
当求救者不被相信:亨利·诺瓦克之死,与“我喘不上气”背后的拷问
When the One Calling for Help Isn't Believed: The Death of Henry Nowak and the Question Behind 'I Can't Breathe'
Advanced Chinese listening practice. The full Henry Nowak case in Southampton: the bodycam 'I've been stabbed, I can't breathe', attacker Digwa's false racial-victim claim, the George Floyd comparison and the Farage-fueled political debate (presented neutrally), Digwa's life sentence, the police apology and independent inquiry, and a meditation on how we decide whom to believe.
This is an HSK 5-6 Chinese listening episode that runs about 5 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 14 key vocabulary words such as 发酵、袭击、要害 and walks through 7 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.
今天我们聊一件,很沉重,但是很值得想一想的事。
Today we'll talk about something very heavy, but very worth thinking about.
故事发生在英国南部的城市,南安普顿。
The story happened in a city in southern England, Southampton.
时间是去年年底。
The time was late last year.
一个十八岁的大学生,亨利·诺瓦克,
An eighteen-year-old university student, Henry Nowak,
在一个夜晚,永远地离开了这个世界。
on one night, left this world forever.
而真正让这件事,在英国持续发酵、争论不休的,
And what truly kept this matter fermenting and fiercely debated in the UK
不只是死亡本身,
wasn't only the death itself,
更是他离开的方式。
but the way he left.
我们先把事情的经过,尽量客观地还原一遍。
Let's first reconstruct the sequence of events as objectively as we can.
那天晚上,亨利在街头,
That night, Henry, on the street,
遭到了另一名男子的袭击。
was attacked by another man.
这名男子叫迪格瓦,比亨利大几岁。
This man, named Digwa, was a few years older than Henry.
他用一把刀,
He used a knife,
朝亨利身上,捅了数刀,
stabbing Henry several times,
其中一刀,刺中了要害。
one of which struck a vital spot.
亨利倒地,伤势极重。
Henry collapsed, his wounds extremely severe.
很快,警察赶到了现场。
Soon, the police arrived at the scene.
本来,这是亨利活下来的唯一希望。
This should have been Henry's only hope of surviving.
但是接下来发生的事,
But what happened next
成了整起悲剧中,最令人难以接受的部分。
became the hardest-to-accept part of the whole tragedy.
警察抵达时,现场有两个人。
When the police arrived, there were two people at the scene.
一个,是身受致命伤的亨利。
One was Henry, with fatal wounds.
另一个,是行凶者迪格瓦。
The other was the attacker, Digwa.
关键在于,迪格瓦极其狡猾。
The key is, Digwa was extremely cunning.
他抢在亨利之前,对警察声称:
He got ahead of Henry and claimed to the police:
自己才是受害者,
that he himself was the victim,
说自己是遭到了一场,针对他的种族仇恨袭击。
saying he had suffered a racial hate attack aimed at him.
这是一个彻头彻尾的谎言。
This was an utter, total lie.
但是,它说得足够快,足够笃定。
But it was told fast enough, and confidently enough.
于是,在那个混乱的瞬间,
And so, in that chaotic instant,
警察相信了行凶者的版本。
the police believed the attacker's version.
他们没有第一时间,去抢救真正的受害者,
They didn't, in the first moment, rush to save the real victim.
反而把已经身受重伤的亨利,
Instead, they took the already gravely injured Henry,
当作嫌疑人,铐了起来,控制住。
treated him as a suspect, handcuffed him, and restrained him.
而此时,奄奄一息的亨利,
And at this point, the dying Henry
留下了这起事件中,最刺痛人心的一句话。
left behind the most piercing sentence of this whole event.
执法记录仪拍下了全过程。
The bodycam recorded the entire process.
画面里,亨利反复地说:
In the footage, Henry repeatedly said:
“我被捅了,我喘不上气了。
'I've been stabbed, I can't breathe.'
”
”
英文是 I've been stabbed, I can't breathe。
In English: 'I've been stabbed, I can't breathe.'
而那名警察的回应是:
And that officer's response was:
“我看你没事吧,老兄。
'I think you're fine, mate.'
”
”
等到警方意识到判断失误,
By the time the police realized their misjudgment,
解开手铐、展开急救时,
unlocked the cuffs and started first aid,
为时已晚。
it was too late.
亨利没能挺过来。
Henry didn't pull through.
讲到 I can't breathe 这句话,
Speaking of the line 'I can't breathe',
很多人会立刻联想到,
many will immediately think of
2020 年的美国,乔治·弗洛伊德。
George Floyd, in America in 2020.
那位在警察膝盖下,反复说着同样这句话,
The Black man who, under a police officer's knee, repeatedly said this same line,
最终失去生命的黑人男子。
and in the end lost his life.
也正是这个相似点,
And it's precisely this similarity
让亨利的案子,在英国被推上了风口浪尖。
that pushed Henry's case to the eye of the storm in the UK.
一些政治人物,包括像法拉奇这样的人,
Some political figures, including people like Farage,
借用这个对比,
borrowed this comparison
来论证警察对白人存在偏见,
to argue the police are biased against white people,
质疑某些所谓“多元化”的政策。
questioning certain so-called 'diversity' policies.
而另一些人则强烈反对,
Others strongly opposed this,
认为两件事的性质,根本不同——
arguing the two cases are fundamentally different in nature —
弗洛伊德是直接死于警察的暴力,
Floyd died directly from police violence,
而亨利,是在警察到场之前,
while Henry, before the police even arrived,
就已经被凶手刺成了致命伤。
had already been stabbed into fatal wounds by the killer.
