美国国家公共电台 NPR--Scientists found high levels of poison in poet Pablo Neruda's remains

Scientists found high levels of poison in poet Pablo Neruda's remains¹

Transcript²

Relatives say a report by international forensic³ experts confirms their decades-long suspicions that Chilean poet and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda was poisoned.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Relatives of the famed Chilean poet Pablo Neruda say their suspicions of half a century are confirmed. Did you know this? They've long accused state agents of poisoning the poet after a U.S.-backed coup⁴ in Chile back in 1973. Now forensic scientists have delivered findings to officials that do show a toxin⁵ in his remains. Here's NPR's Carrie Kahn.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE⁶: For the past five decades, the official story is that days after the coup, Pablo Neruda died in a Santiago hospital due to complications from prostate cancer. No one ever believed that lie, says Rodolfo Reyes, Neruda's nephew.

RODOLFO REYES: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: He was injected with a bacteria that caused his death, Reyes told NPR. Reyes is a lawyer and has seen the report that was delivered to the court. Scientists from Canada, Denmark and Chile reported they found large quantities of the bacterium⁷ that can cause botulism poisoning in bone and tooth samples from Neruda's exhumed⁸ body.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PABLO NERUDA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Perhaps the 20th century's most read poet, Neruda won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1971. He wrote epic⁹ poems about love, like his famous 20 on the topic. Here he is heard reading No. 15.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NERUDA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: He was also a Chilean diplomat¹⁰ and staunch supporter of President Salvador Allende, a socialist¹¹ who was deposed¹² by the military with help from the U.S. in 1973. Reyes says there is no doubt that dictator Augusto Pinochet, who went on to rule Chile for the next two decades, killed his uncle.

REYES: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "He or his agents were the only ones at the time capable of such a murder," says Reyes. Canada's McMaster University said scientists there did detect the toxin but couldn't conclude if it killed Neruda. However, they say, the same bacterium was used to kill political prisoners in Chile in the 1980s. Chilean Judge Paolo Plaza¹³ says the court must decide now how to proceed.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PAOLA PLAZA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: For now, she says, they are studying the findings. Relatives of Neruda want a criminal investigation¹⁴ open.

REYES: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Reyes says, "Neruda himself has spoken. The science today tells us that, yes, he was murdered."

Carrie Kahn, NPR News.

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1 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。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 toxin   

n.毒素，毒质

参考例句：

• Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
• Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

8 exhumed   

v.挖出，发掘出( exhume的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marie Curie's remains were exhumed and interred in the Pantheon. 玛丽·居里的遗体被移出葬在先贤祠中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His remains have been exhumed from a cemetery in Queens, New York City. 他的遗体被从纽约市皇后区的墓地里挖了出来。 来自辞典例句

9 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

10 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

11 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

12 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

14 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。