2006年VOA标准英语-Italian Police Arrest Mafia's 'Boss of Bos

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
11 April 2006

This March 7, 2005 file photo released by Italian police shows a recent identity at left, and an older one at right, of Bernardo Provenzano  
  
Italian police have arrested Bernardo Provenzano, known as the Mafia's boss of bosses. Provenzano was Italy's most wanted man, and has been on the run for more than 40 years. 

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He had been on the run for 43 years. Bernardo Provenzano, the purported¹ chief of the Sicilian mafia, was arrested in a farmhouse² near the town of Corleone, in Sicily.

Police said he refused to speak to the arresting officers, but offered no resistance. He was taken to a secret location.

Nicknamed "The Tractor," because of the way he mowed³ down enemies of the Corleone clan⁴ when he was young, 73-year-old Provenzano is believed to have taken over the command of the Mafia in 1993, after Toto' Riina was arrested in the Sicilian capital, Palermo.

Italian politicians applauded the arrest of Provenzano. Enrico La Loggia, a senator from Sicily, expressed satisfaction over the arrest of what he called the most dangerous fugitive⁵ in the history of Italy.

He said, "It is a great satisfaction, not only as a Sicilian, but as an Italian citizen, and as a member of the Berlusconi government." He added that it is another important success of the Berlusconi government in the fight against organized crime.

The last picture police had of Provenzano was taken in 1959 when he was 25. Authorities say they no longer knew what he looked like, but confirmed his identity with a DNA⁶ test.

Until his arrest, investigators⁷ were using computer-aided simulations to guess at his present appearance. Provanzano is said to have used disguises, including dressing⁸ as a bishop⁹, to avoid capture. He was wanted since 1963.

Investigators believe he spent most his life moving freely from house-to-house across Sicily, thanks to an unwritten "code of silence" among Sicilians, who did not turn him in to the authorities.

Authorities say Provenzano communicated using small notes, called 'pizzetti', and avoided the use of modern technology, such as mobile phones. Often, the police appeared on the verge¹⁰ of arresting him, but he always seemed to manage to escape at the last minute.

Provenzano has been sentenced in absentia to life in prison, in connection with the Mafia's most notorious crimes during the past decades. These include the killings¹¹ in 1992 of Italy's top anti-Mafia magistrates¹², Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

1 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

3 mowed   

v.刈，割( mow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The enemy were mowed down with machine-gun fire. 敌人被机枪的火力扫倒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Men mowed the wide lawns and seeded them. 人们割了大片草地的草，然后在上面播种。 来自辞典例句

4 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

5 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

6 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

9 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

10 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 magistrates   

地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to come up before the magistrates 在地方法院出庭
• He was summoned to appear before the magistrates. 他被传唤在地方法院出庭。