Tucson shooting suspect's family apologizes for victims

    LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Tucson shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner's family has released a one-paragraph statement Tuesday in their first public response to the incident, apologizing to the families of the shooting victims.
    The statement reads: "This is a very difficult time for us. We ask the media to respect our privacy（隐私）. There are no words that can possibly express how we feel. We wish that there were, so we could make you feel better. We don't understand why this happened. It may not make any difference, but we wish that we could change the heinous¹ events of Saturday. We care very deeply about the victims and their families. We are so very sorry for their loss. Thank you. The Loughner family."The statement was issued by aids to the suspect's public defender² Judy Clarke.
    Loughner, 22, was charged with five federal（联邦） crimes: the murders of U.S. District Judge John Roll and Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman, and the attempted murders of Giffords and two other congressional staffers at a gathering³ outside a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona Saturday.
    Loughner could receive up to life in prison if convicted of shooting Giffords, and up to 20 years in convicted in the shootings of two other congressional （国会的）aides.
    Loughner also is expected to face a series of charges in state courts.
    U.S. District Judge John Roll and Gabe Zimmerman, a Giffords aide, were among the victims killed in the shooting which was presumably targeted Giffords.
    Giffords, 40, was shot in the head and underwent surgery. She remains⁴ in critical condition and it was unknown whether she will be able to return to Congress.
    The motive⁵ for the killing⁶ remains unknown. Loughner has refused to cooperate with investigators⁷, authorities said.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

2 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》