VOA标准英语2010年-Police Officers Demonstrate They Have

For many people, when they think of police, they think of officers writing tickets or arresting bad guys. But in suburban¹ Washington, a group of multi-talented police officers is reaching out to their community through music. 

Students at Thurgood Marshall Middle School were in for a big surprise - a band made up of uniformed, Prince George's County police officers.

"I have never known that police are interested in playing in a band," said one of the students.

"It was a real surprise,"stated a 4th-grader.

The local police department created the band Rhythm and Blues² nine years ago. 

Corporal Edwin Robertson started the group and plays trombone, guitar and tuba. 

"What we are trying to do is let citizens see that the police department is normal with normal people," said Corporal Robertson. "Let them know that our job is not just lock them up, send them away in jail.  Our job is to try to talk to them, try to prevent them from getting into trouble."

Rhythm and Blues is comprised of eight officers and a civilian³ drummer. They play at schools and community events two to three times a week.

Robertson is a helicopter pilot and former homicide detective who has been a policeman for 26 years.

"The rehearsal⁴ is done on our days off," he said. "We don't mind coming in on our days off to rehearse.   We all understand that it is important we do that.  So the band will sound good.  It doesn't impede⁵ my normal duties at all."

The Prince George's County Police Department is very supportive of the band.

"I just want to thank the Rhythm and Blues," said Chief Robert Hylton. "They are my special ambassadors.  Let's please give them a great hand."

Robert Hylton is the Prince George's County chief of police.

"They are actually policing," he said. "Policing, believe it or not, is to create peaceful environment.  We want to work to form partnerships⁶, enjoy fun and let the community know that we can work together without having very adversarial relationship."

Chief Hylton says a senior citizen can enjoy the band's music as much as a teenager can.  Pear Gardy lives at a local senior citizens apartment building.

"Truthfully I didn't have very good feelings about the officers," said Pear Gardy. "But now I have changed.  All of us had a very good time listening to the music.  They all were good.  And we hope they come back visit us again."

Officers in the band say their primary goal is to encourage young people to resist getting into trouble, and to find something constructive⁷ to do. It has worked with seventh grader Tyrone Parker.

"It [the police band] inspired me to get started playing an instrument," said Tyrone Parker.

As for the band members, they say Rhythm and Blues gives them the opportunity to do what they love to do and to help to improve community relations.
 

1 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

2 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

5 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

6 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

7 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。