VOA标准英语2012--Los Angeles Sees Improvements 20 Years After Riots

Los Angeles Sees Improvements 20 Years After Riots

 

Twenty years ago on Sunday [April 29, 1992], parts of Los Angeles, California, erupted in race riots that left 53 people dead and caused more than $1 billion in damage. Local leaders recently toured the scene of the violence to see how things have changed. Although there have been many improvements, problems remain.

It was an April afternoon in 1992 when a jury stunned¹ the city by acquitting² four police officers who had been caught on video tape beating a black motorist, Rodney King.

Spontaneous protests soon turned to violence, with some African Americans targeting Korean immigrant shop owners. Two carloads of men drove near firefighter Emile Mack and his crew.

"And they all began pulling out guns and shooting into the storefronts that were immediately adjacent to us. We immediately hit the ground. But within seconds, Korean shop owners came out of those same shops, lined up, and began shooting back."

Many African American businesses also were destroyed.

Pharmacy³ owner Gil Mathieu left his store as the unrest began. "By the time I got home, I turned on the TV to continue to follow the news, and lo and behold⁴, the store was on fire. So I said, 'Oh, well.' It's a very humbling⁵ experience, and I couldn't do anything. You get numb⁶ when you see it," he said.

By day two of the riots, the fires were spreading. Firefighter Mack was on Vermont Avenue, a major north-south thoroughfare.

"Every block was ablaze⁷, and literally⁸ there were columns of smoke that blocked out the sun," said Mack.

South Los Angeles, where the riots began, has changed since then. A bus tour by the charity Operation Hope takes local leaders through the neighborhood, where new businesses have replaced the charred⁹ rubble¹⁰. Mathieu's pharmacy has been rebuilt. And banks and shopping centers are on many corners. 

Residents say there are business opportunities for potential investors¹¹. But some areas are still bleak¹² and awaiting development. 

Rebecca Blank, the U.S. deputy secretary of commerce, said one key to improvement here is better schools, and many have opened.

"Because the skills of the people that are there as workers, as community leaders, are more important than anything," said Blank.

At Quincy Jones Elementary School, children learn math and science, as well music and art. The school was named in honor of the legendary¹³ music producer. And Quincy Jones said the school's broad curriculum helps instill a sense of pride, and improves the neighborhood and the nation.

"Because the culture, the food, the music and the language is what defines a country," said Jones.

Race relations are also better, said fire department official Mack. 

"Because they've reached out to the other communities and created relationships that really will help prevent something like this from ever occurring again," he said.

Mack has bridged the racial gap in his own life. He was a Korean orphan¹⁴ who was adopted by an African American couple and raised in South Los Angeles. His friends and family growing up, he said, were black.

Obama administration official Blank said the economy needs to improve for lasting¹⁵ changes in the city. She cautioned that there still is potential for unrest in Los Angeles and other American urban centers.

"Anyone who thinks that we are past the ability of riots anywhere in American cities really needs to look to Europe, which has been facing major riots in many of their cities because of concern for what's happening with their government, for austerity measures, for high unemployment. We're not immune to that," she said.

Those who live here say there is much work to be done in the inner city by both government and business.

1 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

2 acquitting   

宣判…无罪( acquit的现在分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• Meanwhile Ms Sotomayor is acquitting herself well enough. 另一方面，Sotomayor女士正在完成自己的任务。
• It has the following characteristics: high speed of data acquitting and data processing. 固件程序具有较高的采集响应速度和数据处理速度。

3 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

4 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

5 humbling   

adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气

参考例句：

• A certain humbling from time to time is good. 不时受点儿屈辱是有好处的。 来自辞典例句
• It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-buildingexperience. 据说天文学是一种令人产生自卑、塑造人格的科学。 来自互联网

6 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

7 ablaze   

adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的

参考例句：

• The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
• Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

12 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

13 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

14 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

15 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。