本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist 2016年第15期，Britain版块。

Domestic abuse

Prosecutions for domestic violence are becoming more common

Apr 9th 2016

THE village of Ambridge provides a bucolic escape for the 4.8m people who tune in to[1] “The Archers”, Radio 4’s much-loved (and derided) soap opera[2]. The show was created in 1950 to tell “an everyday story of country folk[3]”, a mission from which it rarely strays. Typical fare[4] includes discussions about a farm’s organic accreditation[5] and the best way to milk cows[6], as well as the ups and downs[7] in the villagers’ private lives. The latest story line—a two-year-long tale of domestic abuse[8], culminating on April 3rd in a revenge stabbing[9]—has shocked listeners.

······

[1]收听;收看

[2]The Archers is a long-running British radio soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4.

[3]乡下人;乡民;乡村民谣

[4]typical fare-->fare 运气,情况,情形;(娱乐等)精神粮食

[5]农场的有机认证

[6]挤奶

[7]ups and downs 盛衰;沉浮

[8]家庭暴力

[9]复仇刺杀 (A stabbing is penetration with a sharp or pointed object at close range.)

▷bucolic [bjuː'kɒlɪk]

 to the 

田园的，乡村的The   a  bucolic  with    in a .这幅画描绘了农夫们在田里收割庄稼的情形，展现了典型的田园风光。

▷stray [streɪ]

to   or  about a different  from the one you should be giving  to

走神；偏离主题I  we've strayed too  from   .我想我们偏离原来的计划太远了。Sorry - I've strayed from the .对不起——我跑题了。

▷culminate ['kʌlmɪneɪt]

If an  or  of  culminates in something, it  with it, having  until it  this 

以…告终；达到…的顶点My  with the  got  and , and it all culminated in my  to  .我和老板的争吵日益恶化，直到最终我决定换工作。Their many  of  have  culminated in a  for the .经过多年研究，他们终于开发出一种能治愈该病的药物。

······

Some argue that although the programme has handled the issue of domestic abuse “sensitively”, the bloody retribution meted out[1] by its victim is over the top[2]. They may have a point: few instances of domestic abuse end with the victim taking revenge on[3] the perpetrator[4], and women are far more likely to be killed or injured by their partners than the other way round. Helen Titchener was in a minority[5] when she stabbed her ghastly husband in Ambridge.

······

[1]mete sth out

to give or  a  or make someone   or  

施加（惩罚）；使受苦；使受到不公正对待   meted out   to  .维多利亚时代的教师常常体罚学生。

[2]over the top 过分了,夸大了

[3]对…实施报复

[4]犯罪者;作恶者;行凶者

[5]处于少数的;占少数的

▷retribution [retrɪ'bjuːʃ(ə)n]

 and  

严惩；应得的惩罚；报应They  because they  retribution for the .他们逃跑是因为他们害怕会因其犯下的种族灭绝罪行而遭到严惩。She was  whether a   should  retribution against    in   .她被问及一个平民政府是否应该严惩涉及践踏人权罪行的军官。Many  her  as  retribution (=  by ) for her crimes.很多人看来，她的死罪有应得，是天谴。

▷ghastly [gɑːs(t)lɪ]

 and 

可怕的；令人震惊的Today's  gives all the ghastly  of the .今天的报纸注销了谋杀案的全部细节，令人毛骨悚然。

 极坏的；极糟糕的What ghastly ! 天气太糟糕了！It was all a ghastly .这是极其严重的错误。I  her  was ghastly.我觉得她的套装难看死了。 someone who  very  or very , with a very  

一脸病容的；（由于惊吓）面如死灰的；（尤指）面无血色的You  ghastly - are you ?你脸色苍白——你没事儿吧？

······

Charities and lawyers will listen to future developments with interest. Few cases of domestic abuse reach the courts, especially given the number of people who report being victims. According to the 2015 Crime Survey for England and Wales, more than one in four women and one in ten men have known domestic abuse as adults. Such behaviour plays a part in a third of all recorded assaults involving injuries.

······

[1]assault 侵犯人身,(尤指未遂的)殴打;(用言语等的)威胁,胁迫

······

But prosecutions[1] are becoming more common. In 2014-15 almost 93,000 people were taken to court for offences related to domestic violence, a 38% increase since 2008-09. Rates of domestic violence remained stable over the period, according to the Office for National Statistics[2] (ONS). Its figures fail to show a growth in the number of repeat crimes, though, says Jude Towers of Lancaster University[3]. The ONS stops counting after five incidents involving the same victim so as to reduce spikes[4] in the annual figures.

······

[1]prosecution 起诉,检举

[2]国家统计局

[3]兰卡斯特大学

[4]降低峰值

······

Most agree that the rise in prosecutions is a result of the police taking greater interest in such crimes. But, despite improvements, “the police response is still woefully inadequate,” says Sandra Horley, thechief executive of Refuge, a domestic-abuse charity. “Every day we hear about police officers failing women experiencing domestic abuse,” she adds.

······

▷woefully ['wəufəli]

used to  how  a  is

极其（用于强调情况的糟糕）The   taken by    are often woefully  for the  of  who  there.那些旅游胜地的大型旅馆虽然采取了安全措施，但相对于该地游客的人数来说大多还不够完善。The school's   are woefully .那家学校使用的课本太过时了。

······

Campaigners say that shows such as “The Archers” encourage victims to come forward. Indeed, there was a 17% increase in the number of calls to the National Domestic Violence Helpline in February. Fans of the programme—who have raised more than £100,000 ($140,870) for Refuge—will be hoping that Rob Titchener, its villain[1], is among the three-quarters of those prosecuted who end up with a conviction. That might just persuade them to forgive the scriptwriters[2] for the unwelcome disruption to their rural idyll[3].

······

[1]恶棍,歹徒;流氓;反面人物,反派角色,坏人

[2]编剧

[3]乡村牧歌/田园生活

······

以上言论不代表本人立场。

原文摘自The economist，仅外语学习之用。

其中生词解释来源于Cambridge Dictionaries

回复“eco”或点击下方的“阅读原文”查看系列学习笔记。