ESL Podcast 172 - Legal Problems

I was reading the newspaper this morning and saw a story about a university student arrested and charged with burglary and assault. Last Monday, this student hit a security guard over the head, broke into his professor’s office, and stole the professor’s computer. He wasn’t doing well in the class and thought that he could steal the exam.

When he was arraigned¹ in court , the prosecutor² said that the charges were very serious felonies and not simple misdemeanors. He also said that because the student was a flight risk , the bail³ should be set at $2 million. The judge agreed.

If the student was found guilty of all of the charges, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in jail.

When I read this story, I thought, wouldn’t it have been easier for him to just study?


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 arraigned   

v.告发( arraign的过去式和过去分词 )；控告；传讯；指责

参考例句：

• He was arraigned for murder. 他因谋杀罪而被提讯。
• She was arraigned for high treason. 她被控叛国罪。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

3 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。