VOA常速英语2008年-Valentine's Day in Chicago Evokes City's Gangst

By Greg Flakus
Chicago, Illinois
13 February 2008
 

Most people think of St. Valentine's Day as a time for lovers, but for crime buffs and those interested in gangland history the day will always be associated with a gruesome crime on the north side of Chicago in 1929. On that day gunmen, supposedly working for gangster¹ Al Capone, used machine-guns to murder seven men from a rival gang. Civic² leaders in Chicago would like to leave all that in the past, but, as VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Chicago, people remain fascinated by the era.

Visitors to Chicago can experience the light side of its nefarious³ past at Tommy Gun's Garage, a dinner theater featuring actors portraying⁴ hoods⁵ and flappers from the Prohibition⁶ era.

In the 1920s and early 1930s, U.S. law prohibited the sale and consumption of alcoholic⁷ beverages⁸ nationwide. Gangsters⁹, like Chicago's Al Capone, took advantage of the ban to make a fortune by supplying beer and liquor to the public through a clandestine¹⁰ system.

Rival gangs fighting over the illicit¹¹ profits killed scores of people and tarnished¹² the reputation of Chicago. The most infamous¹³ incident was the Valentine's Day Massacre¹⁴.

Chicagoan John Binder¹⁵ is author of the book "The Chicago Outfit," (by Arcadia Publishing) a book about the city's underworld history.

"The mayor and the city fathers may not like the fact that Chicago has this gangster history associated with it, going back to Prohibition and continuing to the present day, but history is history," he said.

Binder sometimes gives tours to people interested in seeing the places where the gangs once operated, even though not many of the old buildings remain, including the site of the Valentine's Day massacre.

He says, "In the city proper, I can pretty much take them to where things used to be. Even if the buildings are gone, it gives you a rough feel, or maybe more than a rough feel, for what happened and where and who was where and in what part of the city, beyond just reading a book."

Binder, who teaches finance at the University of Illinois's Chicago campus, says organized crime is a business and its members are in it for the money.

He says understanding the background of this type of crime can help Chicago and other cities more effectively fight it. "Organized crime is a civic cancer. It is still around in Chicago today. If we want to understand better how to fight it and minimize the influence of organized crime including on the political system, you have to take a close look at what it is and what they do and how they do it."

And, of course, the gangs of Chicago's Prohibition era will always live on in the movies, keeping the subject alive in the public's imagination.

"Doorway to Hell" , 1930, movie footage courtesy of Warner Brothers

1 gangster   

n.匪徒，歹徒，暴徒

参考例句：

• The gangster's friends bought off the police witness.那匪徒的朋友买通了警察方面的证人。
• He is obviously a gangster,but he pretends to be a saint.分明是强盗，却要装圣贤。

2 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

3 nefarious   

adj.恶毒的，极坏的

参考例句：

• My father believes you all have a nefarious purpose here.我父亲认为你们都有邪恶的目的。
• He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.因为他干了许多罪恶的勾当，所以人人都惧怕他。

4 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

5 hoods   

n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩

参考例句：

• Michael looked at the four hoods sitting in the kitchen. 迈克尔瞅了瞅坐在厨房里的四条汉子。 来自教父部分
• Eskimos wear hoods to keep their heads warm. 爱斯基摩人戴兜帽使头暖和。 来自辞典例句

6 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

7 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

8 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例

9 gangsters   

匪徒，歹徒( gangster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gangsters offered him a sum equivalent to a whole year's earnings. 歹徒提出要给他一笔相当于他一年收入的钱。
• One of the gangsters was caught by the police. 歹徒之一被警察逮捕。

10 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

11 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

12 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

13 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

14 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

15 binder   

n.包扎物，包扎工具；[法]临时契约；粘合剂；装订工

参考例句：

• The cloth flower snaps on with a special binder.这布花是用一种特殊的粘合剂固定住的。
• Purified water was used as liquid binder.纯净水作为液体粘合剂。