John Travolta sued by male masseur for sexual assault

 　　BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhuanet) -- John Travolta is being sued by a male masseur who claims the Hollywood star sexually assaulted him during a massage¹, but the star's rep dismissed the claim as "baseless lie," media reported on Tuesday.

　　In court papers filed in Los Angeles last Friday, the unidentified masseur claimed that Travolta, 58, propositioned him and touched himself lewdly² during a message session in January inside a room at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

　　Travolta's spokesman labelled the claim in a statement "a complete fiction and fabrication. None of the events claimed in the suit ever occurred."

　　"On the date when plaintiff claims John met him, John was not in California and it can be proved that he was on the East Coast," the statement said.

　　The civil suit claims assault, sexual battery and intentional³ infliction⁴ of emotional distress⁵ and the masseur is seeking 2 million U.S. dollars plus punitive⁶ damages.

　　The masseur's lawyer told Reuters that he wanted to investigate his client's claims and discuss it with Travolta's representatives to see if there is any way it could be resolved ... to make it easier on everyone.

　　Travolta, who is an ambassador for Australia's flagship airline Qantas, rose to fame in the 1970s on television sitcom⁷ "Welcome Back Kotter."

　　He has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has been married to actress Kelly Preston since 1991.

1 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

2 lewdly   

参考例句：

• He rubbed his forehead harshly with his knuckles, like stupor, and snickered lewdly. 他用指关节使劲擦了擦自己的额头，象个醉鬼一样，一面色迷迷地嘻嘻笑着。 来自互联网

3 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

4 infliction   

n.（强加于人身的）痛苦，刑罚

参考例句：

• Don't immerse yourself in the infliction too long.不要长时间沉浸在痛苦经历中。
• Instead of rivets there came an invasion,an infliction,and a visitation.但是铆钉并没有运来，来的却是骚扰、混乱和视察。

5 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

6 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

7 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。