Keith slept, off and on, for four hours, then finally got out of bed and went to the kitchen. He checked CNN, saw nothing new, then opened his laptop and checked in with Houston. On Chron.com there were several stories, with Robbie and his lawsuits¹ getting the lead. There was a photo of him waving some papers on the steps of the Chester County Courthouse. He was quoted at length, with predictable statements about hounding those responsible for the wrongful death of Donte Drumm to their graves. None of the defendants², including the governor, commented.

The next story was about the reactions of the various anti-death-penalty groups in the state, and Keith was proud to see ATeXX taking the lead. There were demands for a number of drastic responses--the usual moratorium³ on executions, investigations⁵ of the Slone Police Department, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the governor's handling of clemency⁶, the trial itself, Paul Koffee and his office, and on and on. Demonstrations⁷ were planned for noon Tuesday at the State Capitol in Austin, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas Southern University, and a dozen other schools.

The longest-serving member of the Texas Senate was a feisty black attorney from Houston, Rodger Ebbs⁸, and he had a lot to say. He was demanding that the governor call an emergency session of the legislature so that a special inquiry⁹ could be initiated¹⁰ to investigate all aspects of the Drumm fiasco. Ebbs was vice¹¹ chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and thus had considerable influence over every aspect of the state's budget. He promised to shut down the state government if a special session did not take place. No comment from the governor.

点击收听单词发音  

1 lawsuits
n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句 I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

2 defendants
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

3 moratorium
n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付
参考例句：
The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。 We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

4 investigation
n.调查，调查研究
参考例句：
In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。 He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 investigations
（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究
参考例句：
His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。 He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

6 clemency
n.温和，仁慈，宽厚
参考例句：
The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题，将由国王决定。 They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。

7 demonstrations
证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威
参考例句：
Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。 The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

8 ebbs
退潮( ebb的名词复数 )； 落潮； 衰退
参考例句：
When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 The new Russia steadily ebbs away drive out of Moscow. 驶离莫斯科愈来愈远以后，俄罗斯崭新的景象也逐渐消失。

9 inquiry
n.打听，询问，调查，查问
参考例句：
Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。 The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

10 initiated
n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入
参考例句：
He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。 The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

11 vice
n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的
参考例句：
He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。 They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 dormant
adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的
参考例句：
Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。 This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

13 intrigued
adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！ He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

14 counselor
n.顾问，法律顾问
参考例句：
The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。 Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

15 prosecuted
a.被起诉的
参考例句：
The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。 The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

16 felon
n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的
参考例句：
He's a convicted felon.他是个已定罪的重犯。 Hitler's early "successes" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon.希特勒的早期“胜利 ”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。

17 violation
n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯
参考例句：
He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。 He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

18 defense
n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩
参考例句：
The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。 The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

19 prosecutor
n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人
参考例句：
The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。 The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

20 ferocious
adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的
参考例句：
The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。 The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

21 waning
adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡
参考例句：
Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。 The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 confession
n.自白，供认，承认
参考例句：
Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。 The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

23 subpoenas
n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句 Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

24 abrupt
adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的
参考例句：
The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。 His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

25 ranger
n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员
参考例句：
He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。 He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

26 treks
n.远距离行走 ( trek的名词复数 )；长途跋涉，艰难的旅程（尤指在山区）v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的第三人称单数 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水
参考例句：
And visiting companies and completing job treks are becoming much more important in the job search. 参观公司、进行实地考察在找工作中变得重要得多。 来自互联网 These range from treks around Mont an ascent of North Africa's highest mountain, Mount Toubkal. 参与者是徒步绕勃朗峰，然后攀登北非最高峰托布卡尔山。 来自互联网

27 disappearance
n.消失，消散，失踪
参考例句：
He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。 Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

28 wailing
v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱
参考例句：
A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。 The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

29 mementos
纪念品，令人回忆的东西( memento的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The museum houses a collection of mementos, materials and documents. 博物馆保存着很多回忆录以及文献资料。 This meant, however, that no one was able to retrieve irreplaceable family mementos. 然而，这也意味着谁也没能把无可替代的家庭纪念品从火中救出来。

30 pickup
n.拾起，获得
参考例句：
I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

31 shrine
n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣
参考例句：
The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。 They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

32 dismantling
（枪支）分解
参考例句：
The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

33 granite
adj.花岗岩，花岗石
参考例句：
They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。 The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

34 ass
n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人
参考例句：
He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。 An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

35 porcelain
n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的
参考例句：
These porcelain plates have rather original designs on them.这些瓷盘的花纹很别致。 The porcelain vase is enveloped in cotton.瓷花瓶用棉花裹着。

36 wilted
（使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The flowers wilted in the hot sun. 花在烈日下枯萎了。 The romance blossomed for six or seven months, and then wilted. 那罗曼史持续六七个月之后就告吹了。

37 hatred
n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨
参考例句：
He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。 The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

38 chambers
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅
参考例句：
The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

39 postponed
vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）
参考例句：
The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。 The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

40 pal
n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友
参考例句：
He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。 Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

41 lame
adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的
参考例句：
The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。 I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

42 trot
n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧
参考例句：
They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。 The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

43 indict
v.起诉，控告，指控
参考例句：
You can't indict whole people for the crudeness of a few.您不能因少数人的粗暴行为就控诉整个民族。 I can indict you for abducting high school student.我可以告你诱拐中学生。

44 indictments
n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告
参考例句：
A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》 These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

45 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

46 pane
n.窗格玻璃，长方块
参考例句：
He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。 Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气，在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。

47 symbolic
adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的
参考例句：
It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。 The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

48 judicial
adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的
参考例句：
He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。 Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

49 rectify
v.订正，矫正，改正
参考例句：
The matter will rectify itself in a few days.那件事过几天就会变好。 You can rectify this fault if you insert a slash.插人一条斜线便可以纠正此错误。

50 prosecuting
检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师
参考例句：
The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。 Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

51 killer
n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者
参考例句：
Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。 The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

52 soothe
v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承
参考例句：
I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。 This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

53 nosy
adj.鼻子大的，好管闲事的，爱追问的；n.大鼻者
参考例句：
Our nosy neighbours are always looking in through our windows.好管闲事的邻居总是从我们的窗口望进来。 My landlord is so nosy.He comes by twice a month to inspect my apartment.我的房东很烦人，他每个月都要到我公寓视察两次。

54 pastor
n.牧师，牧人
参考例句：
He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。 We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

55 admiration
n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕
参考例句：
He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。 We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

56 anticipation
n.预期，预料，期望
参考例句：
We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。 The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

57 scrambled
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞
参考例句：
Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

58 flipped
轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥
参考例句：
The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。 The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

59 cane
n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的
参考例句：
This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。 English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

60 tumor
n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour
参考例句：
He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。 The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

61 benign
adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的
参考例句：
The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。 Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

62 halfway
adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途
参考例句：
We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。 In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

63 sneak
vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行
参考例句：
He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。 I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

64 recording
n.录音，记录
参考例句：
How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？ I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。