Unit Twenty-one
Curb¹ Juvenile² Violent Crimes

THE PRESIDENT: Good Morning. This weekend Americans are praying for the people who lost their lives and for those who were wounded when a 15-year-old boy with semi-automatic weapons opened fire in Springfield, Oregon, this Thursday.
　　Like all Americans, I am deeply shocked and saddened by this tragedy, and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Like all Americans, I am struggling to make sense of the senseless, and to understand what could drive a teenager to commit such a terrible act. And like all Americans, I am profoundly troubled by the startling similarity of this crime to the other tragic³ incidents that have stunned⁵ America in less than a year’s time – in Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Pearl, Mississippi; and Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
　　We must face up to the fact that these are more than isolated⁶ incidents. They are symptoms of a changing culture that desensitizes our children to violence; where most teenagers have seen hundreds or even thousands of murders on television, in movies, and in video games before they graduate from high school; where too many young people seem unable or unwilling⁷ to take responsibility for their actions; and where all too often, everyday conflicts are resolved not with words, but with weapons, which, even when illegal to possess by children, are all too easy to get.
　　We cannot afford to ignore these conditions. Whether it’s gang members taking their deadly quarrels into our schools, or inexplicable⁸ eruptions¹⁰ of violence in otherwise peaceful communities, when our children’s safety is at stake we must take action –and each of us must do our part.
　　For more than five years we have worked hard here in our administration to give parents and communities the tools they need to protect our children and to make our schools safe – from tighter security to more police to etter prevention. To promote discipline and maintain order, we ae encouraging and have worded hard to spread curfews, school uniforms, tough truancy¹¹ policies. We instituted a zero tolerance¹² for guns in schools policy. It is now the law in all our 50 states.
　　This year, Congress has an opportunity to protect our children in our schools and on our streets by passing my juvenile crime bill, which will ban violent juveniles¹³ from buying guns for life, and take other important steps. We shouldn’t let this chance pass us by.
　　But protecting our children and preventing youth violence is not a job that government can, or should, do alone. We must all do more – as parents, as teachers, as community leaders – to teach our children the unblinking distinction between right and wrong, to teach them to turn away from violence, to shield them from violent images that warp¹⁴ their perceptions of the consequences of violence. And wwe must all do more to recognize nad look for the early warning signals that deeply troubled young people send before they
explode into violence.
　　This weekend, we grieve with the families of Springfield, Oregon. We may never understand the dark forces that drive young people to commit such terrible crimes, but we must honor the memories of the victims by doing everything we possibly can to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future, and to build a stronger, safer futue for all our children.

-- Bill Clinton

victim n.牺牲品,受害者 v. 1.捕食 2.折磨,使烦恼

profound a.1.深度的,深切的,深远的 2.知识渊博的,见解深刻的3.深奥的

startle vt.使惊吓,使吃惊
[联想词]               reassure¹⁵ vt.安慰,使放心

tragic a.1.悲惨的 2.悲剧(性)的
[联想词]    comic a.喜剧的,滑稽的
               climax¹⁶ n.高潮,最令人兴奋的部分

stun⁴ (stunned;stunning) vt.1.使震惊 2.把…打昏,使昏迷

desensitize vt.使麻木不仁,使无情

deadly a.1.致死的,致命的 2.不共戴天的,殊死的 3.极度的,十足的 ad.非常,极度地

explicit¹⁷ a.1.明确的,明晰的,详述的 2.直言不讳的
inexplicable a.无法说的,费解的,莫名其妙的

erupt vi.1.喷发 2.爆发
eruption⁹ n.1.喷发,爆发 2.喷出物 3.发疹,疹
[联想词]    eject vt.1.驱逐,逐出 2.喷射,排出 3.弹出
               outbreak n.爆发

curfew n.宵禁(时间),宵禁令

truancy n.1.逃学,旷课 2.逃避责任,玩忽职守
truant¹⁸ n.1.逃学者 2.逃避责任者 a.1.逃学(者)的 2.逃避责任(者)的

tolerant a.宽容的,容忍的
tolerance n.1.宽容,容忍 2.忍耐
[联想词]    bias¹⁹ n.偏见,偏心,偏袒 vt.使有偏见

juvenile a.1.少年的 2.幼稚的,不成熟的 n.未成年人,少年
adolescent n.青少年 a.青春期的,青少年的

blink vi.1.眨眼睛 2.闪亮,闪烁 n.眨眼睛,一瞬间
unblinking a.1.不眨眼的 2.不露感情的,不动声色的 3.无畏的

warp vt.1.使变形,使弯曲 2.歪曲,使反常,使有偏见 vi.变形,弯曲
[联想词]               distort vt.1.歪曲,曲解 2.扭曲,使变形 vi.变形

grieve vi.感到悲痛,伤心 vt.使伤心,为…而伤心
grief n.1.悲伤,悲痛 2.悲伤的事,悲痛的缘由
[联想词]               misery²⁰ n.1.痛苦,苦难,苦恼 2.悲惨的境遇,贫苦
               agony n.(极度的)痛苦,创痛
wretched a.1.极不愉快的,难受的,可怜的 2.令人苦恼,讨厌的
rejoice vi.感到高兴,充满喜悦