听美文故事记6级单词03-09

Why I had to help my sister in suicide

A man who comforted his terminally –ill sister while she attempted to commit suicide will not face charges .

Graham Lawson faced the possibility of 14 years in jail because he watched his 48-year-old sister Sue .,a former bank manager ,die. She repeatedly tried to suffocate¹ herself with a plastic bag , ‘‘howling’’with despair as she reached the point of being unable to resist taking a breath ,he said. She made seven unsuccessful attempts as Mr Lawson comforted her .She finally succeeded at the eight attempt.

Within an hour .Mr Lawson ,35,an agricultural worker who lives in Kent, was arrested, stripped and locked in a police cell for 24huors .In the first case of its kind in Britain ,the police and prosecutors³ decision on whether to take action hinged on Mr Lawson’s failure to dial 911 as his sister took her life at her home in Kent.Ken² Macdonald ,the Director of Public Prosecutions⁴, eventually told Mr Lawson’s solicitors⁵ in April last year, five months after the suicide ,that no action would be taken .

Yesterday ,Mr Lawson decided⁶ to disclose his case after it emerged last week that another man ,Brian Blackburn, escaped a prison sentence for helping⁷ his cancer-stricken wife commit suicide in a final ‘’act of love ‘’.He said ;’’Sue told me she wanted to die and she asked if I would be there for her . I made a promise that I would ,and I stuck to it .When she took her life I was with her .’’ His sister suffered from multiple sclerosis for 14 years and was unable to care for herself .Mr Lawson said he did not realized he could face charges of aiding and abetting⁸ suicide by carrying his sister upstairs to lie on her bed and not calling an ambulance . ‘’I had been staying with her for about a month ,when she was really , really ill ,’’ he said . ‘’She was sitting in her wheelchair and said ‘Right ,I ‘ve had enough . I want to do it ‘ . I carried her upstairs to her bed .’’ ‘’I don’t think I should have stopped her ,because of her determination and her bravery .’’

1 suffocate   

vt.使窒息，使缺氧，阻碍；vi.窒息，窒息而亡，阻碍发展

参考例句：

• If you shut all the windows,I will suffocate.如果你把窗户全部关起来，我就会闷死。
• The stale air made us suffocate.浑浊的空气使我们感到窒息。

2 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

5 solicitors   

初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most solicitors in England and Wales are in private practice . 英格兰和威尔士的大多数律师都是私人执业者。
• The family has instructed solicitors to sue Thomson for compensation. 那家人已经指示律师起诉汤姆森，要求赔偿。

6 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。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 abetting   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的现在分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• On Earth, unknowingly abetting a criminal doesn't merit this kind of punishment. 在地球上，不知不觉地帮助罪犯并不构成这种惩罚。 来自电影对白
• "By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder." 援助和唆使谋杀的塔利班政权与杀人犯同罪。 来自互联网