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【学习园地 英语精读】
I have only once been in trouble with the law. The whole process of
being arrested and taken to court was a rather unpleasant experience at the
time, but it makes a good story now. What makes it rather disturbing was
the arbitrary circumstances both of my arrest and my subsequent fate in
5 court.
It happened in February about twelve years ago. I had left school a
couple of months before that and was not due to go to university until the
following October. I was still living at home at the time.
One morning I was in Richmond, a suburb of London near where I
10 lived.I was looking for a temporary job so that I could save up some money
to go travelling. As it was a fine day and I was in no hurry, I was taking
my time, looking in shop windows, strolling in the park, and sometimes
just stopping and looking around me. It must have been this obvious aim-
lessness that led to my downfall.
15 It was about half past eleven when it happened. I was just walking out
of the local library, having unsuccessfully sought employment there, when
I saw a man walking across the road with the obvious intention of talking
to me. I thought he was going to ask me the time. Instead, he said he was
a police officer and he was arresting me. At first I thought it was some
20 kind of joke. But then another policeman appeared, this time in uniform, and
was left in no doubt.
`But what for? \' I asked.
`Wandering with intent to commit an arrestable offence, \' he said.
` What offence? \' I asked .
25 `Theft, \' he said.
` Theft of what? \' I asked .
`Milk bottles, \' he said, and with a perfectly straight face too!
`Oh, \' I said.
It turned out there had been a lot of petty thefts in the area,
particularly 30 that of stealing milk bottles from doorsteps.
Then I made my big mistake. At the time I was nineteen, had long
untidy hair, and regarded myself as part of the sixties\'` youth counterculture\'.
As a result, I wanted to appear cool and unconcerned with the incident, so
I said, ` How long have you \'been following me?\' in the most casual and
35 conversational tone I could manage. I thus appeared to them to be quite
familiar with this sort of situation, and it confirmed them in their belief
that I was a thoroughly disreputable character.
A few minutes later a police car arrived.
Get in the back, \' they said. `Put your hands on the back of the front
40 seat and don\'t move them. \'
They got in on either side of me. It wasn\'t funny any more.
At the police station they questioned me for several hours. I continued
to try to look worldly and au fait with the situation. When they asked me
what I had been doing, I told them I\'d been looking for a job. ` Aha, \' I
45 could see them thinking, `unemployed \'.
Eventually, I was officially charged and told to report to Richinond
Magistrates\' Court the following Monday. Then they let me go.
I wanted to conduct my own defence in court, but as soon as my father
found out what had happened, he hired a very good solicitor. We went
50 along that Monday armed with all kinds of witnesses, including my English
teacher from school as a character witness. But he was never called on to
give evidence. My `trial\' didn\'t get that far. The magistrate dismissed the
case after fifteen minutes. I was free. The poor police had never stood a
chance. The solicitor even succeeded in getting costs awarded against the
55 police.
And so I do not have a criminal record. But what was most shocking at
the time was the things my release from the charge so clearly depended on.
I had the `right\' accent, respectable middle-class parents in court, reliable
witnesses,and I could obviously afford a very good solicitor.Given the obscure
60 nature of the charge,I feel sure that if I had come from a different background,
and had really been unemployed, there is every chance that I would have
been found guilty. While asking for costs to be awarded, my solicitor\'s case
quite obviously revolved around the fact that I had a \'bril-liant academic
record\' .
65 Meanwhile, just outside the courtroom, one of the policemen who had
arrested me was gloomily complaining to my mother that another youngster
had been turned against the police. \'You could have been a bit more helpful
when we arrested you,\' he said to me reproachfully.
What did he mean? Presumably that I should have looked outraged and said
70 something like, \' Look here, do you know who you\'re talking to? I am a highly
successful student with a brilliant academic record. How dare you arrest me!\'
Then they, presumably, would have apologized, perhaps even taken off
their caps, and let me on my way.
