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1、
TEXT 69
A predictable crisis
可預(yù)見性危機 (陳繼龍 編譯)
Oct 12th 2006
From The Economist print edition
JOHN REID became home secretary because of a prison s_________① . His predecessor, Charles Clarke, was
forced to resign in May after admitting that some 1,000 foreign prisoners wh
2、o ought to have been considered for deportation had been freed. (1) This week Mr Reid faced a prison crisis of his own, made worse by new figures showing that offenders released early from jail on electronic tags have committed more than 1,000 serious crimes.
約翰里德是因為一樁監(jiān)獄丑聞而成為英國內(nèi)政大臣的。今年 5 月,他的前任查爾
3、斯克拉克在承認釋放
了大約 1000 名本應(yīng)考慮驅(qū)逐出境的外籍犯人之后被迫辭職。本周,里德自己也面臨著監(jiān)獄危局,而且當
有最新數(shù)據(jù)表明提前獲釋、 并裝有電子追蹤標記的罪犯又犯下了一千多宗嚴重罪行后, 情況變得更為糟糕。
In theory, the jails of England and Wales can a_________② just over 80,000 people. By October 6th they were
just 210 short of that limit. The obvious remedies — cramming tw
4、o people into cells built for one, letting more prisoners out on probation and moving convicts far from their families — have already been taken. So,
last-ditch[1] measures were put in place this week. Some 500 police cells will be used for prisoners. (2)Foreign convicts appeals against deportati
5、on will no longer be contested, in order to liberate their beds. Others will be paid to go home.
理論上講, 英格蘭和威爾士的監(jiān)獄能夠容納 8 萬余人。 截至 10 月 6 日兩所監(jiān)獄僅差 210 人就會達到飽和。
有關(guān)方面已經(jīng)采取了補救措施, 如在單身牢房中關(guān)押 2 人、對更多的犯人實行監(jiān)外察看以及將罪犯轉(zhuǎn)移到
遠離其家人的監(jiān)獄。 本周又出臺了一系列最后的補救措施。 大約 500 間警察局的獄室將用于監(jiān)禁犯人。 為
了騰出外籍罪犯占用的床位, 其反對被驅(qū)逐出境的請求也將有求
6、必應(yīng)。 有的罪犯則會在拿到一筆錢后被遣
送回家。
This is one of historys less surprising crises. ( 3) By the late 1990s Home Office statisticians were not only
predicting a rapid rise in prisoner numbers, but also erring[2] on the side of pessimism
. Eight years ago,
when the prison population was just above
7、 65,000, the department predicted that it would rise to 83,000 by 2005.
In 2002 the statisticians forecasts were also too pessimistic. Yet the politicians still appear to have been caught by
surprise.
歷史表明,這場危機并不值得大驚小怪。
速增長, 而且不惜做出了最壞的打算。
20 世紀 90 年代末,英國內(nèi)政部統(tǒng)計人員就曾預(yù)測犯人數(shù)量將快
8 年前監(jiān)
8、獄人口總數(shù)剛剛超過 6.5 萬,統(tǒng)計部門預(yù)測到 2005 年這一
數(shù)字將升至 8.3 萬。 2002 年,統(tǒng)計人員的預(yù)測結(jié)果同樣十分悲觀,但政治家們卻好像又嚇了一跳。
One reason the prisons are full is that there are more police officers — 141,000, compared with 122,000 in 2000.
( 4 ) They can now go after crimes that are hard to crack but attract long s
9、entences, such as
drug-trafficking. The number of people in prison for drug offences has trebled since 1994. And, while the overall crime rate in England and Wales is improving, it may be that some criminals are worse. Cindy Barnett, a
London magistrate, reckons the d_______③ she sees are mor
10、e violent and have graver drug problems these days.
That helps to explain why magistrates sent 27% of robbers straight to prison in 2004 — up from just 10% in 1993.
