VOA标准英语2010年-YouTube Removes 'Violent' Videos from

The video-sharing website YouTube has taken hundreds of videos of a Yemen-based cleric from its site because it says they incite¹ violence.
21, Roshonara Choudhry, was given a life sentence Wednesday in Britain. In May of this year she stabbed a British politician, Stephen Timms, because of his support for the war in Iraq. Choudhry told officers investigating the case that she had been motivated by videos she had watched on YouTube. She had downloaded more than 100 hours of lectures given by the Yemen-based cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, in which he called for Muslims to fight against the West.
Timms told the BBC that she was a smart girl who had been swayed by the internet.
"She was such a successful student and yet she was able to fall prey², throwing all of that away because of what she saw on the web," said Timms. "I think that is tragic³ and I think we do need to take care of other young people who might find themselves in a similar position."A statement published by YouTube said the videos had been taken down because they violated the site's guidelines, which prohibit dangerous or illegal activities, including bomb making, hate speech, and incitement⁴ to commit violent acts.? It said keeping the balance between free speech and averting⁵ calls to violence can be difficult. British officials along with New York Congressman⁶ Anthony Weiner had pressed YouTube to remove the videos. Last week, in a letter to YouTube CEO Chad Hurley, Weiner said there is no reason we should give killers⁷ like al-Awlaki access to the internet service so they can inspire more violent acts.
Claire Yorke from the London-based research group Chatham House says the internet can be an effective way for extremists to spread their message. "We have seen that the internet has been used very successfully by terrorist organizations who are able to propagate their message, they are able to reach out to large parts of society that maybe they would not normally," said Yorke. "People across the world have access to their messages if they choose to look."But she says the power of the internet can be overstated. "We also need to look at the motivations of the individuals in the real world that is making them look at this," added Yorke. "So I do not necessarily think the internet in itself is causing this, it is a two-way street."She says monitoring the internet is not easy. And is a problem that will last well into the future. "As we know the internet is vast and we are not yet aware of its boundaries or all the elements within it and therefore regulating something quite so huge is always going to be difficult task. And for every site you take down more will come," Yorke noted⁸.
Anwar al-Awlaki was charged this week in Yemen for inciting⁹ violence against foreigners. The head of Britain's intelligence agency MI5 recently said that al-Awlaki poses a particular threat to British security in part because he teaches in the English language.

1 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

2 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

3 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

4 incitement   

激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物

参考例句：

• incitement to racial hatred 种族仇恨的挑起
• Interest is an incitement to study. 兴趣刺激学习。

5 averting   

防止，避免( avert的现在分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• The margin of time for averting crisis was melting away. 可以用来消弥这一危机的些许时光正在逝去。
• These results underscore the value of rescue medications in averting psychotic relapse. 这些结果显示了救护性治疗对避免精神病复发的价值。

6 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。