NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-05-29

　　From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.

 

　　President Obama has told residents of coastal¹ communities in New Jersey² that they are stronger than the super storm that devastated³ the area last fall. Obama spoke⁴ after checking out rebuilding efforts in the state today.

 

　　"We are gonna keep doing what it takes to rebuild all the way and make it better than it was before, make it stronger than it was before, make it more resilient than it was before."

 

　　The president was accompanied by New Jersey’s GOP Governor Chris Christie who says a lot of work remains⁵ be done.

 

　　"So many more of our families who need to get back in their homes. So many more of our businesses who need to get back up and running and employ people, still so many."

 

　　Super storm Sandy caused $38 billion in damage.

 

　　Home prices in the nation's largest cities are up nearly 11% over the past year. That's the largest increase in seven years. But economist⁶ Mark Vitner with Wells Fargo says much of the rise was fueled by investors⁷ snapping up houses rather than by families buying homes to live in.

 

　　"The home ownership rate is continuing to drop, and actually the number of homeowners has declined by 91,000 over the last year. So we actually have fewer home owners stay even though prices are up."

 

　　The biggest gains we’ve seen in Phoenix⁸, San Francisco and Las Vegas.

 

　　Consumer confidence in the US economy has risen to its highest level in more than five years. NPR's John Ydstie says the gains and the Conference Board’s index of consumer attitudes exceeded economists⁹' expectations.

 

　　A Board spokesperson says that consumers who earlier in the year were worried about higher taxes and federal spending cuts are now showing more optimism. Rising stock prices and home values along with steady job growth are contributing to that optimism. Job growth has averaged over 200,000 a month in the past half a year. That's 15% stronger than in the preceding six months. Investors hope more confident consumers will continue to push their spending higher.

 

　　That would boost economic growth and profits. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　The US Supreme¹⁰ Court has let stand the lower court ruling that blocks Indiana from stripping Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood because abortions¹² are among the medical services offered by the organization. NPR's Nina Totenberg says although no federal funds are permitted for abortions, some joint¹³ federal state Medicaid money is paid to Planned Parenthood to provide women with preventive services, such as birth control.

 

　　More than a dozen states have enacted¹⁴ or considered laws that bar Planned Parenthood from receiving any Medicaid payments for treating poor women. The laws target the organization because it also provides privately¹⁵ funded abortion¹¹ services in about 3% of its cases. Six federal courts have ruled the targeted defunding because of that is illegal. Ending the first of these cases to reach the high court, the justices without common declined to intervene, leaving intact the lower court ruling in favor of Planned Parenthood.

 

　　That's the NPR's Nina Totenberg.

 

　　This is NPR News from Washington.

 

　　Federal prosecutors¹⁶ are accusing an online currency exchange firm of running a $5 billion money-laundering operation. An indictment¹⁷ filed in federal court in New York says the firm Liberty Reserve’s digital currency operation helps cyber criminals around the world. US Attorney Preet Bharara, "It became the bank of choice for the criminal underworld." Authorities in the US, Spain and Costa Rica have seized bank accounts and arrested five people.

 

　　The state of Mississippi today is marking the 50th anniversary of a civil rights sit-in at a Woolworth's five-and-dime store lunch counter. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports the site will become part of a trail highlighting the state’s pivotal role in the Civil Rights movement.

 

　　Fifty years ago, a racially mixed group sat out to integrate the whites-only lunch counter at the Woolworth's in downtown Jackson, Mississippi's capital city. The sit-in was met by an angry white mob who beat protesters and drenched¹⁸ them with ketchup¹⁹ and other condiments²⁰. Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers helped organize the sit-in and an ongoing²¹ boycott²² of segregated²³ businesses. Two weeks after the violence at Woolworth's, Evers was gunned down outside his Jackson home. The store’s been closed for decades, but a historical marker was unveiled on the site. It's part of the Mississippi Freedom Trail commemorating²⁴ the people and events that helped break down the Jim Crow South. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

 

　　Colorado's governor has signed six laws to regulate and tax recreational marijuana use in that state. One of the measures sets a limit for drivers similar to the blood-alcohol standard for drunk driving. Taxes for pot users could range up to 25%. Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment²⁵ last year, making recreational marijuana use legal in that state.

 

　　I'm Craig Windham, NPR News.

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

4 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。

5 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。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

9 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》

10 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。

11 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

12 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

15 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

16 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

17 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

18 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 ketchup   

n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司

参考例句：

• There's a spot of ketchup on the tablecloth.桌布上有一点番茄酱的渍斑。
• Could I have some ketchup and napkins,please?请给我一些番茄酱和纸手巾？

20 condiments   

n.调味品

参考例句：

• Refill and clean all salt and peppers, sugar bowls, and other condiments. 清洁并续满所有的胡椒瓶、盐瓶、糖缸及其他调料。
• Go easy on condiments, they tend to be salty. 别放太多调味品，这样往往会太咸。

21 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

22 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

23 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

24 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

25 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。