NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-03-23

 European leaders meeting in Brussels have signed an agreement with Ukraine. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports it’s meant to show support for the country's new interim¹ government.

 

Protests in Ukraine began four months ago when the former president refused to sign a deal aligning² Ukraine with Europe. He wanted to bring Ukraine closer to Russia instead. Those protests eventually led to the government's downfall and to Russia's annexation³ of the Crimea region. Now Ukraine's acting⁴ Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says signing this agreement with Europe is an important statement.

 

“We will show to the entire world that we are together, that Ukraine shares the European values, and that we can together be successful.”

 

At the same meeting in Brussels, European officials announced that they are expanding the list of sanctions targets -- freezing assets and restricting visas for more people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, London.

 

A federal judge in Detroit has overturned Michigan's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. As WDET's Quinn Klinefelter reports, the judge says the ban violates the guarantee of equal protection for all people.

 

Michigan voters approved a law in 2004 that recognizes marriage only as a union between a man and a woman. Nurses April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse challenged the law and a separate state ban that would prevent them from adopting each other's children. In his recent opinion, Judge Bernard Friedman says state attorneys should not have defined the case as a challenge to the will of the people, and that no court record could ever fully⁵ convey the personal sacrifice of plaintiffs who seek to ensure the state may no longer impair⁶ the rights of their children. State officials are filing an immediate⁷ appeal of the ruling. For NPR News, I'm Quinn Klinefelter in Detroit.   

 

At least four people are known dead after a fire tore through a New Jersey⁸ motel early today. Officials say the blaze broke out at the Mariner's Cove⁹ Motor Inn in Point Pleasant Beach about 5:30 am, quickly engulfing¹⁰ the two-story wooden structure. Crystal Wardell, along with members of her family, waked to escape.

 

“I was sleeping and my mom was getting ready for work. And she woke me up, saying someone was screaming fire. And when we opened the door, it was just  flames everywhere. The whole motel was engulfed¹¹ in flames and smoke everywhere.”

 

Eight people were hurt including one woman who holed up in a shower to escape smoke and flames. She was rescued by firefighters. The cause of the fire is still being investigated. The motel was housing people displaced by Superstorm Sandy.

 

Federal appeals court has shut down a challenge the current cap on fees banks can charge businesses for debit¹² card transactions, the US Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia overturning a lower court decision that favored merchants and was viewed as a setback¹³ for banks. In a previous ruling a federal judge had struck down the so-called 'swipe fees', saying the body lacked the authority to set a limit. Current cap average is around 24 cents for every transaction before the cap swipes fees or even higher. 

 

A down ended the week for Wall Street. The Dow dropped 28 points to 16,302.

 

You’re listening to NPR News in Washington. 

 

Turkey has banned access to Twitter, causing an international stir. But NPR's Emily Siner reports people there are finding ways to use it anyway.

 

About five million Turkish residents use Twitter, and it turns out it's pretty hard to stop them all. Mike Tigas, a developer at ProPublica, says the process is really simple.

 

“The way that it appears that Turkey has blocked Twitter can be defeated just by changing a couple of settings on your computer.”

 

Protesters are even spray-painting instructions on posters and buildings after the Turkish prime minister said that he wanted to “wipe out” Twitter, but the president of Turkey announced on Twitter that he does not support the ban. Emily Siner, NPR News, Washington. 

 

So long, Dunk City. Hello, Mercer. In the biggest upset so far in this year’s NCAA finals, tiny Mercer, a little-known Atlantic Sun Conference school with fewer than 9,000 students, has knocked off the mighty¹⁴ No.3-ranked Blue Devils by a score of 78-71. Mercer Bears guard Anthony White says it was because everyone on the squad¹⁵ jelled during the game.

 

“I think as have been a veteran team, we’re really composed, and not only as being a veteran team, we also play for each other.”

 

Duke guard Rasheed Sulaimon was struggling to process today’s loss.

 

“I’m just waiting for the moment while I wake up, um, but, you know, that’s life, you know. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way. Sometimes, you know, it doesn’t play out the way you envision it.”

 

14-seed Mercer Bears with a starting lineup of five seniors came back to beat Duke in the final five minutes of today’s game.

 

Crude oil futures¹⁶ prices closed higher today, the price of crude oil up 56 cents a barrel to close at 99.46 a barrel today on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

 

I'm Jack¹⁷ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 aligning   

n. (直线)对准 动词align的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals. 有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。
• ToolTips provide textual hints that assist in drawing lines and aligning objects. 工具提示提供了协助画线和对象对齐的文本提示。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 annexation   

n.吞并，合并

参考例句：

• He mentioned the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 .他提及1910年日本对朝鲜的吞并。
• I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas.我认为合并的问题，完全属于德克萨斯和美国之间的事。

4 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。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 impair   

v.损害，损伤；削弱，减少

参考例句：

• Loud noise can impair your hearing.巨大的噪音有损听觉。
• It can not impair the intellectual vigor of the young.这不能磨灭青年人思想活力。

7 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。

8 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。

9 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。

10 engulfing   

adj.吞噬的v.吞没，包住( engulf的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house darkness. 一位摄影师把电灯的保险丝烧断了，使整栋房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A professional photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house in darkness. 一位职业摄影师把保险丝烧断了使整所房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自辞典例句

11 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 debit   

n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项

参考例句：

• To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方？
• We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱，只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。

13 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

14 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

15 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

16 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

17 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。