NPR 2008-04-17

A choir¹ singing at the Basilica in Washington D. C., where Pope Benedict XVI is meeting in this hour with 300 members of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops². Earlier in the day, Benedict celebrated³ his 81st birthday with a reception at the White House where the pontiff was greeted by 9,000 people and military bands. NPR's Barbara Bradley-Hagerty reports.

 The Pope told the crowd he brings a message of renewal⁴ and hope for the Catholic Church and admiration⁵ for the United States with its robust⁶ marketplace of religion. "I come as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel, and one with great respect for this vast pluralistic society." Benedict spoke⁷ of meeting the needs of the poor, of encouraging faith infused with reason and the freedom to worship. He also called for international diplomacy⁸ to resolve conflicts in what maybe a reference to the Iraq war and a preview of his speech to the United Nations on Friday. Benedict also meets with 350 bishops at the National Shrine⁹ where the sex abuse crisis may come up. On Tuesday, the Pope said he was deeply ashamed of this scandal. Barbara Bradley-Hagerty, NPR News, Washington.

 The head of the public defender's office in Kentucky says he is not discouraged by today's US Supreme¹⁰ Court decision upholding the state's method of lethal¹¹ injection. From member station WFPL in Louisville, Rick Howlett reports.

 The office of Kentucky Public Advocate, Ernie Lewis represented the two death row inmates¹² who contend the state's three-drug cocktail¹³ used for executions amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. But High Court rejected that argument in a 7-2 decision. Lewis says he will continue his call for a death penalty moratorium¹⁴. "I think capital punishment is a failed social policy; we spent a lot of money on it; I don't believe it is serving anything other than a retribution." The High Court ruling likely clears the way for executions that had been on hold for 8 months across the country to resume. The Reverend Pat Delahanty, head of the Kentucky Coalition¹⁵ to Abolish the Death Penalty said the ruling was not a surprise and predicted that executions will continue. For NPR News, I am Rick Howlett in Louisville.

 There was a moment of silence on the campus of Virginia Tech University today as students, faculty¹⁶ members and parents gathered for the one year anniversary of the shooting there that claimed the lives of 32 people. The moment of silence was followed by a tolling¹⁷ of the bells to mark the anniversary of the worst mass school shooting in US history. Students gathered in small groups with some downing their heads in reflection. Virginia Tech President Charles Steger told the crowd “we remain deeply and profoundly saddened by the events of that tragic¹⁸ day”.

 Government’s main inflation gauge¹⁹ shows an upward momentum²⁰ last month. The Consumer Price Index rose 3/10 of 1 percent in March.

 On Wall Street today the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 256 points.

 This is NPR.

 President Bush today called for a halting of the growth of US green house gas emissions²¹ by 2025 as part of the administration initiative on climate change. Although there were few details on how to go about doing that, the president’s somewhat cautious approach in terms of a proposal on global warming also fell far short of European goals. The address by Mr. Bush at the White House Rose Garden comes as congresspersons consider more ambitious targets ahead of scheduled international climate change negotiations²² to be held in Paris.

 Pennsylvania Republican Senator Arlen Specter says a recurrence²³ of cancer will not slow him down or prevent him from seeking a sixth term in 2010. NPR's Julie Rovner has more.

 Specter told reporters at the Capitol that his recently diagnosed recurrence of Hodgkin's disease is less severe than the initial case he was treated for three years ago. But the 78-year-old Specter, who, in addition to his Senate duties, has been making around, promoting a book about his latest life-threatening illness, said he is taking his upcoming 12 weeks of chemotherapy in stride. "I've had a lot of bumps, and I've got good shock absorbers, had a vigorous game of  squash today with a guy slightly less than half my age. If you want authentication²⁴, I'll be glad to provide it for you." Specter has also been treated for a brain tumor²⁵ and undergone multiple bypass surgery. In the Senate, he has chaired the Judiciary Committee and the sub-committee that oversees²⁶ the nation's biomedical research budget. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

 Another record for crude oil prices, the price of benchmark grade crude oil was up $1.14 a barrel today to close at $114.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

2 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

5 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。

6 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

7 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。

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 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。

10 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

11 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

12 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

14 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。

15 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

16 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

17 tolling   

[财]来料加工

参考例句：

• A remote bell is tolling. 远处的钟声响了。
• Indeed, the bells were tolling, the people were trooping into the handsome church. 真的，钟声响了，人们成群结队走进富丽堂皇的教堂。

18 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

19 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

20 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

21 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

22 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

23 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

24 authentication   

鉴定，认证

参考例句：

• Computer security technology includes mainly:Authentication,Encryption,Access Control,Auditing and so on.计算机网络安全技术主要有: 认证授权、数据加密、访问控制、安全审计等。

25 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。

26 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网