万花筒 2013-07-21&07-25 奥巴马就Trayvon Martin枪击案发表讲话

 Without warning today, president Obama decided¹ to blow open the argument about race and bias² in America, calling on the nation to do some soul searching, and six days after the verdict getting personal, he said he could have been Trayvon Martin.

Afterwards, people across the country posted these images, side by side. And now ABC's Jim Avila has the seismic³ moment at the white house today. 

Reporters scramble⁴, the half empty white house press room jolted⁵ by a rare surprise visit from the president of the United States.

“Is there anybody else showing up?”

After talking to his wife Michelle and calling senior staff into the oval office, the president decided late yesterday to speak from the heart today about the case of Trayvon Martin.Today, the nation's first African-American president talked about the indignity⁶ of being profiled and it got personal. He made it clear, it's happened to him. “There are very few African-American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store.That includes me.”

The slights are daily and they don't go away, the president said, telling the country that Africa-Americans are looking at the Trayvon Martin shooting through a different lens.

Many African-Americans believe Martin was singled out because of his race, and as a consequence, died because of his race. 

“I don't want to be like Trayvon Martin's mom, burying my child.”

When we talked to middle-class African-American mothers last year in the wake of Martin's shooting, they told us they worried about their sons being unjustly targeted and that they had to teach their boys how not to be profiled.

“I tell them always you have to keep your hands out of your pockets because people will perceive that as threatening, or they may think that you've stolen something. 

It's a long-standing problem. In 1991, ABC news conducted an experiment where we sent a black man and a white man into a record store.The black man was followed by the store clerk. The white man was ignored. And it is still happening.

We’ve seen an honest student son talked about being feared,

prejudged.

“Sometimes when I'm on the metro⁷, like I'll walk right past them and they'll kinda like tighten⁸ up.”

Today we’ll see react to Zimmerman's acquittal.

“Sad. Heartbroken.”

In this image circulating on the internet is asking a profound question, would things have been different if Trayvon Martin were white and George Zimmerman black? 

Tomorrow expect major demonstrations⁹ across the country, Diane.

Pierre Thomas, thank you so much. Now the president in this fray¹⁰.

1 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。

2 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

3 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

4 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

5 jolted   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• She was jolted out of her reverie as the door opened. 门一开就把她从幻想中惊醒。

6 indignity   

n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑

参考例句：

• For more than a year we have suffered the indignity.在一年多的时间里,我们丢尽了丑。
• She was subjected to indignity and humiliation.她受到侮辱和羞辱。

7 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

8 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

9 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

10 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。