NPR 2010-11-05

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
President Obama's charting a path for working with a newly empowered GOP in Congress. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports that following a cabinet meeting this morning, the president talked about his postelection hopes of picking up bipartisan support for his agenda.
The White House is trying to regroup after an election that gave Republicans a House majority and shrank the Democrats²' lead in the Senate. President Obama told reporters after his cabinet meeting, voters sent a message.
"They want us to focus on the economy and jobs and moving this country forward. They're concerned about making sure that taxpayer³ money is not wasted, and they want to change the tone here in Washington."Mr. Obama says he invited the Democratic and Republican leaders from the House and Senate to a White House meeting on November 18th. He wants to set an agenda for the lame-duck session of Congress that includes extending Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class, extending unemployment insurance and ratifying⁴ a nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, the White House.
Despite the White House's conciliatory tone today, the Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, says the GOP's gains Tuesday were good but won't go far enough unless there's a change in the White House.
"We can hope the president will start listening to the electorate⁵ after Tuesday's election. But we can't plan on that. And it would be foolish to expect that Republicans will be able to completely reverse the damage Democrats have done as long as a Democrat¹ holds the veto pen."Senator McConnell speaking today at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.
In Nevada, an active-duty Navy SEAL and two other men face federal charges for allegedly smuggling⁶ machine guns from overseas to sell in the United States. From member station KUNR, Brandon Rittiman has details.
Prosecutors⁷ say all three men were arrested yesterday after undercover agents bought guns from a fourth man in their operation. The agents say that unnamed gun dealer⁸ bragged⁹ he was getting his weapons from a Navy SEAL, who was bringing them back from Iraq. According to court documents, he cooperated with the authorities and led them to the Navy SEAL, 33-year-old Nicholas Bickle, who's based in San Diego. Bickle's accused of conspiring¹⁰ with the man in Las Vegas and another in Colorado to sell as many as 32 guns—more than half of them automatic. Prosecutors say many had Iraqi military marks on them. Each man faces five years in prison and a quarter of a million fine if convicted on conspiracy¹¹ charges. Prosecutors also file then array of weapons charges against the men. For NPR News, I'm Brandon Rittiman.
Two consecutive¹² weeks of declines in Americans filing their first unemployment claims didn't make it to a third week. The Labor¹³ Department reports initial applications rose by 20,000 to a seasonally¹⁴ adjusted 457,000 last week.
On Wall Street, though we're seeing US stocks soar, Dow was up 220 points at last check at 11,435.
This is NPR News.
A federal judge reluctantly halted the trial today of the man accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart, who was held captive for nine months eight years ago. NPR's Howard Berkes reports that a federal appeals court ordered the delay due to concerns about the jury.
Attorneys for accused kidnapper¹⁵ Brian David Mitchell sought the delay after a jury was seated this morning. They'd asked a federal appeals court earlier to move the trial outside of Utah, citing extensive and prejudicial publicity¹⁶. The appeals court rejected the argument, but said it would reconsider if the defense¹⁷ believed that any of the jurors actually seated in the case could not be fair. A three-judge panel ordered the trial postponed¹⁸ just after the jury was seated and while opening statements were underway. Elizabeth Smart was watching in the courtroom at the time. Her mother and younger sister had been expected to testify this afternoon. Smart's own testimony¹⁹ was expected as early as Monday. The appeals court seems ready to consider the issue quickly. It ordered the defense and prosecution²⁰ to file briefs by midnight tonight. Howard Berkes, NPR News.
Sparky Anderson's being remembered today for his humility²¹ and humanity. The Hall of Fame manager, who led the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers to World Series championships, died today. At a Hall of Fame induction²² ceremony ten years ago, Anderson credited his success to a simple rule.
"There's two kind of managers—one that ain't very smart. He gets bad players, loses games and gets fired. There was somebody like me that I was a genius. I got good players, stayed out of their way, let them win a lot and then just hung around for 26 years."Anderson's death from complications of dementia came one day after he was placed in hospice care. Sparky Anderson was 76 years old.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

4 ratifying   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They call their State Assembly a disgrace for ratifying the 35th. 他们把州议会通过的第35号修正案说成是可耻的行为。 来自辞典例句
• The Obama administration, unlike its predecessor, talks of ratifying the test-ban treaty. 该会议五年举办一次，回顾其间发生的事情。 来自互联网

5 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

6 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

7 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

8 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

9 bragged   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He bragged to his friends about the crime. 他向朋友炫耀他的罪行。
• Mary bragged that she could run faster than Jack. 玛丽夸口说她比杰克跑得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

11 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

12 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

15 kidnapper   

n.绑架者，拐骗者

参考例句：

• The kidnapper was shot dead then and there by the armed policeman.绑架者被武装警察当时当地击毙。
• The kidnapper strangled the child with a piece of string.绑票的人用一根绳子把这孩子勒死了。

16 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

17 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。

18 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

19 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

20 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。

21 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

22 induction   

n.感应，感应现象

参考例句：

• His induction as a teacher was a turning point in his life.他就任教师工作是他一生的转折点。
• The magnetic signals are sensed by induction coils.磁信号由感应线圈所检测。