NPR 2012-03-22

 The gunman accused of killing¹ seven people in the Toulouse area, France this week and last reportedly is still holed up in his apartment building. The place is surrounded, and police say they are ready to storm that building, but the suspect is said to be heavily armed. The gunman is a self-declared jihadist who has decried² the deaths of Palestinian children. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority is condemning³ the gunman's alleged⁴ actions, as NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports from Jerusalem.

 

In a statement, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said that the extremists must stop using the Palestinian cause to justify⁵ their acts of violence. "It's time for these criminals to stop marketing⁶ their terrorist acts in the name of the Palestinian people and to stop pretending to stand up for the rights of Palestinian children who only ask for a decent life." The statement continues, "this terrorist crime is condemned⁷ in the strongest terms by the Palestinian people and their children." The slain⁸ father, his two sons and another young girl were laid to rest here in Jerusalem today in front of a crowd of thousands who cried and prayed. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Jerusalem.

 

Those victims were killed [slip] in the multiple shootings at a Jewish school in Toulouse on Monday. Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was in Montalban today to pay his respects to funerals of three paratroopers who were murdered in last week's attack.

 

"I have come to bow before the coffins⁹ of these murdered soldiers. I've come to say to their families, to their close ones, to their brothers in arms to express the support and the tribute of the nation."

 

Sarkozy is heard through an interpreter on France 24.

 

Some analysts¹⁰ say homeowners may be seeing their best year since the recession for selling. As NPR's Dave Mattingly tells us, the National Association of Realtors says the US housing sector’s coming off its best winter in years.

 

Existing home sales fell nearly 1% last month. But combined with December and January, this is the strongest winter home buying season in five years. Walter Maloney with National Association of Realtors says the improving job market and record-low interest rates are unleashing¹¹ some of that pent-up buyer demand. 

 

"We are looking for sales this year to be up about 7%."

 

Still, the number of first-time homebuyers dropped last month, and economists¹² caution the industry is still years away from full recovery. Dave Mattingly, NPR News, Washington.

 

At last glance on Wall Street, the Dow was down 23 points at 13,147 in trading of just over two billion shares; NASDAQ Composite Index gaining ground, up 13 points; it's at 3,087; and the S&P 500 up slightly at 1,406.

 

This is NPR News.

 

The United Nations Security Council has agreed on a statement supporting a peace effort in Syria. NPR's Kelly McEvers reports the vote comes as activists¹³ say at least 25 people have been killed by government shelling in the city of Homs.

 

Activists in the Homs' neighborhood of Khaldiyeh say shelling by government troops has intensified¹⁴ in the past two days. Khaldiyeh is a neighborhood where families from other neighborhoods fled in recent weeks. Hundreds of people have died in Homs so far this year, especially during a nearly month-long siege on the neighborhood of Baba Amr. Rebel fighters later retreated from the area. The statement passed by the Security Council says Syria will face "steps" if a UN peace plan is rejected. The plan calls for a ceasefire, dialogue between the government and the opposition¹⁵ and access for humanitarian¹⁶ aid. Russia and China vetoed earlier and more binding¹⁷ resolutions on Syria at the council. Kelly McEvers, NPR News, Beirut.

 

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says he backs a House Republican budget proposal that would reduce deficits¹⁸ partly through cuts and benefit programs. However, he also says the spending cuts included in it should be accelerated. Santorum says he would be more aggressive in achieving budget savings¹⁹, doing away with cost-of-living increases in federal grants to states for Medicaid and food stamps.

 

The Broncos is trading away quarterback Tim Tebow to the New York Jets just a day after Denver finalized²⁰ a deal to bring on Payton Minning, formerly²¹ of the Colts. Tebow not only led the Broncos to the playoffs last season; his propensity²² for getting down on one knee and praying inspired people around the world to post online photos, doing the same no matter what anyone else was doing came to be known as "Tebowing."

 

This is NPR.

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 decried   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The measures were decried as useless. 这些措施受到指责，说是不起作用。
• The old poet decried the mediocrity of today's writing. 老诗人抨击了现代文体的平庸无奇。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 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

5 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

6 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

7 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

8 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

9 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 unleashing   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Company logos: making people's life better by unleashing Cummins power. 公司理念：以康明斯动力建设更美好的生活！ 来自互联网
• Sooner or later the dam will burst, unleashing catastrophic destruction. 否则堤坝将崩溃，酿成灾难。 来自互联网

12 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

17 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

18 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

19 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

20 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

22 propensity   

n.倾向；习性

参考例句：

• He has a propensity for drinking too much alcohol.他有酗酒的倾向。
• She hasn't reckoned on his propensity for violence.她不曾料到他有暴力倾向。