VOA标准英语2010年-Hague Testimonies Contradict Campbell'

Actress Mia Farrow at the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in Leidschendam, Netherlands, 09 Aug 2010

American Actress Mia Farrow has testified at the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor.  She told the court at The Hague that in 1997 supermodel Naomi Campbell claimed to have been given a large diamond by Mr. Taylor after a dinner party hosted by Nelson Mandela.  Campbell's former agent Carole White also testified.  Farrow's and White's testimonies¹ contradict Campbell's statements given last week.

 What Farrow told the court

Actress Mia Farrow was questioned by the court about the events surrounding a dinner party hosted by Nelson Mandela in 1997.

Farrow said during breakfast the following morning, fellow guest Naomi Campbell told her that Charles Taylor had sent her a diamond during the night.

"She [Naomi Campbell] said that in the night she had been awakened², some men were knocking at the door, and they had been sent by Charles Taylor, and they had given her a huge diamond."

What White told the court

Campbell's former agent Carole White also testified Monday.  She said Charles Taylor had told Campbell over dinner that he would give her a diamond. 

Both testimonies contradict what Naomi Campbell told the court last week.

Naomi Campbell is seen at the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in Leidschendam, Netherlands, 05 Aug 2010

What Campbell said

Campbell said she had been given a "few dirty pebbles³" in the middle of the night.  But she stopped short of saying she had known they were from Mr. Taylor.

Taylor denies having given diamonds to the supermodel.

Accusations⁴ against Taylor

Charles Taylor is on trial for his alleged⁵ role in Sierra Leone's decade long civil war.

The prosecution⁶ says that Mr. Taylor - then president of Liberia -- controlled rebel forces in Sierra Leone who raped⁸, murdered, and mutilated thousands of civilians⁹.

Diamonds are central to the case.  The prosecution says Mr. Taylor traded diamonds mined in Sierra Leone for weapons, which he smuggled¹⁰ into the country.

Prosecutors¹¹ say the gift that Mr. Taylor allegedly gave to Campbell links him to so-called "blood diamonds".

Conflicting testimony¹²

Although the three witnesses have varying accounts of the events 13 years ago, police in South Africa say the stones given to Campbell are diamonds. 

Campbell had given the stones to then head of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund Jeremy Ratcliffe, who recently handed them to police. 

"Yes, they are real diamonds.  We cannot tell whether they are 'blood diamonds' or not," said police spokesperson Musa Zondi. "That will be part of the investigation¹³ because you still need people to say "Yes, I know these diamonds; these are diamonds which were given to me."

Celebrity¹⁴ central

The appearance at The Hague of international celebrities¹⁵ has turned the world's attention to Mr. Taylor's trial.

Campaigners say it has helped to shine a spotlight¹⁶ on the violent consequences of the trade in illicit¹⁷ diamonds - a spotlight they hope will remain even after the celebrities have left.

Charles Taylor has been charged by the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone with 11 war crimes charges, including murder, rape⁷, sexual enslavement and recruiting child soldiers.  He has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

More than 100,000 people were left dead after Sierra Leone's Civil War, which ended in 2002.

 

1 testimonies   

（法庭上证人的）证词( testimony的名词复数 )； 证明，证据

参考例句：

• Davie poured forth his eloquence upon the controversies and testimonies of the day. 戴维向他滔滔不绝地谈那些当时有争论的问题和上帝的箴言。
• Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. 22求你除掉我所受的羞辱和藐视，因我遵守你的法度。

2 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

6 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。

7 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

8 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

11 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

12 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

15 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

16 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

17 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%。