本周，美国前白人警察德雷克•肖万被控杀害非洲裔男子乔治•弗洛伊德案在美国明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯市宣判，谋杀罪成立，最高面临40年刑期。
随后，总统拜登和副总统哈里斯发表讲话。据美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）消息，拜登在讲话中回述了他和弗洛伊德女儿吉安娜的对话，称她父亲的死亡的确改变了世界。
拜登表示，当他今天再次与吉安娜交谈时，自己告诉她：“爸爸确实改变了世界。让那成为他的遗产，和平的遗产，而不是暴力。”

△前白人警察德雷克·肖万
《纽约时报》对此声称，该判决是对警察行为提出了罕见的谴责。陪审团商议了10个多小时，才宣布肖万的三项指控均成立:二级谋杀、三级谋杀和二级过失杀人。
一起来看一下详细报道。
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/us/george-floyd-chauvin-verdict.html
MINNEAPOLIS — A former police officer who pressed his knee into George Floyd’s neck until well past Mr. Floyd’s final breath was found guilty of murder on Tuesday in a case that shook the nation’s conscience and drew millions into the streets for the largest racial justice protests in generations.
明尼阿波里斯市——周二，一名前警官用膝盖顶着乔治·弗洛伊德的脖子，直到弗洛伊德先生咽气为止，他被判谋杀罪名成立。这一案件震惊了整个国家的良知，并吸引数百万人走上街头，举行几代人以来规模最大的种族正义抗议活动。
murder n.谋杀
racial adj.种族的，人种的

protests v.抗议；反对
The verdict, which could send the former officer, Derek Chauvin, to prison for decades, was a rare rebuke of police violence, following case after case of officers going without charges or convictions after killing Black men, women and children.
这项判决可能会让前警官德里克·肖万(Derek Chauvin)在监狱里蹲上几十年。这是对警察暴力行为罕见的谴责，此前有一桩又一桩警察在杀害黑人男女和儿童后没有受到指控或定罪。
verdict n.结论；裁定
rebuke n.指责；斥责
convictions n.定罪；确信
At the center of it all was an excruciating video, taken by a teenage girl, that showed Mr. Chauvin, who is white, kneeling on the neck of Mr. Floyd, who was Black, for nine minutes and 29 seconds as Mr. Floyd pleaded for his life and bystanders tried to intervene. Mr. Floyd repeated “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times during the encounter.
在这一切的中心，是一名十几岁的女孩拍摄的一段令人痛苦的视频。视频显示，白人肖万跪在黑人弗洛伊德的脖子上，持续了9分29秒，当时弗洛伊德为自己求饶，旁观者试图介入。在这次遭遇中，弗洛伊德反复说了20多次“我无法呼吸”。
excruciating adj.折磨人的；使苦恼的
bystander n.旁观者
encounter n.遭遇
The video, played on a horrifying loop for the past year, triggered more than calls for changes in policing. It stirred Americans of all races, in small towns and large cities, to gather for mass protests, chanting “Black lives matter” and challenging the country to finally have a true reckoning over race. Their demands reverberated within the walls of institutions that had long resisted change, from corporate America to Congress.
这段视频在过去的一年里反复播放，引发了更多要求改变治安的呼声。它激励了来自各个种族的美国人，无论是在小城镇还是大城市，聚集在一起举行大规模抗议活动，高喊“黑人的生命很重要”(Black lives matter)，并挑战美国对种族问题最终做出真正的反思。从美国企业界到国会，他们的要求在长期抵制变革的机构内部产生了反响。
triggered v.引起；引爆
gather v.聚集
reckon n.计算；算账
institution
 n.体系

