美国各地引发大规模抗议活动

 　　NEW YORK, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Mass protests erupted in major U.S. cities Sunday to decry¹ the acquittal of George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot unarmed African American teenager Trayvon Martin.

　　The national wave of protest spread to New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and other cities, blocking traffic and leading to clashes in Los Angeles.

　　A group of demonstrators gathered in New York City's Times Square Sunday night after marching about two miles from an earlier rally in Union Square. The Times Square protest caused a traffic shutdown on 7th Avenue between 42nd and 47th Streets.

　　In Los Angeles, at least one person was arrested Sunday evening during clashes between the police and people protesting Saturday's not-guilty verdict.

　　The Los Angeles Police Department said the clashes happened when some protestors threw rocks at police, who then responded by firing non-lethal rounds at the demonstrators. There were no reports of injuries.

　　Demonstrators also blocked the 10 Freeway, causing a traffic jam on the busy highway.

　　Martin, a 17-year-old high school student, was shot dead while walking to the house of his father's fiancee in a gated community in Sanford, Florida on Feb. 26, 2012. Zimmerman, then 28, called the police to report Martin's presence as suspicious and followed him. The two then engaged in a fight, and Zimmerman ended up fatally shooting Martin.

　　Zimmerman claimed he shot the unarmed teenager in self-defense.

　　The fact that Zimmerman was not immediately arrested raised racial tensions across the country. It was only after public outcry that Zimmerman was charged last April with second degree murder, and U.S. TV stations have been live covering court proceedings² starting last month.

　　After more than 16 hours of deliberation Saturday night, a jury in Florida found Zimmerman not guilty of second degree murder or manslaughter.

　　Zimmerman was set free. But heated debates over justice for minorities continued.

　　Outraged³ people at New York's Union Square, along with those outside the Florida court, protested the verdict Saturday night.

　　Protesters also held demonstrations⁴, mostly peaceful, in several California cities Saturday night. An Oakland protest turned violent, with some protestors breaking windows and starting small street fires.

　　President Barack Obama on Sunday issued a statement, saying the death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy, and the strong passions elicited⁵ may be running even higher in the wake of the verdict.

　　He said the jury had made its decision and he called on every American to engage in calm reflection as the best way to stem the tide of gun violence and prevent future tragedies like this.

1 decry   

v.危难，谴责

参考例句：

• Some people will decry this,insisting that President Obama should have tried harder to gain bipartisan support.有些人会对此表示谴责，坚持说奥巴马总统原本应该更加努力获得两党的支持。
• Now you decry him as another Hitler because he is a threat to the controlling interest of oil in the middle east.现在你却因为他对中东石油控制权益构成了威胁而谴责他为另一个希特勒。

2 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

3 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 elicited   

引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Threats to reinstate the tax elicited jeer from the Opposition. 恢复此项征税的威胁引起了反对党的嘲笑。
• The comedian's joke elicited applause and laughter from the audience. 那位滑稽演员的笑话博得观众的掌声和笑声。