365个英语简短小故事-168. The Drugs Keep Coming

Because it won't decriminalize drugs, the US government allows drug dealers¹ to make billions of dollars annually². The government continues to pursue and arrest millions of marijuana and cocaine³ users every year. The government says that marijuana and cocaine are so dangerous and addictive⁴ that they must remain illegal. However, it has long legalized alcohol and tobacco, two products which kill hundreds of thousands of Americans annually. Meanwhile, because millions of Americans continue to use marijuana and cocaine daily, their purchases are making drug dealers filthy⁵ rich.

How rich are they? Local police recently stumbled upon two privately⁶ owned submarines, containing 500 pounds of cocaine, in a harbor in Colombia. Colombia supplies 90 percent of America’s cocaine. The submarines can carry five tons of drugs to Mexico, where the cargo⁷ travels by truck into the US. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials believe that the Colombian drug lords possess about 20 of these 55-foot subs. However, they are confident they will find all of them.

Reportedly, drug lords have also purchased a Russian cannon⁸ that can fire a 2-ton shell 500 miles. The cannon, now hidden in Mexico, will be used to fire 2-ton packages of cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs into southeast New Mexico, where drug lords have secretly bought thousands of acres of desert land. The packages will land in the desert, undetected by US radar⁹. Once they land safely among the cactuses and scorpions¹⁰, the packages will be stored underground. The drug lords are building a huge complex of tunnels and storage space under the New Mexico desert. The tunnels will connect to truck routes for transporting drugs to major cities. A DEA official said that even if the cannon and tunnels exist, it just proves that DEA is winning the war on drugs.

 

1 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

2 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

3 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

4 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

5 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

6 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

7 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

8 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

9 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

10 scorpions   

n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You promise me that Black Scorpions will never come back to Lanzhou. 你保证黑蝎子永远不再踏上兰州的土地。 来自电影对白
• You Scorpions are rather secretive about your likes and dislikes. 天蝎：蝎子是如此的神秘，你的喜好很难被别人洞悉。 来自互联网