Congress n.国会；代表大会
President Biden praised the verdict in a nationwide address at the White House but called it a “too rare” step to deliver “basic accountability” for Black Americans.  
拜登总统在白宫发表全国讲话时赞扬了这一判决，但他说，在向美国黑人提供“基本责任”方面，这是“非常罕见的”步骤。
nationwide adj.全国范围的；全国性的
“It was a murder in full light of day, and it ripped the blinders（马眼罩） off for the whole world to see,” Mr. Biden said. “For so many, it feels like it took all of that for the judicial system to deliver just basic accountability.”
“这是光天化日之下的一场谋杀，让全世界都看到了，”拜登说。“对很多人来说，感觉司法系统用了所有这些才交付了基本的问责制。”
rip...off 扯掉；撕掉
deliver v.交付；实现
Hours before the jury came back with a decision, Mr. Biden had taken the unusual step ofweighing in, telling reporters that he was “praying” for the “right verdict.”
在陪审团做出裁决的几个小时前，拜登采取了不同寻常的表态，他告诉记者，他在“祈祷”能得到“正确的裁决”。
weighv.权衡；考虑
“This can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America,” he said.  
他说:“这是美国迈向正义的一大步。”
After the verdict, Philonise Floyd, one of Mr. Floyd’s younger brothers, spoke at the Hilton hotel in downtown Minneapolis. “We are able to breathe again,” he said, holding back tears.
判决结束后，弗洛伊德的弟弟之一菲罗尼西·弗洛伊德(Philonise Floyd)在明尼阿波利斯市中心的希尔顿酒店(Hilton hotel)发表了讲话。“我们又能呼吸了，”他忍住眼泪说。
He drew a line from his brother back to Emmett Till, a Black child who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. “We ought to always understand that we have to march,” he said. “We will have to do this for life. We have to protest because it seems like this is a never-ending cycle.”
他把哥哥和黑人儿童埃米特·提尔(Emmett Till)划清界限，后者1955年在密西西比州被处以私刑。“我们应该始终明白，我们必须前进，”他说。“我们一辈子都得这样做。我们必须抗议，因为这似乎是一个永无止境的循环。”
lynch v.处以私刑
People gathered at the intersection where Mr. Floyd was killed, now known as George Floyd Square, and the word “Guilty” rippled throughout the crowd after the verdict was announced, prompting cheers and sobs. The crowd began to chant, “Black lives matter.”
人们聚集在弗洛伊德被杀的十字路口，也就是现在的乔治·弗洛伊德广场(George Floyd Square)。判决宣布后，“有罪”一词在人群中回荡，引发了欢呼声和抽泣。人群开始高喊“黑人的命也是命”。
announce v.宣布
chant v.唱；诵扬
The judge will sentence Mr. Chauvin, 45, in eight weeks.
法官将在八周后对45岁的肖万宣判。
案件过程
George Floyd, 46, was a grandfather, a rapper known as Big Floyd and a security guard who had lost his job during the coronavirus pandemic. On the day he died — May 25, 2020 — the Minneapolis police responded to a call saying that he had used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a corner store, Cup Foods.
46岁的乔治·弗洛伊德(George Floyd)是一名祖父，名叫Big Floyd的说唱歌手，在冠状病毒大流行期间丢了工作。在他死的那天，也就是2020年5月25日，明尼阿波利斯警方接到报警电话，称他在街角的一家名叫Cup Foods的商店用一张20美元的假钞买了香烟。
pandemic adj.在全国流行的病
counterfeit adj.伪造的；假冒的
Mr. Floydinitially cooperated with officers but he balked at getting into the back of a squad car, saying he was claustrophobic（幽闭恐惧症）. A struggle ensued that resulted in three officers holding himprone on the street and one standing guard.
弗洛伊德最初与警方合作，但他不愿进入一辆警车的后座，称自己有幽闭恐惧症。随后发生了打斗，三名警察将他俯卧在街上，还有一名站岗守卫。
initially adv.最初；首先
ensued v.接着发生；随后
prone adj.俯卧的
Mr. Chauvin was afield training officer and the senior officer at the scene, with 19 years on the force. As he knelt on Mr. Floyd, sometimes with both knees, he dismissed concerns or suggestions raised by the other officers that Mr. Floyd was passing out, had no detectable pulse and should be moved onto his side, a less dangerous position.
肖万是一名现场训练军官，也是现场的高级军官，在警队工作了19年。他跪在弗洛伊德身上，有时是双膝跪地，他不理会其他警察的担忧或建议，他们认为弗洛伊德正在昏迷，没有可检测到的脉搏，应该把他移到一侧，这是一个不太危险的姿势。
field n.领域；专业
pass out 昏倒；失去知觉
detectable adj.可检测的；可发觉的
When Mr. Floyd said, “You’re going to kill me, man,” Mr. Chauvin replied: “Then stop talking, stop yelling. It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.”
当弗洛伊德说，“你会杀了我的，伙计，”肖万回答说:“那就别说话，别大喊大叫。”需要大量的氧气才能说话。”
Mr. Chauvin continued to kneel on him for about three minutes after Mr. Floyd drew his final breath, according to expert testimony.
根据专家证词，在弗洛伊德咽气后，肖万继续在他身上跪了大约三分钟。
testimony n.证词；证言
One of the witnesses that day, Charles McMillian, broke down on the witness stand as he recalled seeing Mr. Floyd cry out for “Mama.” Another witness, Darnella Frazier, who recorded the cellphone video that was viewed by millions, said she regrettedthat she had not done more to try to save Mr. Floyd.
那天的证人之一查尔斯·麦克米伦(Charles mcmillan)在证人席上崩溃了，因为他回忆起看到弗洛伊德大声喊着“妈妈”。另一名目击者达内拉弗雷泽(Darnella Frazier)拍摄了这段被数百万人观看的手机视频。她说，她后悔没有采取更多行动来拯救弗洛伊德。
broke down 崩溃
regret v.后悔；对...感到遗憾
“It’s been nights I stayed up apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life,” Ms. Frazier said.
弗雷泽说:“我熬了很多个晚上，向乔治·弗洛伊德道歉，因为我没有做更多的事，没有和他接触，没有救他的命。”
2020年5月25日，非洲裔美国人弗洛伊德在明尼阿波利斯市街头遭肖万跪压颈部9分29秒导致死亡。去年5月底起，美国多地因弗洛伊德之死引发长时间、大规模的反对警察暴力执法和抗议种族歧视浪潮。
时至今日，仍然每天都有人在弗洛伊德死亡现场附近举行小规模的抗议活动。然而，非裔美国人的艰难境况并没有得到显著改善。
但越来越多的人也开始明白“系统性不公”真正的含义，看到美国人引以为傲的每一部分历史中，都有种族主义留下的深深伤痕。从新闻媒体到流行文化，从街头到投票箱，民众的意识被不断撬动，是任何社会前进的唯一可能，而无论如何，这场审判也终会成为压下杠杆的一块石子。
这一历史性的判决，让众多等待正义的美国民众热血沸腾。但现实是，本来应该仍然活在这个世界上的弗洛伊德，永远也看不到这一幕了。
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