NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-01-10

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

 

　　The White House is hosting major players in gun policy including the National Rifle Association. It’s gathering¹ proposals for gun control initiatives weeks after the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. In Tucson, Arizona, police are destroying more than 200 firearms despite objections from the NRA. NPR’s Ted² Robbins reports.

 

　　The city of Tucson held a gun buyback, giving 50 dollars in grocery cards for every weapon turned in. An NRA spokesman said there’s no problem with that. But Arizona’s state law prohibited the city from destroying the guns. Instead he said the guns should have been sold to firearms dealers³ to be put back in circulation or given away. The city said the law applies to seized or abandoned firearms, not those turned in voluntarily. So police sent 205 weapons to be shredded⁴ Tuesday afternoon. The NRA says it will work with the Arizona’s Legislature to clarify the law and prevent future firearm destruction. Ted Robbins, NPR News, Tucson.

 

　　An investigation⁵ is under way into what caused the ferry crash in Lower Manhattan that injured more than 50 people, at least two of them critically. The accident occurred during morning rush hour.

 

　　Transocean is in court this hour, its first appearance since settling with the US Justice Department for its role in the 2010 Gulf⁶ of Mexico oil spill. NPR’s Debbie Elliott reports the deal won’t be approved until after a hearing next month.

 

　　Transocean has agreed to pay 1.4 billion dollars in civil and criminal penalties and plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act. The firm owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig which exploded in a well blowout, killing⁷ 11 rig workers and polluting the Gulf with near five million barrels of oil. BP leased the rig from Transocean. Today’s court appearance in New Orleans is preliminary. Transocean is expected to enter its guilty plea next month when a federal judge holds a hearing on whether to accept the settlement. Separately, BP faces its trials on civil Clean Water Act charges on February 25th. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

 

　　No new members have been elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame this year, something that hasn’t happened in 17 years. Among those passed over were three baseball stars who are eligible⁸ for the first time, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, NPR’s Craig Windham reports all three were among players linked to the game’s steroid scandal.

 

　　Hall of Fame inductees are elected by members of the Baseball Writers of America. To be chosen, a candidate must receive a vote of 75% or more of the writers participating. Clemens, who won a record seven Cy Young awards during his long pitching career, got just 37%. Bonds, the game’s home run king received 36%. Sluggers Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were also rejected. All of the players have 15 years to gain election to the Hall of Fame. Craig Windham, NPR News.

 

　　Dow was up 38.

 

　　This is NPR.

 

　　In Venezuela, the Supreme⁹ Court has ruled that President Hugo Chavez, who remains¹⁰ in cancer-related treatment in Cuba, does not have to attend his own inauguration¹¹ tomorrow. NPR’s Juan Forero is in Caracas, where he says the court ruled that despite his long absence, Chavez remains in charge.

 

　　Chavez hasn’t been heard from in a month ever since he went to Havana for his latest cancer surgery. And the public knows little about his condition. But the Congress voted to postpone¹² his Thursday inauguration, and the court backed that decision today. The Court’s President Luisa Estella Morales said there’s not even a temporary absence. The opposition¹³ says the government is lying and called for a medical board to travel to Cuba to inform the public. But the court rejected that idea. Morales told reporters that because Chavez was reelected, there’s continuity from one term to the next. Juan Forero, NPR News, Caracas.

 

　　The historic Washington National Cathedral, which has hosted some of the nation’s most prominent political figures, will begin presiding over same-sex marriages. It is among the first Episcopal congregations to do so.

 

　　The body of a Chicago man who died of cyanide poisoning less than two months after wining a million-dollar lottery¹⁴ will be exhumed¹⁵. The Cook County medical examiner says an autopsy¹⁶ on Urooj Khan is expected over the next few weeks. Khan’s cause of death in July was initially¹⁷ determined¹⁸ natural, no autopsy was performed. But due to a relative’s request, more testing was performed, revealing a lethal¹⁹ dose of cyanide. Khan’s death is now ruled a homicide.

 

　　I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

4 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 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。

7 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。

8 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

9 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。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

12 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

13 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。

14 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

15 exhumed   

v.挖出，发掘出( exhume的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marie Curie's remains were exhumed and interred in the Pantheon. 玛丽·居里的遗体被移出葬在先贤祠中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His remains have been exhumed from a cemetery in Queens, New York City. 他的遗体被从纽约市皇后区的墓地里挖了出来。 来自辞典例句

16 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

17 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

18 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

19 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。