NPR 2008-04-26

After an eight-week trial before a judge in Queens, New York, three detectives accused in the killing¹ of Sean Bell in a hail of 50 bullets were acquitted² of all charges today. Bell had left a strip club after a bachelor party before his wedding when he was shot by police who were investigating vice³ at the club. NPR’s Margot Adler reports from New York.

 When Justice Arther Cooperman delivered the verdict “acquittal on all counts”, there were gasps⁴ in the courtroom. Bell’s mother shed tears. The judge said the police officers’ version of events was more credible⁵ than the victim’s version, and that the prosecution⁶ had not proved that the shootings were unjustified beyond a reasonable doubt. Bell’s family quickly went to the site of Sean Bell’s grave. Michael Hardy⁷, the family attorney, had these words: “It is clear, what the answer is to this family about what the value of the life of an innocent person is in our community. We then have to deal with that and we will.” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said there are no winners in a trial like this: an innocent man lost his life, a bride lost her groom⁸, two daughters lost their father, and a mother and a father lost their son. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

 A key measure of consumer sentiment has fallen to its lowest level in more than 25 years. University of Michigan says its survey of consumer confidence in April fell by almost seven points. Richard Curtin is director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan. He says the downturn in consumer sentiment appears to be picking up steam. “It was certainly surprising that it dropped so much and the decline has recently accelerated. And this indicates that the downturn will be a little longer than we had anticipated a few months ago, and perhaps a little deeper as well.” The report also found nine of ten respondents believe the US economy is already in a recession.

 Democratic and Republican leaders of the US House joined together today to tell Americans that economic help is on the way in the form of one-time rebates⁹ that will begin going out next week. NPR’s Debbie Elliot has more.

 In a rare show of bipartisanship, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Republican Leader John Boehner stood together beside a giant 1800-dollar check made out to American families. “These checks will come not a moment too soon for families struggling with the economic downturn. But they are a good strong step.” Minority Leader Boehner said the influx¹⁰ of cash should get the economy moving. “Whatever the American people do with these checks will benefit the economy, whether they're buying products, whether they're helping¹¹ to pay their gas bills, or whether they're paying off their credit cards, putting more liquidity¹² back into the market.” Pelosi promised a second economic stimulus¹³ package aimed at struggling homeowners and people who’ve lost their jobs. Debbie Elliot, NPR News, the Capitol.

 On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 43 points to end the week at 12, 891. The S&P 500 gained nine points.

 This is NPR.

 Increased tensions in the Middle East are being blamed for sending oil prices higher again today. An incident in which the US Navy says a Defense¹⁴ Department contractor's ship fired flares¹⁵ and warning shots to small boats in the Persian Gulf¹⁶ sent prices up more than two dollars a barrel today. Naval¹⁷ spokeswoman says the ship was in international waters when it was approached by the two vessels¹⁹. Both were believed to be Iranian, though the Navy said the origin of the ships was unclear. Iran today denied there had been any confrontation²⁰ between its forces and US ship in the Gulf.

 Patients unhappy with the results of LASIK('s) eye surgery told federal health officials today they were never informed about the potential bad side-effects. Advisors²¹ to the Food and Drug Administration are weighing whether warnings about the surgery’s risks are sufficient. NPR’s Allison Aubrey reports.

 Advisors to the FDA listened for two hours to back-to-back stories from patients who say they’ve been harmed by LASIK eye surgery. Some complained of irritation²² such as dry eyes and starbursts, a phenomenon one patient described as seeing sparks like those from Fourth of July sparklers. Others say their pain and blurry²³ vision have left them anxious and mentally unstable²⁴. Eye surgeons, who also spoke¹⁸ at the hearing, reiterated²⁵ findings from surveys that show most LASIK patients are happy with the results of their surgery---the surgeons say up to 95 percent of them. The FDA will begin a clinical trial next year to get a better handle on the prevalence of complications and bad results. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

 Crude oil futures²⁶ ended the session higher today. The near-month contract for benchmark crude was up $2.46 a barrel, closing at $118.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

6 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

7 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

8 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

9 rebates   

n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 )；回扣；返还（退还的部份货价）；折扣

参考例句：

• The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点，如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
• In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句

10 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

13 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 flares   

n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开

参考例句：

• The side of a ship flares from the keel to the deck. 船舷从龙骨向甲板外倾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation. 他是火爆性子，一点就着。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

17 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

18 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。

19 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

21 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

22 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

23 blurry   

adj.模糊的；污脏的，污斑的

参考例句：

• My blurry vision makes it hard to drive. 我的视力有点模糊，使得开起车来相当吃力。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lines are pretty blurry at this point. 界线在这个时候是很模糊的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

25 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

26 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。