意地震学家未准确预测地震而受审

时间：2011-09-25 06:20:05

（单词翻译:单击）

The relatives of more than 300 people killed in the devastating1 L’Aquila earthquake asked for £43 million in compensation from seven experts who are accused of manslaughter in failing to give adequate warning about the disaster.

意大利七位地震专家因未能准确预报拉奎拉地区发生的强震而面临过失杀人罪指控。超过300人在地震中遇难。日前，遇难者亲属要求七位专家赔偿4300万英镑损失。

A court in L’Aquila, the mountain city which was devastated2 by the 6.3 magnitude quake on April 6, 2009, admitted 70 individuals and organisations as injured parties in the trial, including the city’s council.

The six prominent seismologists（地震学家） and a senior public official are accused of not issuing sufficient warning over the likelihood of a major tremor3 at an emergency meeting six days before the earthquake hit.

The seven defendants4 face charges of manslaughter（过失杀人） and unintentionally causing injury, which if proven by the court, could result in prison sentences of up to 15 years.

The decision to prosecute5 the experts has caused outrage6 in the scientific world, with Italian and international colleagues saying it is impossible to accurately7 predict an earthquake.

The Seismological Society of America has described the trial as an unprecedented8 legal attack on science.

Only one of the seven defendants was in court — Bernardo De Bernardinis, the then deputy head of Italy’s Civil Protection agency.

“I felt that it was important to be here because this is my home, and also to underline the professionalism and competence9（能力，胜任） of other public officials. I’m from Abruzzo, I owe it to the people of the city,” he said.

The prosecution10 alleges11 that after the experts held an emergency meeting on March 31, 2009, they gave the public only an “approximate, generic12 and ineffective assessment13 of seismic14 activity risks as well as incomplete, imprecise and contradictory15 information.”

The experts, part of Italy’s Great Risks commission, issued a memo16 that day in which they concluded that it was “improbable” that there would be a big earthquake.

That meant, prosecutors17 say, that as more tremors18 hit L’Aquila in the days leading up to the quake, tens of thousands of people had been lulled19 into a false sense of security and did not evacuate20 their homes.

The earthquake reduced much of L’Aquila’s medieval（中世纪的） centre to rubble21 and flattened22 surrounding villages, leaving the region, north-east of Rome, looking like a war zone.

After a three-hour hearing, the trial was adjourned23 to Oct 1.


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1 devastating muOzlG     
adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的
参考例句：
  • It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
  • Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。
2 devastated eb3801a3063ef8b9664b1b4d1f6aaada     
v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的
参考例句：
  • The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
  • His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。
3 tremor Tghy5     
n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震
参考例句：
  • There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
  • A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。
4 defendants 7d469c27ef878c3ccf7daf5b6ab392dc     
被告( defendant的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
  • As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
5 prosecute d0Mzn     
vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官
参考例句：
  • I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
  • Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？
6 outrage hvOyI     
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。
7 accurately oJHyf     
adv.准确地，精确地
参考例句：
  • It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
  • Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。
8 unprecedented 7gSyJ     
adj.无前例的，新奇的
参考例句：
  • The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
  • A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。
9 competence NXGzV     
n.能力，胜任，称职
参考例句：
  • This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
  • These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。
10 prosecution uBWyL     
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。
11 alleges 3b19fc4aac03cd2333e7882df795ffc4     
断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
  • Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。
12 generic mgixr     
adj.一般的，普通的，共有的
参考例句：
  • I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
  • The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。
13 assessment vO7yu     
n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额
参考例句：
  • This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
  • What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？
14 seismic SskyM     
a.地震的，地震强度的
参考例句：
  • Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
  • The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。
15 contradictory VpazV     
adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立
参考例句：
  • The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
  • What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。
16 memo 4oXzGj     
n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章
参考例句：
  • Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
  • Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？
17 prosecutors a638e6811c029cb82f180298861e21e9     
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。
18 tremors 266b933e7f9df8a51b0b0795733d1e93     
震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动
参考例句：
  • The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
  • The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
19 lulled c799460fe7029a292576ebc15da4e955     
vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • They lulled her into a false sense of security. 他们哄骗她，使她产生一种虚假的安全感。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The movement of the train lulled me to sleep. 火车轻微的震动催我进入梦乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 evacuate ai1zL     
v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便
参考例句：
  • We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
  • They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。
21 rubble 8XjxP     
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。
22 flattened 1d5d9fedd9ab44a19d9f30a0b81f79a8     
[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的
参考例句：
  • She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
  • I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。
23 adjourned 1e5a5e61da11d317191a820abad1664d     
（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
  • The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

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