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  3. In Massachusetts, the state corrections commissioner has asked district attorneys to slow down their prosecutions because prison

In Massachusetts, the state corrections commissioner has asked district attorneys to slow down their prosecutions because prison

admin2013-05-19  61
问题     In Massachusetts, the state corrections commissioner has asked district attorneys to slow down their prosecutions because prison overcrowding has created a "serious situation". In Illinois, some 600 inmates will be released early from state prisons because there is simply no room for them. In Idaho, 400 inmates at Idaho State Penitentiary went on a rampage last week demanding, among other things, more opportunities for vocational training. These are all-too-familiar reminders this summer that greater public attention needs to be given to resolving the persistent problems confronting America’s outmoded, overcrowded, and violence-prone penal institutions.
    The number of prisoners held by federal and state corrections authorities continues to grow. With the highest incarceration rate of any Western nation (except for South Africa), the US increased its prison population to 314,083 in 1979, a record high for the fifth consecutive year. This is largely the result of new laws with mandatory sentences for drug-related and certain other offenses as well as the recent trend toward imposition of longer sentences.
    Yet, these grim figures are forcing something to be done. There are encouraging signs that because of prison overcrowding a number of states are seeking out innovative alternatives to the traditional walled-in fortresslike prisons from which many offenders, far from being rehabilitated, have emerged better schooled in the ways of crime than in how to become responsible members of society.
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答案 马萨诸塞州监狱局局长要求地方检察官放慢起诉进度，因为监狱人满为患，已经成为“严重问题”。在伊利诺斯州，大约有600名犯人要提前从州监狱中释放，因为该州监狱根本容纳不了这些犯人。上周，爱达荷州监狱有400名犯人群起闹事。在他们提出的各项要求中，有一项是要求让他们有更多机会接受职业训练。人们所十分熟悉的这些事情都发生在今年夏天。这事件提醒公众要更加注意解决美国惩戒体制所面临的一些迁延已久的问题：设备陈旧过时，狱中拥挤不堪，暴力频频发生。 联邦和各州监狱关押的犯人数目一直在不断地增加。除南非外，在西方国家中，美国的在押犯人比率最高。1979年，美国在押犯人数增加到314，083人。这样空前高的数字已经持续了5年之久。这主要是实施新的法律的结果，即对有关毒品的犯罪行为和某些别的犯罪行为必须判刑，同时近来趋势是对罪犯实施更长的刑期。 不过，这些严峻的数字正在迫使人们采取措施。现在已经有一些令人鼓舞的迹象，说明由于监狱过分拥挤有一些州正在设法采用革新的办法，来取代高墙耸立、壁垒森严的传统监狱。在这样的传统监狱里，许多犯人根本没有改造成为新人。他们学会了更多的犯罪方法，而没有改造成为有责任感的社会成员。
解析     本篇节选自How to Help Prisoners and Society，介绍目前美国监狱碰到的棘手之事，即设备陈旧过时，狱中拥挤不堪，暴力频频发生。翻译时，注意英汉句子结构的转换，注意长句的译法，注意主动语态与被动语态之间的转换。
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