NPR 2010-02-05

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Lakshmi Singh.

 

Ten US missionaries¹ in Haiti have been charged with child kidnapping and criminal association. A deputy prosecutor² in Haiti announced today that the group is accused of trying to take children illegally out of Haiti where an earthquake struck last month. Missionaries maintain they were only trying to save the children and strongly deny the kidnapping allegations. The missionaries were arrested last week.

 

Another blow to Toyota’s safety record. Today, the US is investigating brake problems with the 2010 Prius, the world’s top-selling Hybrid³. As NPR’s Anthony Kuhn reports, Toyota was aware the problem long before the Prius announcement today.

 

Spokesperson Ririko Takeuchi said in Tokyo that Toyota had discovered design flaws in the Prius’s anti-lock brakes, including some cars exported abroad. She said that the flaw had been corrected for Prius models sold since late January, but that the company had yet to inform consumers about the problem. Complaints in the US and Japan about brakes in the 3rd Generation Prius have now topped 180. Meanwhile, Toyota estimated its ongoing⁴ recall of cars with faulty gas pedals will cost the company two billion dollars in repairs and lost sales. Despite the problems, Toyota said today that it returned to profitability in the final quarter of 2009. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Beijing.

 

The Illinois Supreme⁵ Court has struck down the state’s medical malpractice law. Mike Moen from member station WNIJ in DeKalb has reaction to the ruling.

 

The court says limiting damage amounts in medical malpractice cases violates the state’s constitution. Trial lawyers are praising the ruling, however, health care providers are worried. Sharony Manualson is with the Kishwaukee Health System. She says this could send Illinois’s medical community back in the crisis mode when it comes to malpractice insurance. “We had this crisis several years ago, and we did see an exodus⁶ of physicians in other states, primarily OB/GYNs, and we were down to two in this community.” Some say the ruling could work its way into the national health care debate. Republicans in Congress have pushed for tort reform and caps on damages. For NPR News, I’m Mike Moen in DeKalb, Illinois.

 

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich faces new corruptions⁷ charges. The new indictment⁸ returned today resembles the old version in which Blagojevich was accused of scheming to trade or sell the Senate seat vacated by President Obama. The scandal led to Blagojevich’s impeachment⁹. The former governor maintains he is innocent.

 

US stocks continue to drop sharply. At last check, the Dow was down more than 200 points at 10, 063; NASDAQ Composite Index down 53 points at 2, 138; S&P 500 down 27 at 1, 070.

 

This is NPR.

 

Two of Bank of America’s top executives Ken¹⁰ Lewis and Joe Price are charged with fraud. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed the charges today, alleging¹¹ that Lewis and Price misled shareholders¹² about the bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Attorneys for both men denied the charges. In a related matter, the Securities and Exchange Commission says Bank of America has agreed to pay a 150-million-dollar civil fine to settle two lawsuits¹³ alleging poor disclosures of Merrill's losses and bonus payouts.

 

Today, the Democrats¹⁴ in the Senate lose their filibuster¹⁵-proof majority when Republican Senator Scott Brown from Massachusetts is sworn into office. Monica Brady-Myerov of member station WBUR has more.

 

Scott Brown asked the Senate to move up his swearing-in by a week because he says he wants to participate in upcoming votes. He was scheduled to be seated a week from today. The Senate will be voting soon on an Obama administration nominee¹⁶ to the National Labor¹⁷ Relations Board. The Republicans want to block the vote with a filibuster because they say the nominee, who is a lawyer for the AFL-CIO, will be pro-union. The Senate is also expected to start debate next week on a job’s bill. Senator Sherrod Brown says he would not support a second stimulus¹⁸ package because he says the only thing the first one stimulated¹⁹ was big government. For NPR News, I’m Monica Brady-Myerov in Washington.

 

President Obama is urging lawmakers to bring back political civility to Washington D.C. At an annual National Prayer Breakfast today, the president said Americans are feeling more alienated²⁰ by the divisiveness. He urged those in attendance to help unite lawmakers behind common goals.

 

I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.

 

1 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

3 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 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。

6 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

7 corruptions   

n.堕落( corruption的名词复数 )；腐化；腐败；贿赂

参考例句：

• He stressed the corruptions of sin. 他强调了罪恶的腐朽。 来自互联网

8 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

9 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

10 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

11 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

12 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

13 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

14 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》

15 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

16 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

17 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。

18 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。

19 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

20 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》