围绕这件事,
Around this matter,
南安普顿甚至爆发了激烈的抗议,
Southampton even erupted in intense protests,
有十几名警察在冲突中受伤。
with more than ten officers injured in the clashes.
对于这些政治层面的争论,
On these political-level debates,
我们今天不做评判,也不选边站。
today we make no judgment, and take no side.
因为剥开所有的立场和标签,
Because, peeling away all the stances and labels,
这件事的内核,
the core of this matter
其实是一个非常古老、
is actually a very old,
也非常普世的困境:
and very universal, dilemma:
当真相与谎言,同时出现在你面前,
when truth and lie appear before you at the same time,
而说谎者,又恰恰更镇定、更会表演的时候,
and the liar happens to be calmer, better at performing,
你,要如何分辨?
how do you tell them apart?
回到案件本身。
Back to the case itself.
经过审理,陪审团最终认定,
After the trial, the jury ultimately found
是迪格瓦持刀行凶,夺走了亨利的生命。
that it was Digwa who, knife in hand, took Henry's life.
法院判处他终身监禁,
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment,
最低刑期,是二十一年。
with a minimum term of twenty-one years.
当地警方,
The local police,
也已就当晚的处置,公开道歉。
for their handling that night, have also publicly apologized.
同时,一项独立调查正在进行,
At the same time, an independent investigation is underway,
专门追究:
specifically pursuing:
那天晚上,警方的判断与处置,
in which steps, that night, the police's judgment and handling
究竟在哪些环节,出了问题。
went wrong.
节目的最后,
At the end of the show,
我想抛开所有的新闻热度,
I want to set aside all the news heat
和你聊聊,这件事真正留下的东西。
and talk with you about what this thing truly leaves behind.
它最让人脊背发凉的,
What makes it most chilling
不是某一个群体被冤枉,
isn't that some particular group was wronged,
而是:一个正在拼命求救、
but that: a person desperately calling for help,
说着真话的人,
telling the truth,
偏偏没有被相信。
happened to not be believed.
我们每个人,
Every one of us
其实都同时站在两个位置上。
actually stands in two positions at once.
有时候,我们是那个,
Sometimes, we're the one
需要在一瞬间,做出判断的人。
who has to make a judgment in an instant.
我们会被表象迷惑,会先入为主,
We get fooled by appearances, we prejudge,
会把最会哭的那个,当成最委屈的那个。
we mistake the one who cries the most for the one most wronged.
而有时候,我们又是那个,
And sometimes, we're the one
明明说着真话,
who is clearly telling the truth,
却怎么也无法让别人相信的人。
yet can't get others to believe us no matter what.
所以,这件事留给我们的,
So what this thing leaves us
也许不是一个答案,
is perhaps not an answer,
而是一份提醒:
but a reminder:
在下一次,
next time,
当有人在你面前,说他很痛、
when someone before you says they're in pain,
说他需要帮助的时候,
says they need help,
哪怕你心里有一丝怀疑,
even if there's a thread of doubt in your heart,
也请你,多给那句话,
please, give that sentence
一点点被相信的机会。
a little more of a chance to be believed.
因为你永远不知道,
Because you never know,
你那一瞬间的判断,
your judgment in that one instant,
对另一个人来说,
to another person,
可能就是整个世界。
might be the entire world.
在英国持续发酵、争论不休 = kept fermenting and being endlessly debated in the UK. Originally 'to ferment'.
遭到了另一名男子的袭击 = was attacked by another man.
其中一刀,刺中了要害 = one stab struck a vital spot.
执法记录仪拍下了全过程 = the bodycam recorded the whole process.
奄奄一息的亨利 = the dying Henry.
被推上了风口浪尖 = pushed to the eye of the storm.
论证警察对白人存在偏见 = to argue the police are biased against white people (one side's claim).
我们今天不做评判,也不选边站 = today we make no judgment and take no side.
一个非常古老、也非常普世的困境 = a very old and very universal dilemma.
法院判处他终身监禁 = the court sentenced him to life imprisonment.
它最让人脊背发凉的 = the most spine-chilling part of it.
我们会被表象迷惑,会先入为主 = we get fooled by appearances, we prejudge.
哪怕你心里有一丝怀疑 = even if there's a trace of doubt in your heart.
这件事的内核 = the core of this matter.
* beyond level超纲词
不只是 X,更是 Y (not just X, but even more Y)
Escalating correction that deepens the point.
不只是死亡本身,更是他离开的方式。
关键在于 + Clause (the key is that...)
Foregrounds the crux of a situation.
关键在于,迪格瓦极其狡猾。
不是 X,而是 Y (not X, but Y)
Strong correction central to the closing argument.
它最让人脊背发凉的,不是某一个群体被冤枉,而是:一个正在拼命求救、说着真话的人,偏偏没有被相信。
哪怕 + Clause, 也 + Clause (even if... still...)
Strong concessive.
哪怕你心里有一丝怀疑,也请你,多给那句话,一点点被相信的机会。
正是 ... 让 ... (it is precisely X that causes Y)
Emphatic causal focus.
也正是这个相似点,让亨利的案子,在英国被推上了风口浪尖。
剥开 ... 其实是 ... (peel away X, then it is actually Y)
Strips surface framing to reveal the essence.
剥开所有的立场和标签,这件事的内核,其实是一个非常古老、也非常普世的困境。
对 ... 来说 (for / to someone)
Topicalizes whose perspective matters.
你那一瞬间的判断,对另一个人来说,可能就是整个世界。