NPR 2010-03-11

President Obama welcomed Haitian President Rene Preval at the White House today. Preval is in the US thanking Americans for their help after Haiti’s devastating¹ earthquake in January. Mr. Obama says the quake was one of the most devastating incidents ever to strike the western hemisphere. "To offer just some perspective on the awful scale of Haitian loss, it's as if the United States, in a terrible instant, lost nearly eight million people, or it’s as if , 1/3 of our country, 100 million Americans suddenly had no home, no food or water." Haitian President Preval says the challenges in his country are not over; he is looking ahead to this rainy season. He says homeless people must be relocated quickly.

 

US Chief Justice John Roberts says that the scene at President Obama’s State of the Union speech this year was so troubling. It raises the question of whether the Supreme² Court should attend in the future. NPR’s Nina Totenberg reports.

 

During this year’s State of the Union address, President Obama criticized the recent high-court decision that by 5-4 votes struck down the century-old ban on corporate³ and union spending in candidate elections. Six of the nine justices were present, and one of them Justice Samuel Alito mouthed ‘not true’ when the president said the decision will open the floodgates for special interests including foreign corporations. Last night, Chief Justice Roberts, speaking at the University of Alabama Law School, struck back, questioning whether the justices should attend the State of the Union at all. "To the extent the State of Union has degenerated⁴ into a political pep rally. I’m not sure why we are there." Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

 

Self-exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has won a libel case against Russian broadcaster. The broadcaster had accused him of planning the murder of a former KGB agent in London in 2006. NPR’s Rob Gifford reports from London.

 

Boris Berezovsky sued Russian broadcaster RTR over a program that alleged⁵ he was behind the poisoning death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko. Litvinenko was killed with a lethal⁶ dose of rare radioactive isotope⁷ that was slipped into his tea in a London hotel in November 2006. In the ruling, the British judge said there was no evidence that Berezovsky had any part in the murder of Litvinenko and awarded him 225,000 dollars in damages. Berezovsky, who is in court for the verdict, said in a statement he was pleased the court had, as he put it, "unequivocally demolished⁸ RTR's claims". RTR did not take part in the hearings and called the judgment⁹ illegal. From his deathbed in London, Litvinenko had in 2006 accused the Kremlin of orchestrating his murder. Rob Gifford, NPR News, London.

 

The Senate, this just in, the Senate has voted 62 to 36 to extend certain unemployment benefits.

 

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 11 points and you are listening to NPR News.

 

A United Nations special investigator¹⁰ says mega-sporting events, such as the Olympic Games and World Football often result in extensive violations¹¹ of the right to adequate housing. As Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva, the investigator has submitted findings to the UN Human Rights Council.

 

UN investigator Raquel Rolnik says she has received a great many complaints and allegations of violations of housing rights from residents of city that have hosted mega-sporting events. "Particularly on the practice of forced evictions and displacements¹², on criminalization of homeless persons and criminalization of informal activities." Rolink says shantytowns often are erased¹³ without any warning and homes are confiscated¹⁴ without any compensation. She is calling on the IOC and FIFA to minimize the abuse by carefully scrutinizing¹⁵ bids before awarding the games. For NPR News, I’m Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

 

All schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota, remain on lockdown. Minneapolis police learned of a threat earlier today that someone would open fire at school but a specific building was not named. Access to the schools has been limited. Minneapolis authorities plan to release students at the end of day as usual.

 

Democratic leaders in Congress say they will limit a practice that helps lawmakers send money to their home districts. The practice is known as earmarking. Congressman¹⁶ David Obey says lawmakers will no longer be able to stick earmarks in annual spending bills but will not eliminate the practice entirely¹⁷.

 

I’m Korva Coleman, NPR News from Washington.

 

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 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。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 degenerated   

衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

5 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

6 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。

7 isotope   

n.同位素

参考例句：

• The isotope ratio is directly used for comparing oils or gases.同位素比率直接用于比较各种石油或天然气。
• How to apply a radio isotope?如何运用放射性同位素？

8 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

11 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

12 displacements   

n.取代( displacement的名词复数 )；替代；移位；免职

参考例句：

• The laws of physics are symmetrical for translational displacements. 物理定律对平移是对称的。 来自辞典例句
• We encounter only displacements of the first type. 我们只遇到第一类的驱替。 来自辞典例句

13 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

15 scrutinizing   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His grandfather's stern eyes were scrutinizing him, and Chueh-hui felt his face reddening. 祖父的严厉的眼光射在他的脸上。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• The machine hushed, extraction and injection nozzles poised, scrutinizing its targets. 机器“嘘”地一声静了下来，输入输出管道各就各位，检查着它的目标。 来自互联网

16 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

17 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。