NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-04-24

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

 

　　The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is communicating to interrogators that he and his brother were not connected to any terrorist groups but were motivated, instead, by extremist Islamist beliefs. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is still in the hospital listed now in fair condition. NPR's Craig Windham reports that although the 19-year-old still can not speak, he has been writing out limited answers to some questions by investigators¹.

 

　　Tsarnaev has indicated that he and his brother were not being directed by Islamist militants² outside the U.S., but were instead acting³ independently. Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz tells CNN, authorities should consider bargaining away a possible death sentence in order to get more information from Tsarnaev.

 

　　Everybody wins if this guy exchanges information for a life sentence and then is put in at obscure prison where nobody will remember him.

 

　　Dershowitz says if Tsarnaev were to be convicted and executed, he would be seen as a martyr⁴ by militants. Tsarnaev has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious⁵ destruction of property. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　Three people were killed in the attack during the Boston Marathon and authorities have raised the number of people injured to more than 260. Secretary of State John Kerry is urging NATO to prepare for the possibility that Syria will use chemical weapons in its civil war. He issued that warning during a NATO meeting in Brussels today. On the sidelines that gathering⁶, Kerry held talks with Russia's foreign minister that he says focused heavily on the deteriorating⁷ situation in Syria.

 

　　What I did suggest to everybody was we therefore need to all be thinking about how we can get to the negotiating table to avoid an implosion⁸ of Syria, which would be the worst consequence.

 

　　Meanwhile, there's been no break in the latest fighting along Syria's border with Lebanon. There were reports of at least two Syrian rocket attacks into Lebanese territory.

 

　　Sales of new homes rose in March by 1.5% over the previous month. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports new home sales are recovering, but still far off normal levels.

 

　　New home sales are 18.5% higher than the same period last year, reflecting the rebound⁹ in the housing market. But at a seasonally¹⁰ adjusted rate of 417,000 homes a year, levels are still way below what economists¹¹ consider normal. Of course, builders are just coming out of a dormant¹² period when home construction hit historic lows. Financing for new construction also remains¹³ tight, so supply is still relatively¹⁴ low. But with greater demand from buyers, prices of new homes are also increasing. The medium price of new home rose 3% from a year ago to $247,000. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　Dow is up 152 at 14,719.

 

　　This is NPR.

 

　　Democratic Senator Mark Pryor will not seek reelection for a 7th term. The finance committee chairman from Montana says simply there is life beyond Congress. Mark is the 8th senator to announce retirement¹⁵.

 

　　French lawmakers have legalized same sex marriage after months of fierce debate and street protests. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports that France is now the 14th country to enact¹⁶ such a law.

 

　　The French justice minister said the first weddings could be as soon as June. The measure allowing same sex couples to marry and adopt passed easily in the  Socialist majority National Assembly. But it hasn't gone down so well on the streets. Just this weekend, tens of thousands of opponents of same sex marriage promised to never give up the fight. Their next large demonstration¹⁷ is scheduled for May 26th. Opponents say the measure harms families and children by depriving them of the right to a mother and father. While polls show majority of French accept gay marriage. The country is sharply divided over the issue of adoption¹⁸. Thousands of police have mobilized in Paris preparing for dueling¹⁹ protest around the National Assembly building and along the Seine River. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

 

　　A Washington state educator is 2013's National Teacher of the Year. Jeff Charbonneau, a science teacher at Zillah High School in Washington Yakima Valley, was awarded by President Obama today. He spoke²⁰ of what motivates him and the other finalists to get the best out of their students.

 

　　When I look at my fellow teachers here today, I see a teaching force that exemplifies the kind of education that I want my own children to have. I see the knowledge to provide rigorous content that will enable future generations to grow our economy and be the leaders in global innovation.

 

　　The gathering also pay tribute to the six educators who died last December during the Newtown shootings.

 

　　I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, in Washington.

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

5 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

6 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。

7 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

8 implosion   

n.向内破裂，内爆

参考例句：

• The population explosion is accompanied by a population implosion.人口爆炸还伴随着人口爆聚。

9 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

10 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

11 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》

12 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

13 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。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

16 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

17 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

18 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

19 dueling   

n. 决斗, 抗争(=duelling) 动词duel的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• More light-hearted But somewhat puzzled, Vladimir prepared to meet Eugene on the dueling ground. 弗拉基米尔心里轻松了一些，但仍感到有些困惑，在这种心情下，他准备去决斗场地迎战叶甫盖尼。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• They had been dueling for hours and finally called a draw. 他们一直决斗了数小时，最后打成平局。

20 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。