Telltale Print
暴露秘密的指纹 I-08 / 008

Eyewitnesses say Louie stole a necklace. Officer Valdez needs more evidence. She recalls fingerprinting of Louie and his brother when they got in trouble last year. If prints at this crime scene are the same as the ones on file, she's got a strong case.

Officer Valdez sprinkles colored powder on a book, jewelry box, shelf, phone, and doorknob. She puts a chemical on cloth item. These treatments show the finger marks left by natural oil from skin. Photos are taken. At the police station, she looks in the computer file for a match. The prints match someone else. The thief was Louie's identical twin, Lester!

This tale shows how fingerprints can be used. In the 1880s, Sir Francis Galton did studies in Great Britain that proved no two people have the same prints. Ten years later, Sir Edward R. Henry made a system to recognize criminals by their prints. Other countries used it. In 1924, the United States set up a print file at the FBI. It has cards with prints of more than 173 million people.

A print is the pattern of ridges on the pad of a finger. These last a lifetime unless they are altered by disease or injury. When Officer Valdez made Louie's prints, she first pressed his finger pad in ink. Then she rolled it on a card from side to side. This was repeated for each finger.

You can create your own prints. Scribble with a pencil on a piece of paper until you have a gray smudge. Rub your finger pad in the smudge. Press a piece of clear tape on your finger. Stick the tape to a card. There's your fingerprint!

Words and Phrases

telltale [ˈtelteɪl] 形 暴露实情的；能说明问题的

eyewitness [ˈaɪwɪtnəs] 名 目击者

fingerprinting [ˈfɪŋɡəprɪntɪŋ] 名 指纹识别

on file 存档；记录下来备查

sprinkle [ˈsprɪŋkl] 动 洒（水），撒（粉末）

doorknob [ˈdɔ:nɒb] 名 门把手

finger mark 指纹

police station 警察局

identical twin 同卵双胞胎

criminal [ˈkrɪmɪnl] 名 罪犯

FBI 名 美国联邦调查局

ridge [rɪdʒ] 名 脊；隆起

lifetime [ˈlaɪftaɪm] 名 一生；寿命

finger pad 指肚，指腹

scribble [ˈskrɪbl] 动 潦草地书写；乱涂

smudge [smʌdʒ] 名 污点，污迹

clear tape 透明胶带

Practice

1. What was the first thing Officer Valdez did to find fingerprints at the scene of the crime?

A. sprinkled colored powder on a book, jewelry box and so on

B. looked in the computer files

C. put on her glasses

2. When was the system made to recognize criminals by their prints?

A. in the 1920s

B. in the 1880s

C. in the 1890s

3. What did Officer Valdez do after she pressed Louie's finger in ink?

A. put a chemical on cloth items

B. scribbled with a pencil

C. rolled it on a card

4. To take your own fingerprint, when do you put tape on your finger?

A. before you scribble a gray smudge

B. before you press it in ink

C. after you rub your finger in the smudge

译文

暴露秘密的指纹

目击者说路易偷了项链。瓦尔迪兹警官需要更多的证据。她调了路易和他弟弟去年惹麻烦时留下的指纹资料。如果这次犯罪现场的指纹与存档中的一样，那么她就有了强有力的证据。

瓦尔迪兹警官在书本、珠宝盒、架子、电话和门把手上撒了些带颜色的粉末。她还在衣物上洒了一种化学物质。指纹上有油脂，而这些物质会让指纹显现出来。接下来给指纹拍照。回到警察局后，瓦尔迪兹警官把照片中的指纹与电脑里的档案做比对，找出吻合者。结果显示指纹与另一个人相吻合，这个小偷便是路易的同卵双胞胎兄弟莱斯特！

这个故事告诉我们如何利用指纹。早在19世纪80年代，弗朗西斯·高尔顿先生曾在英国做过研究，证实世界上所有人的指纹都不一样。十年后，爱德华·R．亨利爵士制作了一套通过指纹辨识罪犯的系统。随后其他国家也开始运用。1924年，美国在联邦调查局设立了指纹档案，里面有超过一亿七千三百万人的指纹。

指纹是人手指末端指腹上凹凸不平的脊纹。这些纹路一生都不会改变，除非主人生病或受伤。瓦尔迪兹警官在取路易的指纹时，她先把路易的指腹沾上墨汁，然后在一张卡片上将他的手指从一侧滚到另一侧，十个指纹都以这种方式取得。

你也可以制作自己的指纹。首先在一张纸上用铅笔随意乱画，直到出现一块灰色的色块。接着让指腹在这个色块上摩擦，然后把透明胶带按在你的指头上，最后再把胶带粘在一张卡片上，这就是你自己的指纹了！

练习

1．瓦尔迪兹警官为了在犯罪现场找到指纹，她要做的第一件事是什么？

A．在书本、珠宝盒等上撒下带有颜色的粉末

B．查看电脑里的档案

C．戴上眼镜

2．什么时候制作了以指纹辨识罪犯的系统？

A．在20世纪20年代

B．在19世纪80年代

C．在19世纪90年代

3．把路易的手指沾上墨汁后，瓦尔迪兹警官做了什么？

A．在衣物上洒上一种化学物质

B．用铅笔乱画

C．让手指在一张卡片上滚动

4．在取你自己的指纹时，什么时候你要把胶带放到手指上？

A．乱画出灰色色块之前

B．手指沾上墨水之前

C．手指在色块上摩擦之后