NPR 2009-06-27

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack¹ Speer.

President Obama said the unrest in Iran and the crackdown on demonstrators makes it harder for the US to engage Iran directly over its nuclear weapons program. He also dismissed a call by the Iranian President that he apologize for interfering² in the country's election. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

The president said that international efforts to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program continue, but the chances for a hoped-for direct US-Iranian talks have been affected³ by recent events . As for Ahmadinejad's demand that Mr. Obama apologize.

"I don't take Mr. Ahmadinejad's statements seriously about apologies, particularly given the fact that the United States has gone out of its way not to interfere⁴." The president spoke⁵ at a joint⁶ news conference with German leader Angela Merkel. Both condemned⁷ the Iranian government-ordered violence against peaceful demonstrators. Don Gonyea, NPR News, the White House.

Democratic lawmakers today have advanced passage of a measure aimed at combating global warming , the measure approved in the House by a narrow 217 to 205 vote margin⁸.  That moves the White House-backed legislation to the House floor. The legislation will impose limits on carbon dioxide and other green house gas pollutants⁹.It would also call for moving away from coal and fossil fuels. The Senate is yet to act on the legislation.

Los Angeles County Coroner's office has been conducting an autopsy¹⁰ today on the body of entertainer Michael Jackson. The fifty-year-old pop superstar was pronounced dead yesterday at UCLA Medical Center and already officials seemed to be focusing their investigation¹¹ on Jackson's private medical care and the possibility prescription¹² drugs played a role in his death. Meanwhile in front of Grauman Chinese Studio on Hollywood Boulevard today, fans and press swarmed¹³ to Michael Jackson's star. From the Hollywood Walk of Fame, NPR's Amy Walters reports.

At nine a.m. a wreath of flowers was laid on the bold colored star bearing Michael Jackson's name. And an official for the Walk of Fame said this is the largest crowd she had ever seen mourning a celebrity¹⁴. Terkisha Allen had a glove on her right hand in rememberance of her hero. She said she had one reaction when she heard the news. "I cried. I cried and it just hit me hard. You know, it's like losing a friend." Earlier some fans mistakenly placed flowers at the star of the wrong Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson, the DJ. Amy Walters, NPR News, Hollywood, California.

General Electric has announced plans to build a new 100-million-dollar manufacturing technology center in Michigan that is expected to eventually result in upwards¹⁵ of 1,100 jobs. GE says the center which will include a research and development facility for scientists and engineers will work on renewable energy, aircraft engines, and gas turbines.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34 points. The S&P 500 was down a point.

This is NPR.

A shootout between suspected drug gang members in Mexico has killed at least a dozen people. Authorities there say the hitmen reportedly opened fire on police and soldiers and threw grenades after officers tried to arrest them. The incident marks the latest escalation¹⁶ in violence in Mexico where rival gangs have moved their fight for Mexico's 40-billion-dollar-a year drug trade inland from the US border.

In its first meeting since the Obama administration was inaugurated, the Quartet of Middle East Peace Negotiators is urging the Israeli government to freeze all settlement activity including natural growth. More from NPR' s Sylvia Poggioli.

Meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Eight foreign ministers meeting, representatives of the UN, European Union, United States and Russia reiterated¹⁷ the view that the only viable¹⁸ solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should fulfill¹⁹ the aspirations²⁰ of both parties for independent homelands. Two states for two peoples, the statement said, living side by side in peace and security. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said with the Obama administration now in power there is a historic opportunity for a Midle East peace. The Quartet's statement also urged the Palestinians to commit themselves to non-violence and recognition of Israel. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Trieste.

Ham radio operators have always been a bit different and this weekend they will be trying something that only a select number are capable of --sending a signal to the moon bouncing off the lunar surface and then returning the signal to earth. The hams will be relying on borrowed parabolic antennas²¹ according to a report in today's New York Times. Only about a thousand amateur radio enthusiasts²³ worldwide have stations capable of performing an earth to moon bouncing back. It means sending a signal 239,200 miles to the moon and back. One enthusiast²² described this as ham radio's equivalent of climbing Mount Everest .

I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

5 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。

6 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。

7 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

8 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

9 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

11 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。

12 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

13 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

14 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

15 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

16 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

17 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

18 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

19 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

20 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

21 antennas   

[生] 触角，触须（antenna的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Marconi tied several antennas to kites. 马可尼在风筝上系了几根天线。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Radio astronomy today is armed with the largest antennas in the world. 射电天文学拥有世界上最大的天线。

22 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

23 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册