NPR 2009-07-14

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

Today Judge Sonia Sotomayor described her judicial² philosophy as fidelity³ to the law. Her opening statement capped the first day of her confirmation⁴ hearing to the Supreme⁵ Court. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

Republican Senators quoted Sonia Sotomayor's speech at length. They said her comments indicated she does not appreciate the impartial⁶ role a judge is supposed to play. Sotomayor rejected that characterization. "My personal and professional experiences help me to listen and understand, with the law always commanding the result in every case." Before Sotomayor's statement, each member of the Senate Judiciary Committee delivered an opening statement. Democrats⁷ focused on Sotomayor's life story and her record as a judge. Republicans treated the hearing as a broader referendum on the role that a judge is supposed to play. Questioning begins Tuesday morning. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

The Obama administration's nominee⁸ to be the nation's next Surgeon General today pledged to in her words make sure no one falls through the cracks as we improve our healthcare system. Doctor Regina Benjamin appeared today with the President at the White House Rose Garden. She said if she gets the job as the nation's chief spokesperson on health, she will work to help doctors care for patients and ensure patients have access to affordable⁹ care. "This is a physician's dream, but for me, it is more than just a job, public health issues are very personal to me." Benjamin is an Alabama country doctor who three times resurrected a health clinic in a Gulf¹⁰ Coast fishing village after disasters. She vowed¹¹ to help the president in his efforts to rework healthcare. Benjamin's nomination¹² requires Senate approval.

The World Health Organization says the flu viruses needed to produce vaccine¹³ for the current pandemic are not growing well and that may slow the delivery of needed vaccine. NPR's Richard Knox has more.

Until now the WHO and countries around the world had hoped the new H1N1 virus would grow in eggs as well as seasonal¹⁴ flu viruses. But WHO experts say the pandemic virus is growing only 25% to 50% as fast as ordinary viruses. So labs around the world are going back to square one. They're isolating¹⁵ the new flu viruses from infected people and creating new hybrid¹⁶ viruses in the hope they'll grow well. If they are lucky, they will have an answer this month. If a fast growing vaccine virus can’t be produced, the first doses of vaccine would still come off the production lines in the fall. But it would take months longer to produce the billions of doses needed in the coming flu season. And there might be none available at all for the poorest countries. Richard Knox, NPR News.

Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven member crew are hoping to give it another go after stormy weather cancelled the latest lift-off attempts over the weekend, though it is not clear whether today's weather will cooperate. The shuttle is expected to lift off at 6:51PM EST today.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 185 points to close at 8,332.

This is NPR.

The Chairman of the Joint¹⁷ Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen arrived in Iraq today on an unannounced visit. Mullen is slated¹⁸ to sit down with Iraqi officials in the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk. Tensions in that region have been high with Kurds hoping to make Kirkuk the capital of an autonomous¹⁹ region despite Arab opposition²⁰. Police say two bombings last month in that area killed at least 100 people. Meanwhile, a sandstorm in the region has kept Admiral Mullen grounded today, delaying his plans for visiting other parts of Iraq.

European Union has secured a deal to receive gas through a new pipeline²¹ planned through Turkey. It would bypass the Russia-Ukraine route that has proven unreliable in the past. Teri Schultz has more from Brussels.

Seven years in the making, the Nabucco deal would bring gas from countries such as Egypt and Turkmenistan to eastern Europe without relying on Russia and Ukraine, which currently provide more than a quarter of European supplies. European hopes to diversify²² energy suppliers were hastened last winter when a dispute between Russia and Ukraine left many EU nations without fuel for weeks. While the deals cement the political willingness to build the pipelines²³ through Turkey to facilitate shipments from the Caspian region and the Middle East, it does not secure any financing for the estimated $10-billion price tag, nor does it specify²⁴ where the gas would come from. The US, a supporter of the project, opposes using Iranian gas as envisioned by Turkey unless relations with Tehran change. If all goes ahead, Nabucco could become operational in 2014. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.

Software maker²⁵ Microsoft is letting some testers have an early peek²⁶ at its latest version of Office, though the company is keeping web-based versions of some of its other popular programs, Word and Excel under wraps. The company lets some people have a technical preview of Office 2010.

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 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

3 fidelity   

n.忠诚，忠实；精确

参考例句：

• There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
• His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。

4 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

9 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。

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

12 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

13 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

14 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

15 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

16 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

17 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。

18 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

19 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

20 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。

21 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

22 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

23 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

24 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

25 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

26 peek   

vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥

参考例句：

• Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
• Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛，别偷看。