刑
5. scheme 詭計,陰謀;計劃
6. gullible 易受騙的
7. scam   騙錢;陰謀
8. hierarchy 等級制度
9. criminal 罪犯
10. alarm system 報警系統(tǒng)
11. disable   使失去能力,使傷殘
12. tow 拖,拉;牽引
13. dumb   啞的,不能說話的
14. bystander   旁觀者
15. registration 登記,注冊,掛號
16. legal speed limit 法定時速
17. speedometer速度計;里程計
18. distraction 分心, 消遣;散心