美国黑人与白人对齐默尔曼判决意见分裂

 　　WASHINGTON -- An overwhelming majority of US blacks say the verdict of George Zimmerman was wrong, while a majority of whites say the verdict was right, a Gallup poll showed Monday.

　　The poll found, an overwhelming 85 percent of blacks say the verdict, which acquits¹ Zimmerman of second degree murder of black teenager Trayvon Martin, was wrong. A majority of whites, 54 percent, on the other hand, say the verdict was right.

　　Americans overall are divided in their views of the verdict: 43 percent say it was right and 40 percent wrong, according to the poll.

　　Gallup noted² these results are almost exactly the opposite of blacks' and whites' reactions to the innocent verdict handed down by a Los Angeles jury in the murder trial of O.J. Simpson in 1995.

　　In a survey conducted in October of that year, about two weeks after the verdict, 89 percent of blacks said the jury had made the right decision, while by a 53 percent to 36 percent margin³, whites said the jury's decision was wrong.

　　There was also a racial difference on view of justice system's bias⁴. According to the poll, while 68 percent of blacks say U.S. justice system is biased⁵ against blacks, only 25 percent of whites agree. It also found blacks' attitudes about the justice system have remained virtually constant over the past 20 years, but whites have become less likely to perceive bias.

　　The not guilty verdict in the Zimmerman trial has resulted in an outpour of complaints about racial bias in the way the U.S. criminal justice system works.

　　Gallup said these underlying⁶ attitudes provide the cognitive⁷ framework black Americans and white Americans use to interpret specific instances of the criminal justice system at work, including views of the recent Zimmerman case.

　　The new results are based on interviews with 2,541 Americans, including 1,841 non-Hispanic whites and 230 non-Hispanic blacks, conducted during the July 16-21 period, after the verdict in the Zimmerman trial was handed down.

　　Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the shooting death of Martin last year in Florida.

1 acquits   

宣判…无罪( acquit的第三人称单数 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• Well, let's wait and, see how he acquits himself today! 且看他今天办的怎样！ 来自子夜部分
• Athena, as president, gives her vote for Orestes and acquits him. 这时，阿西娜以审判长的资格，给奥列斯特投了一票，宣告他无罪。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

5 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

6 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

7 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。