New Words
brush/ n. brief fight or encounter 小冲突；小接触
proceas / n. course; method, esp. one used in
manufacture 过程；制作法
arbitrary / a. based on one\'s own opinion only, not
on reason 任意的，武断的
circumstance / n. (usu. pl.) conditions, facts, etc.
conneeted with an event or person
情况，环境
subsequent / a. following, later 随后的，接下去的
stroll / vi. walk at leisure
downfall/ n. ruin 垮台；衰落
wander / vi. move about without a purpose 闲逛；漫游
commit/ vt. do (sth. wrong, bad, or unlawful)
干（坏事），犯（错误）
arrestable / a. deserving to be arrested
offence / (AmE offense) crime; the hurting of feelings; something
n . un-pleasant 罪行；冒犯；不愉快的事
straight face a face or expression that shows no
emotion, hu- mor, or thought板着的脸
petty / a. small ; unimportant 小的；不足道的
doorstep /n. a step in front of a door
regard / vt. consider in the stated way
把…看作；把…认为
counterculture / n. a culture,esp.of the young who oppose
the tra-ditional standards and customs
of their society 反主流文化
unconcerned/ a. not worried; untroubled; indifferent
无忧虑的；淡漠的
casual / a. careless; informal 漫不经心的；随便的
conversational / a. of or commonly used in talking 会话（用）的
thoroughlg / ad. completely;in every way 完全地，彻底地
thorough/ a.
disreputable/ a. having or showing a bad character;
having a bad name 声名狼籍的
worldly/ a. experienced in the ways of society
老于世故的
au fait / a. (F) familiar 熟悉的；精通的
aha /a.ha:/ int. a cry of surprise, satisfaction, etc.
啊哈！
magistrate / n. civil officer acting as a judge in the
lowest courts 地方法官
conduct / vt. direct the course of; manage 处理；主持；引导
defence (AmE defense) the act of defending in court the person
n. who has been charged 辩护
solicitor / n. (esp. in Britain) lawyer who advises
clients on legal matters and speaks on
their behalf in lower courts （初级）律师
trial/ n. the act or fact of examining and
deciding a civil or eriminal case by
a law court 审判
dismiss / vt. (of a judge) stop (a court case)驳回，
对…不予受理
cost/ n. (pl.)the cost of having a matter settled
in a law court. esp. that paid to the
winning party by the losing party 诉讼费
accent/ n. way of speaking typical of the natives
or resi- dents of a region, or of any
other group 口音；腔调
respectable / a. deserving respect 值得尊敬的
reliable / a. that may be relied or depended upon
可靠的，可信赖的
given/ prep. taking into account; if allowed or
provided with 考虑的；假定
obscure / a. not clearly seen or understood 模糊的；晦涩的
guilty / a. having broken a law;showing or feeling
that one has done wrong 有罪的；内疚的
revolve / v. (cause to) go round in a circle
（使）旋转
brilliant / a. causing great admiration or satisfaction;
splendid 辉煌的；卓越的
courtroom n. a room where a law court is held 审判室
meanwhile/ ad. during the same period of time 同时
gloomily / ad. depressedly, dejectedly 忧郁地，沮丧地
reproachfully / ad. 责备地
presumably / ad. probably
outrage / vt. arouse anger or resentment by injury
or insult 引起…的气愤
Phrases & Expressions
take sb. to court start an action in law against sb. 对
某人提出诉讼
a couple of (informal) a small number of, a few,
usually two 少数,几(个);一对
save up keep for future use; put money away in
the form of sav- ings 储蓄
take one\'s time do sth. in a leisurely manner; not
hurry 慢慢来,不着急
at first at the beginning 起先
turn out prove to be 结果;证明是
call on ask (sb.) to do sth. esp. formally 要求
stand a chance have an opportunity; be likely to do
or get sth. 有机会,有希望
revolve around have as a center or main subject
turn against (cause to) oppose, be hostile to
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