美国有线新闻 CNN 2013-07-01

 The trial seems to have one witness who becomes something of a sensation. And in this trial, as millions have now seen, that witness is Trayvon Martin's friend Rachel Jeantel. She's been, like the case itself, polarizing. Today she seemed to be at times less combative¹, not always, though, as you'll see in this exchange with the defense² attorney Don West which starts with yes, sir, but builds to something a lot stronger. Take a look. 

 

He told me the dude was close to him. 

 

Right, at that point he decided³ to approach this man and say, why are you following me? 

 

Yes, sir. 

 

And he could have just run home if he wasn't there. 

 

He was already by his house. He told me. 

 

Of course, you don't know if he was telling you the truth or not. 

 

Why he need to lie about that, sir? 

 

Maybe if he decided to assault George Zimmerman, he didn't want you to know about it. 

 

That's real retarded⁵(智力迟钝的), sir. 

 

I'm sorry? 

 

That's real retarded to do that, sir. And you don't know the person. 

 

Why? 

 

Trayvon did not know him. 

 

Rachel Jeantel today, her second day in the spotlight⁶. Her performance on the stand more polished than yesterday, still raising eyebrows⁷ and as 360's Randi Kaye reports, none of that attention is especially welcome. 

 

Rachel Jeantel never wanted any of this. No media glare, no attention, and no tough questions about her phone call with Trayvon Martin moments before he was shot. That may be why she lied about her age. 

 

Did you say that you were 16 so that you could try to maintain more privacy? 

 

Yes. 

 

So you wanted to make yourself seem like a minor⁸, so that maybe there wouldn't be as much public disclosure as if you said your true age of 18? 

 

Yes. 

 

Today Rachel Jeantel is 19, and her life story from what we can piece together is more exposed than she had ever dreamed. 

 

She attended Miami Norland Senior High School and according to her Facebook page took classes in criminal justice at Miami University, though the school tells us they have no record of her. She's from north Miami where she says she and Trayvon Martin had met in elementary school(小学). 

 

Why do we care so much who this woman is? Because her testimony⁹ about what Trayvon told her the night he died could make or break the case. If what she says is true, Trayvon Martin was scared and trying to get away from a man pursuing him, a man who later turned out to be George Zimmerman. But Jeantel may have some credibility issues. She's already been caught lying about her age and about her reason for not attending Trayvon's funeral. And then there's her vanishing postings on her Twitter page. 

 

According to the Smoking Gun, tweets referring to Trayvon and the case were removed just hours before her testimony. Like this one from June 21st, "16 months later, wow, I need a drink." Jeantel had also tweeted about having, quote, "jackass lawyers on my ass⁴." 

 

It's unclear which lawyers she may have been referring to but she certainly has held her own with Zimmerman's attorneys in court. She took some heat from the defense for this audio interview she gave the Martin family attorney early on in the investigation¹⁰.

1 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

5 retarded   

a.智力迟钝的，智力发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• The progression of the disease can be retarded by early surgery. 早期手术可以抑制病情的发展。
• He was so slow that many thought him mentally retarded. 他迟钝得很，许多人以为他智力低下。

6 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

7 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

8 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

9 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

10 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。