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华盛顿邮报丨0324 - 究竟是什么让美国出现大规模枪击事件?

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背景知识

美国是一个允许公民持枪的国家,他们只要通过合理的渠道进行申请,便能够获得相关资格。不仅如此,在美国境内,枪支交易是允许被存在的,虽然这一法规可能会导致枪击案的发生,但从另一方面来看,人们却能够在遇到危险的时候保护自己。美国有关部门周二表示,发生在佐治亚州首府及最大城市亚特兰大按摩院和水疗中心的大规模枪击事件已造成8人死亡,其中很多是亚裔女性。就在几小时之后,一名21岁的男子在佐治亚州西南部被捕。


正文阅读

What connects America’s mass shootings? Easy access to guns.

是什么和美国的大规模枪击事件有关?容易获得枪支。

The United States is a violent society, and has been since the first Europeans stepped foot on its shores. Millions of Native Americans — we will never know the true number — were killed as Europeans colonized the continent. Slavery lasted for more than 240 years, and it was practiced with a grotesque brutality. Viewed in this way, our ongoing gun-violence death toll is just another facet of our violent history. But it’s one we could bring to an end, if only we chose to. Our homicide rate dwarfs that of any other comparably advanced nation.

美国是一个暴力社会,自从第一个欧洲人踏上它的海岸以来就一直如此。数以百万计的美洲原住民——我们永远不会知道真实的数字——在殖民大陆时被杀害。奴隶制持续了 240 多年,其残酷程度令人发指。从这个角度来看,我们目前的枪支暴力死亡人数只是我们暴力历史的另一个方面。但是只要我们选择,我们是可以结束这一切的。我们的杀人率与其他任何先进国家相比都相形见绌。

In the United States, there are so many firearms in circulation that there is more than one per every American. No surprise, 4 out of every 10 of us say we are personally acquainted with someone who has been shot. Nations with looser attitudes toward gun ownership experience more gun violence than those without. While mass shootings garner the most attention, our day-to-day death toll is staggering. Even as mass-fatality events plunged in 2020, likely because of the covid-19 lockdowns, gun violence is up significantly in many cities.

在美国,流通中的枪支如此之多,以至于分摊到美国人头的枪支不止一支。毫不奇怪,我们每10个人中就有4个人说自己认识一个被枪杀的人。对枪支所有权态度较松的国家比没有(枪支所有权)的国家经历更多的枪支暴力。虽然大规模枪击事件引起了最多的关注,但我们每天的死亡人数也令人震惊。尽管可能是因为Covid-19,即使大规模死亡事件在2020年大幅下降,但在许多城市枪支暴力都有显著上升。

Murder rates in big cities throughout the United States increased by more than one-third last year, with many cities seeing particularly startling increases: Homicides in Chicago increased by more than 50 percent, New York by 40 percent. The vast majority of this surge was murders committed with firearms.

去年全美各大城市的谋杀率增加了三分之一以上,许多城市的增幅尤为惊人。芝加哥的凶杀案增加了50%以上,纽约增加了40%。在这一激增中大部分的谋杀都是使用枪支。



今日单词

  • connect/kəˈnekt/ vt.联合;关连;

  • mass shooting 群众枪击事件;

  • access/ˈækses/ n.接近;有权使用;

  • violent/ˈvaɪələnt/ adj.暴力的;

  • step foot on 踏上;

  • native/ˈneɪtɪv/ adj.本土的,本地的;

  • colonize/ˈkɑːlənaɪz/ vt.在……开拓殖民地;

  • grotesque/ɡroʊˈtesk/ adj.怪诞的,奇怪的;

  • view/vjuː/ vt.观察;考虑;

  • death toll 死亡率;

  • facet /ˈfæsɪt/ n.方面;

  • bring to an end 使结束;

  • if only 只要;

  • homicide/ˈhɑːmɪsaɪd/ n.杀人;

  • dwarf/dwɔːrf/ vt.(使)变矮;相形见绌;

  • any other 其他的;

  • comparably/'kɒmpərəblɪ/ adv.能够参与比较地;

  • in circulation 流通中;

  • no surprise 没有意外;

  • acquaint/əˈkweɪnt/ v.了解;

  • looser/ˈlusər/ adj.更松动的;

  • ownership/ˈoʊnərʃɪp/ n.所有权;

  • garner /ˈɡɑːrnər/ vt.获得;

  • day-to-day /ˌdeɪ tə ˈdeɪ/ adj.日常的,每天的;

  • staggering/ˈstæɡərɪŋ/ adj.令人震惊的;

  • mass-fatality 大量死亡;

  • plunge /plʌndʒ/ v.突然地下落;

  • lockdown/ˈlɑːkdaʊn/ n.封锁;

  • significantly/sɪɡˈnɪfɪkəntli/ adv.显著地;

  • throughout /θruːˈaʊt/ prep.纵观;横穿;

  • startling /ˈstɑːrtlɪŋ/ adj.令人吃惊的;

  • surge/sɜːrdʒ/ n.激增;

  • commit/kəˈmɪt/ v.犯罪;

  • with/wɪð/ prep.使用,用(使用某种工具);


素材来源

文本选自:The Washington Post(华盛顿邮报)
作者:Helaine Olen
原文发布时间:20 Mar. 2021


背景音乐

Sergio Díaz De Rojas - Ich bin Himmel, wenn ich den Himmel liebe


每日美句

A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.

知足是人生在世最大的幸事。


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