NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-02-07

 Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel faced with a series of military scandals as ordering Pentagon leaders to review ethics¹ and leadership issues and come up with tangible² results. NPR’s Tom Bowman has more.

 

The scandals appeared to be popping up almost every week, air force, nuclear missile officers cheating on exams and using drugs, army officers getting kickbacks³, NAVY instructors⁴ sharing test results. More on John Kirby, Hagel’s spokesman, said the secretary is trouble by what he sees. 

 

I think he definitely sees this as a growing problem. And he is concerned about the depth of it. I do not think he could stand here and tell you that anybody has the full grasp here. And that is what worries the secretary.

 

Hagel has appointed a retired⁵ admiral and a general to review the nuclear force and make recommendations and he asks the review of ethics and leadership training at military schools. Kirby says Hagel plans to focus on these issues in these weekly meetings with service secretaries in service chiefs. Tom Bowman, NPR News, Washington.

 

Among after a chemical spill contaminated water for 300,000 Western Virginians, the state’s governor and a team of federal say to officials today try to reassure⁶ the public their water is safe. NPR’s Elizabeth Shogren reports distrust remains⁷ high.

 

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin told everyone he has been drinking the water for weeks. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Tanja Popovic downplay the risks of any long-term health effects from chemicals in the water.

 

Base on everything that we do know today, the experts have agreed there is not likely, that is very unlikely.

 

The state’s Superintendent⁸ School’s James Phares is appealing to the public to trust authorities to do the right thing. Today they close two schools to investigate concerns of tainted⁹ water.

 

We have to trust each other. 

 

He says it seems like West Virginians have lost this. Elizabeth Shogren, NPR News.

 

They are celebrating in Seattle today with tens of thousands of Seahawks fans taking to the street where parade was held to celebrate the team Super Bowl win this past Sunday over the Denver Broncos. Parade cover in two-mile route through city begins settles like iconic space around the city streets. Revelers many wearing blue and green wigs¹⁰ patch to parade route today.

 

 

Private sector¹¹ job survey is showing companies were adding jobs at modest but steady pace in January. The monthly ADP report which measures new payroll¹² job added by companies outside of government growing by 175,000 that was down slightly from the previous months. The ADP numbers often divert sharply from government employment figures which include a broader slice of the US economy. 

 

Stocks continue bouncing around today as investors¹³ appear to be trying to determine where stocks should be on last year strong bull market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down five points today end at session of 15,440. NASDAQ was down 19 points. The S&P 500 fell three points today.

 

You are listening to NPR News in Washington.

 

Officials in department of homeland security have reportedly advised some airlines including those flying to Russia for this week’s Winter Olympic in Sochi beyond the alert for potential efforts to smuggle¹⁴ bombing making materials on board. This comes amid concerns about individuals possibly put such materials in tubes of toothpaste or other carrier on items. The warning comes at time Russian forces already on high alert regarding possible terror threats the games which kick off Friday with opening ceremonies. Officials are saying with this specific intelligence led the warning but they are issuing out of bombs of caution. 

 

The Vatican says a scathing¹⁵ United Nation’s report on sex abuse of children by priest distorted unfair ideologically¹⁶ based. NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli says report accuses the Vatican of systematically¹⁷ following polices that allow priest to rape¹⁸ and molest¹⁹ tens of thousands of children worldwide.

 

The UN committees report blasted the code of silence. It says has long been used to keep victims quiet, accusing the Holy See of putting the reputation of the church and alleged²⁰ defenders²¹ ahead of protection of the victims. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican ambassador to the UN, reacted angrily to the reports criticism of the Vatican’s attitudes toward homosexuality, contraception and abortion²². He said the world body cannot ask the church to change its nonnegotiable moral teachings and accused of committees of betraying the international body’s own objectives by allowing itself to be swayed by those he called pro-gay ideologues. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Roma.

 

Crude oil futures’ prices were up modestly today. The price of crude rose 19 cents a barrel, end session at 97.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

 

1 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

2 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

3 kickbacks   

n.激烈反应( kickback的名词复数 )；佣金，回扣

参考例句：

• Everyone at City Hall is receiving kickbacks. It's the only way to get anything done there. 市政府里的每个人都收回扣，在那里只有送红包，事情才办得成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• G raft or kickbacks paid to officials or law enforcem ent authorities. 暗中付给官员或执法人员的回扣。 来自互联网

4 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

7 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。

8 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

9 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 wigs   

n.假发，法官帽( wig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They say that wigs will be coming in again this year. 据说今年又要流行戴假发了。 来自辞典例句
• Frank, we needed more wigs than we thought, and we have to do some advertising. 弗兰克，因为我们需要更多的假发，而且我们还要做点广告。 来自电影对白

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

13 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

14 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

15 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

17 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

18 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

19 molest   

vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏

参考例句：

• If the man continues to molest her,I promise to keep no measures with the delinquent.如果那人继续对她进行骚扰，我将对他这个违法者毫不宽容。
• If I were gone,all these would molest you.如果没有我，这一切都会来骚扰你。

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 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 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。