2017考研英语拓展阅读：奥巴马借“奥兰多枪击案”推动控枪

　　考研英语阅读能力提升需要不断地积累练习，通过多阅读来积累词汇，提升阅读速度，强化把握主旨能力。2017考研复习之初，时间相对充裕，新东方在线建议大家每天多做一些阅读，可娱乐也可增长见闻，还能提升能力。下面一篇文章是关于奥巴马借“奥兰多枪击案”推动控枪。

2017考研英语拓展阅读：奥巴马借“奥兰多枪击案”推动控枪

　　These assault weapons are weapons of war and they have no place in the hands of a legitimate hunter or much more likely is that a weapon of war is going to end up in the hands of someone like this who will be able to carry out a much more violent act because they are using a weapon that was intended not for the streets of Orlando but for a battlefield,’ said White House press secretary Josh Earnest Monday.

　　本周一，白宫新闻秘书约翰·厄内斯特说道：“这些高杀伤性的武器是战争武器，合法猎人和其他人都不应该持有这样的枪支，因为那将有可能使得这些战争武器流入像奥兰多枪击案凶手那样的人的手中。如此一来这些人的攻击行为将更为暴力血腥，因为制造这些枪的初衷是为了在战场上作战，而不是在奥兰多的街道上逞凶。”

　　’The president is very strongly on the record in favor of banning assault weapons. This is a ban that used to be in place. The president believes that [the ban] should be re-instituted,’ Earnest said when asked flat-out whether Obama thinks the AR-15 should be legal.

　　当问到奥巴马是否认为AR-15应该被禁时，厄内斯特直率地说道：“奥巴马总统采取了一个破纪录的强硬立场，希望禁止这种杀伤性武器。这一禁令之前就已经讨论过，但是总统现在认为它应该被重新提起。”

　　The AR-15 is a civilian semi-automatic version of the M-16 rifle, which is fully automatic. The gun is able to reload as soon as the shooter pulls the trigger. They’re consider lightweight and easy to assemble.

　　AR-15半自动步枪是M-16全自动步枪的民用版本。只要射手扣动扳机，这种枪就能够装弹，AR-15重量轻、而且便于组装。

　　It was first manufactured by the ArmaLite rifle company, although many manufacturers have manufactured them.

　　AR-15最先由阿玛莱特步枪公司开始制造，后来许多制造商也开始制造这种步枪。

　　The National Shooting Sports Foundation has testified that there are between 5 and 8.2 million assault-style weapons in the U.S.

　　据美国国家射击运动基金会的证言显示，全美的攻击性武器数量约为500万到820万件。

　　Congress enacted a ban on certain styles of assault-style weapons under President Bill Clinton in 1994, in a vote that contributed to Democrats losing the House.

　　在1994年，由于克林顿总统的努力，美国国会通过了一份针对某些特定型号的攻击性武器，而这也导致了民主党人在那之后的一场总统大选中失利。

　　The ban expired ten years later when Congress let it lapse.

　　这份禁令的时效是10年，在那之后国会便让这份法令失效了。

　　Victims’ families have sued gun manufacturers after recent mass killings, including at Sandy Hook when the killer used a Bushmaster AR-15.

　　近段时间以来，美国发生了多起大规模枪击杀人事件，受害者家属已经就这些事件对枪支制造商提起了诉讼，包括在桑迪胡克发生的那起杀人事件，当时凶手的作案工具是“毒蛇”AR-15。

　　An attorney in that case, Josh Koskoff said in a statement that the AR-15 "was designed for the United States military to do to enemies of war exactly what it did this morning: kill mass numbers of people with maximum efficiency and ease. That is why the AR-15 has remained the weapon of choice for the United States military for over 50 years," Rolling Stone reported.

　　据《滚石》报道称，在桑迪胡克小学枪击案中，律师乔西·卡斯卡夫在一份声明中说道，AR-15“是专门为美国军队设计的，其目的是最方便、最有效率地杀死最多的敌人，这正是在过去50年以来美国军方一直选择AR-15作为武器的原因。然而在今晨，这种武器却被用来屠杀无辜的平民。”

　　"It is the gold standard for killing the enemy in battle, just as it has become the gold standard for mass murder of innocent civilians,’ he added.

　　卡斯卡夫补充道：“这是战场中杀敌的黄金准则，而现在已经变成了屠杀无辜公民的黄金准则。”

　　President Obama has repeatedly called for the reinstatement of the ban, but various efforts at gun control have stalled during his administration.

　　奥巴马曾多次呼吁恢复这一枪支禁令，但是在其任期内对于控枪的各种努力都徒劳无功。

　　Frequently, Obama’s calls for reforms have only increased demands for weapons, as occurred in 2014 when he called for restrictions on assault weapons and on high-capacity magazines.

　　但是，奥巴马的改革呼吁经常只会增加对于枪支武器的需求，就像2014年所发生的那样，当时奥巴马呼吁对攻击性武器和大容量弹夹采取管制。

　　Hillary Clinton renewed her call for gun control Monday.

　　本周一，希拉里也重申了她对于控枪的诉求。

　　’We can’t fall into the trap that is set up by the gun lobby that says, if you can’t stop every shooting and every incident, you should not try to stop any,’ she told CNN. ’We did have an assault weapons ban for ten years. I think it should be reinstated,’ she said.

　　希拉里对CNN说道：“我们不能调入圈套，不能被那些反对枪支买卖管制的人所迷惑，他们说如果不能防止所有枪击和事故的发生的话，我们就不应该采取任何的禁止措施。”希拉里说道：“我们以前曾有一份攻击性武器禁令，那份禁令生效了10年。我认为现在我们应该恢复它。”

　　’I believe weapons of war have no place on our streets,’ Clinton said in a speech Monday, echoing the White House verbiage.

　　希拉里赞同了白宫的发言，她在周一的一场演讲上说道：“我认为战争武器不应该出现在我们的街道上。”

　来源：Daily Mail

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