監(jiān)獄人滿為患的原因之一是警察增多了—— 2000 年是 12.2 萬,而現(xiàn)在是 14.1 萬。他們可以(有充足的人
手)忙于一些難以偵破、但有望判處重刑的案子,如毒品交易。 1994 年以來,在押毒犯數(shù)量已經(jīng)增長了
3
11、
倍。而且,當英格蘭和威爾士的總體犯罪情況好轉(zhuǎn)之時,某些罪犯的犯罪情節(jié)卻越來越惡劣。倫敦地方法
官辛迪巴內(nèi)特認為,如今她所見過的那些被告更為暴戾,涉毒問題也更為嚴重。因此,
官為何將 27%的搶劫犯都直接送進大牢( 1993 年僅為 10%)就不難解釋了。
2004 年地方法
In the past few years, the Home Office has prodded[3] judges and magistrates to punish serious, violent offenders more heavily, while enc
12、ouraging them to go easier on petty thieves. The former has certainly happened: the number of life sentences has more than doubled since the early 1990s. The latter has not. Populist politicians forgot that judges tend to have f_______ ④ ideas about the relative seriousness of offences. (5)Force the
13、m to
increase sentences for murder, and they will also hand out longer terms to armed robbers.
過去幾年來,內(nèi)政部敦促審判人員要嚴懲有暴力行為的重犯, 同時鼓勵他們對那些小偷小摸的人從寬發(fā)落。
前面一條當然能做到: 20 世紀 90 年代初以來, 獲判終生監(jiān)禁的人數(shù)翻了一番還要多。 可后面一條則不然。
鼓吹平民主義的政治家們忽略了一點,那就是法官對情節(jié)相對較嚴重的犯罪行為往往都有不容改變的看法。你可以強迫他們加重對殺人犯的判罰,而他們同樣也會對攜帶兇器的搶劫犯判處較長的刑期。
14、
Finally, there is media pressure. T_______ ⑤ newspapers such as the Sun and the Daily Mail hound[4] judges
who pass, or even seek to justify, lenient sentences. This week the Sun accused one wig of
“ liv
tower ” . Because most peoples experience of the criminal-justice system is rare
15、and intermittent, such coverage
strongly influences the public mood.
( 6 ) Ivory towers notwithstanding, it also stings judges. Penny
Darbyshire, an academic who has been following wigs for several years, says they pore over [5] press coverage.
“ And many of them have wives who read the
16、 Daily Mail,
” she says.
最后還有媒體的壓力。 要是哪個法官作出了仁慈的判決
(即便他企圖證明這樣的判決合情合理)
,諸如《太
陽報》和《每日郵報》之類的小報就會對他糾纏不休。本周《太陽報》指責(zé)說,一個戴假發(fā)的人(暗指法
官)“住進了象牙塔” 。由于大多數(shù)人對罪犯-司法體系很少有切身體會,
因此這樣的報道嚴重左右著公眾
的情緒。雖然“象牙塔”(有點含糊其辭) ,但仍舊讓法官們感覺如芒在背。
跟蹤研究法官多年的學(xué)者彭妮 達
比夏爾說,他們極為關(guān)注媒體的報道,
“而且他們很多人的妻子都愛看《每日郵報》
?!保ㄗⅲ罕径螐娬{(diào)的是由
于
17、面臨媒體的壓力,一些本打算對罪犯寬大處理的法官不得不將更多的人判決收監(jiān),從而造成監(jiān)獄人滿為患。媒體指責(zé)法
官生活在象牙塔里,暗諷他們在判決時脫離實情,不嚴格執(zhí)法。而最后提到的“妻子愛讀《每日郵報》
”是指“她們能將讀
到的小道消息轉(zhuǎn)達給她們的法官丈夫” ,提醒他們判決時要考慮輿論的呼聲。 )
[QUIZ]
1. 根據(jù)上下文和英文釋義,補全單詞:
① s( n. an event in which someone, especially someone important, behaves in a bad way that shocks
18、
people)
② a_______( v. to have enough space for a particular number of people or things)
③ d________( n. the person in a court of law who has been accused of doing something illegal)
④ f________( adj. very definite )
⑤ t________( n. a newspaper that has small pages, a lot of photograp
19、hs, and stories mainly about sex, famous people etc rather than serious news)
2. 英譯漢(將劃線部分英文翻譯成中文) :
[NOTES](LONGMAN)
1. last-ditch adj. 無退路的,已至最后防 的
2. err v. 犯 ,做 事,失 于??( on the side of )
3. prod v. 催促,推
4. hound v. 糾纏,追逐
5. pore over 注視,凝視
[KEY TO QUIZ]
20、1. ① scandal 丑聞
② accommodate 容納 ③ defendants 被告
④fixed 固定的,確定的,不容改變的
⑤ Tabloid 小報
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