新西兰英语 259 Waihopai Valley protesters not guilty

　　Three men who damaged the Waihopai spy base near Blenheim were found not guilty last week. The jury¹ took just two hours to decide they were not guilty.
In April 2008, these three protesters attacked the Waihopai base. They waited until it was dark then cut the fence and damaged the plastic dome² which covered the building. The Waihopai base is part of the UK US satellite communications which can check communications like emails, phone calls and faxes. The protesters said that the Waihope base was connected with the war in Iraq and the reason they damaged the base was to save Iraqi children. They believed what they were doing was a lawful³ act. The judge told them it was wrong in law. However, the jury found them not guilty because they believed what they were doing was right.
The Crown⁴, which means the government, will probably appeal this decision because they are afraid that many people will try to do similar things if they believe they are right to do it.

1 jury   

n.陪审团，评委会；adj.临时用的；vt.挑选

参考例句：

• These twelve men are believed to compose the jury.据信，陪审团是由这12人组成的。
• The members of the jury were discharged from their duties.陪审员们被解除了职务。

2 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

3 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

4 crown   

n.王冠，王权，顶点；v.使...成王，加冕，居...之顶

参考例句：

• He won the crown in 1973.他荣获1973年冠军称号。
• They wanted to crown Caesar king.他们想立凯撒为王。