Passage ten(Antinuclear Demonstration)
Police fired tear gas and arrested more than 5,000 passively resisting protestors Friday in an attempt to break up the largest antinuclear demonstration ever staged in the United States. More than 135,000 demonstrators confronted police on the construction site of a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant scheduled to provide power to most of southern New Hampshire. Organizers of the huge demonstration said, the protest was continuing despite the police actions. More demonstrators were arriving to keep up the pressure on state authorities to cancel the project. The demonstrator had charged that the project was unsafe in the densely populated area, would create thermal pollution in the bay, and had no acceptable means for disposing of its radioactive wasters. The demonstrations would go on until the jails and the courts were so overloaded that the state judicial system would collapse.
Governor Stanforth Thumper insisted that there would be no reconsideration of the power project and no delay in its construction set for completion in three years. “This project will begin on time and the people of this state will begin to receive its benefits on schedule. Those who break the law in misguided attempts to sabotage the project will be dealt with according to the law,” he said. And police called in reinforcements from all over the state to handle the disturbances.
The protests began before dawn Friday when several thousand demonstrators broke through police lines around the cordoned-off construction site. They carried placards that read “No Nukes is Good Nukes,” “Sunpower, Not Nuclear Power,” and “Stop Private Profits from Public Peril.” They defied police order to move from the area. Tear gas canisters fired by police failed to dislodge the protestors who had come prepared with their own gas masks or facecloths. Finally gas-masked and helmeted police charged into the crowd to drag off the demonstrators one by one. The protestors did not resist police, but refused to walk away under their own power. Those arrested would be charged with unlawful assembly, trespassing, and disturbing the peace.
1.What were the demonstrators protesting about?
[A] Private profits.
[B] Nuclear Power Station.
[C] The project of nuclear power construction.
[D] Public peril.
2.Who had gas-masks?
[A] Everybody.
[B] A part of the protestors.
[C] Policemen.
[D] Both B and C.
3.Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a reason for the demonstration?
[A] Public transportation.
[B] Public peril.
[C] Pollution.
[D] Disposal of wastes.
4.With whom were the jails and courts overloaded?
[A] With prisoners.
[B] With arrested demonstrators.
[C] With criminals.
[D] With protestors.
5.What is the attitude of Governor Stanforth Thumper toward the power project and the demonstration?
[A] stubborn.
[B] insistent.
[C] insolvable.
[D] remissible.
Vocabulary
1.tear gas 瓦斯
2.passively resisting protestor 不抵抗的抗議者
3.stage 發(fā)起，舉行，上演
4.break up 驅(qū)散，終止
5.cordon 警戒線，警戒
6.nuke （美俚）核武器，核電站
7.defy 公然蔑視/反抗
8.canister 罐，筒，榴霰彈筒
9.islodge 趕走
10.charge 沖鋒，向前沖
11.trespass 非法侵入，擾亂
難句譯注
1.Police fired tear gas and arrested more than 5,000 passively resisting protestors Friday in an attempt to break up the largest antinuclear demonstration ever staged in the United States.
【結(jié)構(gòu)簡析】句中間用in an attempt介詞短語和staged分詞使句子變長。Staged修飾demonstration。
【參考譯文】星期五，再制止美國舉行過的最大的反核示威游行中，警方發(fā)放了催淚瓦斯，逮捕了5000多不拒捕的抗議者，企圖解散游行隊(duì)伍。
2.The protests began before dawn Friday when several thousand demonstrators broke through police lines around the cordoned-off construction site.
【結(jié)構(gòu)簡析】主從句。
【參考譯文】星期五拂曉之前，當(dāng)好幾千名示威者沖破警戒再核建設(shè)基地周圍的警察封鎖線時(shí)，抗議示威開始了。
寫作方法與文章大意
這是一則有關(guān)反對核電站的群眾示威抗議的新聞導(dǎo)報(bào)，采用對比手法。警方鎮(zhèn)壓；群眾堅(jiān)決抗議。第一段就寫出了盡管警方釋放催淚瓦斯，逮捕了5000多人，示威組織者申明抗議要繼續(xù)下去，越來越多的抗議者參與對當(dāng)局加壓，想迫使其廢除在當(dāng)?shù)亟⒑穗娬镜挠?jì)劃。其理由是在人口密集地區(qū)建站不安全，在海灣產(chǎn)生熱污染，核廢料處理無有效方法。
第二段敘述了州長大人堅(jiān)決維護(hù)核電站的立場，不再考慮計(jì)劃修改問題，三年內(nèi)要完成核電站建設(shè)。屆時(shí)，本州人民得益。對企圖破壞計(jì)劃實(shí)施而違法的人將以法處置。已集結(jié)全州警察加強(qiáng)對付這次搗亂。
第三段講了雙方現(xiàn)場交戰(zhàn)：星期五破曉，數(shù)千示威者（高舉示威牌，上寫：沒有核電站就是好的核電站；不要核能，要太陽能等）沖過建設(shè)基地警察警戒線，警察用催淚瓦斯無效后，開始一個(gè)一個(gè)地抓逮示威者，被捕者將被控以非法集會(huì)、侵入和擾亂治安等罪名。
答案詳解
1.C 抗議建設(shè)核電站計(jì)劃。不是抗議核電站。至于
B. 核電站還未建，所以不對。A. 私人利益 和 D. 公共危險(xiǎn)，這些都是示威牌上之口號(hào)不是抗議的主攻方向。
2.D 雙方。 最后一段第四行最后和第五行“抗議者準(zhǔn)備了他們自己的防毒面具或面罩。最后，頭戴防毒面具和頭盔的警察沖進(jìn)人群一個(gè)一個(gè)地抓逮示威者。”所以說兩方面都有防毒面具。
3.A 公共交通運(yùn)輸。
B. 公共危險(xiǎn)。 C. 污染。 D. 廢料處理，是三個(gè)抗議的理由。
4.B 被逮捕的示威者。第一段最后一行“示威要繼續(xù)下去直到州監(jiān)牢和州法庭人滿為患，從而使州司法體系垮臺(tái)。”說明示威者準(zhǔn)備去坐牢，決不服輸?shù)臎Q心。而人多到監(jiān)牢裝不下證明州司法的問題。所以這里只能是被抓的示威者。
A. 犯人。 C. 罪犯。D.抗議者。警察不可能抓所有的抗議者。關(guān)在牢里的只能是被抓的示威者。
5.A 固執(zhí)己見，冥頑不化。見第二段他堅(jiān)持說核電站計(jì)劃不用再考慮，三年內(nèi)一定要建成，計(jì)劃準(zhǔn)時(shí)開始，本州人民到時(shí)候就能獲益。對這些違法企圖破壞計(jì)劃的人依法懲處。并且從州內(nèi)各處調(diào)集警察來處理這次“騷亂”。從語言到行動(dòng)都說明，這位州長固執(zhí)己見，頑固得很。
B. 堅(jiān)持的。 C. 不能解決的。 D. 可寬恕的。
