NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-04-26

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

 

　　The Obama administration says U.S. intelligence agencies now believe that forces loyal to the regime of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad have used chemical weapons on a small scale. NPR's Craig Windham reports Defense¹ Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters in Abu Dhabi that the White House had sent letters to key members of Congress today outlining the finding. Secretary Hagel says intelligence officials have a reasonable amount of confidence that Syrian forces used the lethal² nerve agent sarin. But he called for further investigation³.

 

　　We still have some uncertainties⁴ about what was used, what kind of chemical was used, where was used, who used it.

 

　　President Obama has called any use of chemical weapons in Syria a red line for the U.S.. GOP Senator John McCain calls the new assessment⁵ a game changer.

 

　　I think it's pretty obvious that red line has been crossed.

 

　　But a senior administration official says it's too soon to say that. He says more cooperated evidence and information are needed before the president will make a decision on how to respond. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　Officials in New York city say the Boston Marathon bombing suspects intended to blow up their remaining explosives in Time Square. New York's mayor and police commissioner⁶ revealed new details from the investigation today. As NPR's Joel Rose explains.

 

　　Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly say New York city was the next target on the list for the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. Kelly says the surviving suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told investigators⁷ from his hospital bed that he and his older brother had decided⁸ spontaneously on Thursday night to drive to New York to detonate their remaining explosives.

 

　　The two brothers  had at their disposal six improvised⁹ explosive devices, one was a pressure cooker bomb, the other five were pipe bombs.

 

　　Kelly says that plan unraveled after the suspects stopped to put gas in their hijacked¹⁰ SUV allowing the driver to escape that in turn led to the chase and manhunt that left one of the bombing suspects dead and the other in custody¹¹. Joel Rose, NPR News, New York.

 

　　First responders from across Texas are in Waco  this hour, paying their final respects to their comrades who accounted for the majority of 14 people killed in last week's explosions at a fertilizer plant in nearby West. They are attending a memorial service at Baylor University this hour where Governor Rick Perry, Senator John Cornyn and President Obama were scheduled to speak. Last week, a powerful blast in the town of West leveled nearby homes, displacing hundreds of people.

 

　　Before the closing bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 25 points at 14,701; NASDAQ had gained 20 points up more than 0.5% at 3,290; and the S&P 500 up six at 1,585.

 

　　You are listening to NPR News.

 

　　While in addition to this appearance in Waco, President Obama had already been scheduled to visit Texas for the dedication¹² of former President George W. Bush's presidential library at southern Methodist University which attracted thousands, including some anti-war protesters who accused Bush of committing crimes against humanity. But former President Bush says time will show that his administration's policies were right.

 

　　When future generations come to this library, study this administration, they are going to find out that we stayed true to our convictions.

 

　　The center is scheduled to open to the public May 1st.

 

　　Rhode Island is poised¹³ to become the tenth state to legalize same-sex marriage. A legislation passes state senate today, the House will hold a final procedural vote next week before Governor Lincoln Chafee signs it into law.

 

　　Yahoo has announced it has bought exclusive rights to stream the entire 38-year-old Archive of Saturday night live. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports this is part of Yahoo's recent attempts to redefine its brand.

 

　　The announcement means it will be only one place to watch Mr. Robinson's neighborhood, Two Wild and Crazy Guys. Ann Dusnel Parrity of NPR.

 

　　We have a very special guest today. That's right Terry. His the owner of his own holiday bakery with a very very clever name, seasons, eatings. That's really funny.

 

　　The videos will move from Hulu and NBC.com in September. The deal's financial details were not disclosed. Yahoo tried to buy Hulu last year. Now it's trying to rebrand itself as a similar destination for online content. The copyright headaches that come with musical performances mean that only sketches¹⁴ not entire episodes will be available online. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

 

　　I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 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。

3 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。

4 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 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》

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

10 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

11 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

12 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

13 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

14 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》