VOA标准英语2010年-India Reviews Tougher Laws For Industr

An elderly victim holds a poster and waits for the verdict in the premises¹ of Bhopal court in Bhopal, India, 07 Jun 2010

The Indian government is looking at the need for tougher laws to deal with industrial disasters, amid outrage² in India about punishment meted³ out for the 1984 deadly gas leak in Bhopal from a Union Carbide-owned chemical plant.  Thousands of people were killed after inhaling⁴ the poisonous gas, while tens of thousands were left coping with serious health ailments⁵.

 

In the days since a local court handed out two-year prison terms to seven former Indian employees of Union Carbide, many searching questions have been raised about the verdict.

Angry survivors⁶, activists⁸ and the media are asking why it took nearly 26 years to get the first convictions in the disaster.

Rachna Dhingra represents the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, which has been working to rehabilitate⁹ and get justice for the victims of the gas leak. She blames the government and a slow moving judiciary for the long wait. 

"It has gone from one court to another and there has been no will actually to strengthen the case… there has been lack of political will," said Dhingra.

Campaigners have slammed the verdict, calling the two-year prison term for the former top managers "too light."  However, lawyers point out that this was the maximum sentence the local court could have handed out for the offense¹⁰ for which the men were tried.  

The managers of Union Carbide, who have been granted bail¹¹, were originally charged with culpable¹² homicide, which could have resulted in a harsher sentence.  But, in 1996, the supreme¹³ court reduced the charges to criminal negligence¹⁴, citing existing laws.

Facing a barrage¹⁵ of criticism for failing to get adequate justice for the tens of thousands of victims of the Bhopal gas leak, the government has said it needs to revisit laws pertaining¹⁶ to the kind of industrial disaster witnessed in Bhopal.

A spokesperson for the ruling Congress Party, Jayanti Natarajan, says a group of nine senior ministers will examine the issue.

"An empowered group of ministers has been set up to study whether any changes in the law are necessary.  We are all outraged¹⁷ that the punishment is something that is equal to a traffic accident.  We are all aware of that," said Natarajan. 

Law Minister Veerappa Moily says India does not have a law to deal with a mass disaster. He has spoken of the need for fast-track courts for such cases and a specific law for such mishaps¹⁹.

What exactly caused the gas leak is still unclear.  Union Carbide blamed it on sabotage²⁰ by a disgruntled employee.  The prosecution²¹ argued that it was caused by a design defect in the plant and negligent²² operational practices.  Critics have charged that the company got away with just paying $470 million in compensation.

The government has responded by saying the case against the American head of Union Carbide at the time of the leak is still open.  Warren Anderson faces manslaughter charges in India, but the United States has rejected efforts to extradite him.

Acknowledging the huge anger among the victims and survivors of the disaster, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh state, where Bhopal is located, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, promises to appeal the verdict.

He says the state government will go to a higher court to get a tougher sentence and secure justice for the victims.

Survivors of the tragedy and activists fear that such an appeal is again likely to get entangled²³ in India's slow moving judicial²⁴ system.  However, they are not giving up their quest for justice.

Satinath Sarangi, a prominent activist⁷ working with the victims of the gas leak, says the fight could be led by the generation born in the aftermath of the disaster.   

"As the young people in Bhopal, the children of survivors have said, that now they will take it along and they will fight till complete justice is done," said Sarangi.

Activists and many politicians say it is important for India to strengthen laws and systems to handle any future mishap¹⁸, because many foreign corporations are establishing plants and factories in the country to benefit from its booming economy.

They are also urging the government to look closely at proposed legislation which would cap the liabilities of foreign companies planning to establish civil nuclear plants in India to $110 million.

Critics and opposition²⁵ parties say the government must draw lessons from the Bhopal disaster and modify the controversial Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill to ensure that India will be able to hold private companies responsible for any mishap. The government says there is no connection between the two issues.

 

1 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 meted   

v.（对某人）施以，给予（处罚等）( mete的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The severe punishment was meted out to the unruly hooligan. 对那个嚣张的流氓已给予严厉惩处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The money was meted out only after it had been carefully counted. 钱只有仔细点过之后才分发。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 inhaling   

v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was treated for the effects of inhaling smoke. 他因吸入烟尘而接受治疗。 来自辞典例句
• The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. 长期吸入被污染空气的影响还无从知晓。 来自互联网

5 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

10 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

11 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

12 culpable   

adj.有罪的，该受谴责的

参考例句：

• The judge found the man culpable.法官认为那个人有罪。
• Their decision to do nothing makes them culpable.他们不采取任何行动的决定使他们难辞其咎。

13 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

14 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

15 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

16 pertaining   

与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to)

参考例句：

• Living conditions are vastly different from those pertaining in their country of origin. 生活条件与他们祖国大不相同。
• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school. 视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。

17 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

18 mishap   

n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸

参考例句：

• I'm afraid your son had a slight mishap in the playground.不好了，你儿子在操场上出了点小意外。
• We reached home without mishap.我们平安地回到了家。

19 mishaps   

n.轻微的事故，小的意外( mishap的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a series of mishaps 一连串的倒霉事
• In spite of one or two minor mishaps everything was going swimmingly. 尽管遇到了一两件小小的不幸，一切都进行得很顺利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

21 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

22 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

23 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

25 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。