2018-03-01

Gun-barrel politics: America's affliction

① Survivors of the mass shooting at a Florida high school last week, in which 17 people were killed, have kept the tragedy in the media spotlight a little longer than usual.

② The students have poured their anger and grief into a new campaign for gun control.

③ In moving television interviews, speeches and social-media posts their spokesmen have ripped into politicians who take cash from the National Rifle Association and who argue against expanding gun controls.

④ Today they take their case to the Florida state legislature, while in Washington President Donald Trump meets high-school students to discuss the issue.

⑤ Mr Trump says he supports bolstering federal background checks on prospective gun owners.

⑥ But that wouldn't help much.

⑦ The national protests the students are planning for next month could prove more effective.

⑧ In Florida in particular, the issue might influence mid-term elections—especially if, as seems likely, the state's gun-loving governor Rick Scott runs for a Senate seat.

▍生词好句

barrel /ˈbar(ə)l/: n. 枪管

through the barrel of a gun: 用武力（而非和平或法律）来解决问题

affliction /əˈflɪkʃ(ə)n/: n. 痛苦

mass shooting: 大规模枪击案

in the spotlight /ˈspɒtlʌɪt/: 引起广泛关注

rip into: 猛烈抨击

rip /rɪp/: v. 撕破；撕裂

rifle /ˈrʌɪf(ə)l/: n. 步枪

legislature /ˈledʒɪslətʃʊə/: n. 立法机构

state legislature: 州议会

bolster /ˈbəʊlstə/: vt. 加强；改善

prospective /prəˈspɛktɪv/: adj. 潜在的；可能的