NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-08-22

 The government is now allowing the pubic to see some court opinions it had previously¹ tried to keep secret. The documents show that the National Security Agency illegally collected tens of thousands of e-mails that had no connection to terrorism. NPR's Tom Gjelten says the NSA argues that the violations² of surveillance laws were incidental, not deliberate.

The documents are opinions written by the chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court set up by Congress to oversee³ the NSA's surveillance of phone calls and e-mails. In 2011, the court found that one aspect of that NSA program was illegal and unconstitutional. The opinion now declassified⁴ makes the court's concern clear: "For the first time the government has now advised the court that the volume and nature of the information it has been collecting is fundamentally different from what the court had been led to believe." The reference was to e-mails inadvertently collected because they were embedded⁵ in larger e-mail bundles the NSA had intercepted⁶. Tom Gjelten, NPR News, Washington.

There were calls for a more transparent⁷ government at Bradley Manning’s trial in Fort Meade, Maryland. The Army private first class was sentenced today 35 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for leaking reams of classified information to the website WikiLeaks. Attorney David Coombs says Manning was not a trader but a whistleblower.

"In order to close this gap, we need whistleblowers like Pfc. Manning, people who are not afraid to stand up and speak the truth and to risk their freedom for the ability to keep us informed."

But prosecutors⁹ say data Manning leaked endanger the lives of US intelligence sources and diplomatic staff. Another soldier representing himself in his trial for the 2009 Fort Hood¹⁰ shootings in Texas declared today the defense¹¹ rests. Major Nidal Hasan did not call witnesses. Closing arguments are tomorrow.

An Egyptian court has ordered the immediate¹² release of former President Hosni Mubarak. Here's the latest from NPR's Leila Fadel.

The decision appears to be final, and officials in the prosecutor⁸ general's office say they won't appeal. Critics call the decision politicized. The position of the prosecutor general has long been seen as a tool for whoever is in power. The ousted¹³ autocrat¹⁴ will still be retried for his role in the killing¹⁵ of more than 900 protesters as well as his charges of corruption¹⁶. But he'll be a free man while he's on trial if the decision holds. His release may cause an uproar¹⁷ among revolutionaries who rose up to force Mubarak's ouster. But Mostafa Hegazy, the political adviser¹⁸ to the president, says the return of tyranny is impossible. He says people must respect the rule of law and suggested that even if Mubarak is released, there could be other charges coming that put him back in prison. Leila Fadel, NPR News, Cairo.

US stocks down sharply with the Dow off 105 points at 14,898. You're listening to NPR News.

The Syrian government says allegations that it was responsible for a chemical attack on rebels today are ridiculous. It says the reports are merely trumped-up charges by an opposition¹⁹ that wants to mask heavy losses in the latest phase of Syria’s two-year-old civil war. Still, the head of the United Nations team that’s in Syria investigating previous reports of chemical weapons use is pushing to investigate today's alleged²⁰ attack.

United Parcel Service reportedly plans to end its health care coverage²¹ for the spouses²² of about 15,000 non-union employees. As John Lawrence of member station WABE reports, UPS says it had no choice given new requirements under the Affordable²³ Care Act.

Kaiser Health News says UPS won’t foot the bill for employees' spouses if those spouses can get health insurance coverage from their own jobs. Kaiser Health News reporter Jay Hancock says his organization obtained internal documents from UPS. Based on those documents, Hancock says UPS will save an estimated 60 million dollars a year from dropping coverage for employees' spouses. But he also says supporters of the Affordable Care Act say its opponents are using money as an excuse.

"People who back the Health Act argue the costs for big companies associated with the ACA are pretty minimal²⁴ compared to what else is going on in health care. They discount Obamacare as a factor."

UPS neither confirmed nor denied the Kaiser Health News report. For NPR News, I'm John Lawrence in Atlanta.

Some panic in Mexico City today where buildings swayed from a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck 170 miles away. There were no reports of serious injuries or damages there where some people rushed out of their office buildings as the earthquake alarm sounded. 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

2 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

3 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

4 declassified   

adj.解密的v.对（机密文件等）销密( declassify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thousands of classified documents have now been declassified. 数以千计的保密文件现在被解密了。
• The software used for Siemens S7-300 encryption logic block declassified. 此软件用于对西门子S7-300加密逻辑块解密。

5 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

6 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

7 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

8 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

9 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。

10 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

11 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。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

14 autocrat   

n.独裁者；专横的人

参考例句：

• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。
• The nobles tried to limit the powers of the autocrat without success.贵族企图限制专制君主的权力,但没有成功。

15 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。

16 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

17 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

18 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

19 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。

20 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

21 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

22 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

23 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

24 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。