NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-04-16

 Religious and political leaders across the nation are condemning¹ this past weekend's deadly shooting near Kansas city, and risen fears about security at the start of holy week. NPR's Scott Horsley says president Obama used the White House pre-breakfast today to reflect those lives lost over the weekend and challenged Americans of all faiths to stand against religious tolerance². 

President Obama says the shooting spree that killed 3 people at a Jewish community center and retirement³ complex. It's all more painful at the time when Jews are preparing to celebrate Passover and Christians⁴ looking ahead Easter. He notes some Jewish synagogues and community centers have beefed up security in response to the violence.

"Nobody should have to worry about their security when gathering⁵ with their fellow believers. No one should ever have to fear for their safety when they go to pray."

Obama promises the federal government will do what they can to assist in investigation⁶. A known white supremacist and former clan⁷ leader is being held in connection with shooting. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House. 

 

Some cities under the administration's new healthcare law may not be quite as high as first thought. That's based on the latest government assessment⁸ from the Congressional Budget Office which says government's subsidies⁹ under the healthcare initiative were total abroad 1 trillion dollars over the next 10 years, down from the 1.2 trillion that has been forecasted. CBO says 8% was conducted primarily to tighter control on the parts at insurance companies. 

 

If you are still scrambling¹⁰ to finish income tax return before the final deadline tomorrow, you're not alone. NPR's Craig Windham reports the Internal Revenue Service expects to receive 35 million returns following the final days before April 15. 

More than 19% of the nearly 100 million returns received so far by the IRS have been filed electronically. That makes the process easier, but tax accountant Linda Domoller says return files at the last minute tend to have more mistakes. 

"Why always tell people don't sign until you're sure and don't do anything in a hurry."

To buy more time, you can request automatic 6-month extension of time-to-file through the free file link at IRS.gov. But Domoller says you still need to pay any tax you own with extension request. 

"Any amounts you don't pay on time, you could possibly be subjected to penalty and definitely over subject into the interests."

Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington. 

 

US retail¹¹ sales rose in March, the Commerce Department reports sales at the retail level posted its biggest uptick in 1.5 years. Just the latest sign US economy appears to be bouncing back after a long slow winter. According to the commerce response, retail sales rose 1.1% last month, the biggest gain since September, 2012. Sales at retail level accounts for about 1/3 of the overall spending by consumers. 

 

Wall Street upstarts the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 146 points, end the session at 16,173; the NASDAQ rose 22 points; S&P 500 was up 14%. 

 

You're listening to NPR News in Washington. 

 

Tonight for the first time in 3 years, people in North America will have a chance to see a total lunar eclipse. NPR's Adam Cole reports it's called "a blood moon".

The earth, the sun and the moon will be arraigned¹² into a perfect line tonight, and the moon will be swallowed up by the earth shadow. Even so the moon won't go completely dark, some light will bend around the earth and travel through its atmosphere or all the blue light will slide away. The lighter¹³ remains¹⁴ will turn the moon as thin crescent. If you'd like to see this blood moon, it gets good around 2:00 a.m. on the east coast; 11:00 a.m. on the west coast. And if the clock get away this time, you get second chance soon. Another blood moon is due in October. Adam Cole, NPR News. 

 

The Washington Post, The Guardian¹⁵, The Boston Global and The Colorado Springs Gazette are all on this year's Pulitzer Prize winners announced by the Pulitzer Committee. The posting The Guardian won the prize of public service for their role on unveiling the massive US government surveillance efforts brought light by NSA leaker Edward Snowden. The Global won for its coverage¹⁶ of the Boston marathon bombing. The much smaller Colorado Springs Gazette won for a frighten investigation how the military cut wounded veterans loose. Dan Steever, the paper's publisher. 

"We're pleased, proud and humbled¹⁷ to be in the same companies as the other final of our category, and other winners for other categories and Pulitzer."

Also winning this year, The New York Times is also received 2 awards for Photography. The winners of the public service award will receives gold medals; the rest awards carry 10,000 dollars prize. 

 

Crude oil futures¹⁸ prices closed higher today. The price of oil was up 31 cents a barrel, end the session at $104.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

3 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 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。

7 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

8 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？

9 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

12 arraigned   

v.告发( arraign的过去式和过去分词 )；控告；传讯；指责

参考例句：

• He was arraigned for murder. 他因谋杀罪而被提讯。
• She was arraigned for high treason. 她被控叛国罪。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

14 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。

15 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

16 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。

17 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

18 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。