NPR 2012-01-17

 Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman is suspending his campaign for the White House and is endorsing¹ former Massachusetts Governor Mitt² Romney. We have details from NPR's Don Gonyea in Myrtle Beach.

 

Huntsman made the announcement at the Convention Center where the remaining candidates will debate tonight. Flanked by his wife and daughters, the man who was seen as the most moderate candidate in the GOP field offered a strong criticism of the nature of the campaigns.

 

"This race has degenerated³ into an onslaught of negative and personal attacks not worthy⁴ of the American people, and not worthy of this critical time in our nation's history."

 

Huntsman staked everything on a strong finish in New Hampshire last week. He came in third, which was not good enough. Low poll numbers in South Carolina which votes Saturday convinced him to get out. He says Mitt Romney is the best candidate to unite the party and beat President Obama. Don Gonyea, NPR News, Myrtle Beach.

 

A couple from Minnesota reportedly are among the 16 people still missing since a cruise ship with thousands of people on board ran aground and capsized off the west coast of Italy Friday. The Associated Press identifies the passengers as Barbara and Jerry Heil of White Bear Lake. With at least six people confirmed dead, rescuers are racing⁵ to find possible survivors⁶, but that operation was temporarily suspended today because, as the BBC's Bethany Bell tells us, the ship wreck⁷ poses a significant environmental threat to the region.

 

There's a lot of concern about the fuel that's still aboard the vessel⁸. There are worries that there might be some sort of fuel spill in this area which is an area of outstanding natural beauty on the Tuscan coast. And there's a great deal of concern about that, particularly after the ship appeared to slip further earlier today.

 

That's the BBC's Bethany Bell reporting.

 

The Board of Pardons in Delaware has voted four to one to recommend commuting⁹ a death sentence for convicted killer¹⁰ Robert Gattis. As NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports, it is now up to the state's Democratic governor to decide whether to spare the 49-year-old inmate's life.

 

Gattis is convicted of murdering his girlfriend Shirley Slay¹¹ in 1990. He had a violent history and shot the 27-year-old woman between the eyes, something he claimed was accidental. The Board of Pardons arrived at its recommendation based on new facts that emerged in Gattis' clemency¹² petition, that as a child, he was violently and sexually abused by members of his family. In the year before the crime, he had also warned doctors of his violent impulses. The board said his family history made for sufficient grounds for clemency and recommended reducing Gattis' sentence to life in prison with no chance of parole. Gattis is scheduled to die by lethal¹³ injection early Friday. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

 

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OPEC is projecting world demand for oil will grow this year. The Organization of Petroleum¹⁴ Exporting Countries is forecasting a more-than-one-million-barrel-a-day increase. OPEC's monthly report also says demand will likely drop in major industrialized nations while it increases elsewhere.

 

President Obama says there's no better way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. than to do something on behalf of others. The president, Mrs. Obama, and daughter Malia took part in a volunteer project at a Washington D.C. school today in honor of this holiday.

 

The Artist and The Descendents are big winners at the Golden Globes with top film and acting¹⁵ awards. NPR's Trina Williams has a look at some of the standouts.

 

The Artist gets the most Golden Globes, winning three awards, best squad¹⁶ along with the acting honors. While excited about the multiple wins for The Descendants, winner George Clooney acknowledges his friend and fellow nominee¹⁷ for Best Actor Brad Pitt.

 

"We don't wager¹⁸, we don't bet, we just, you know, look at each other and slap each other on the back and wish each other well."

 

Meryl Streep wins Best Actress on the drama side while it was all about being a good mommy for Musical/Comedy Best Actress winner Michelle Williams.

 

"I want to say thank you for sending me off to this job every day with a hug and a kiss. I couldn't have done it otherwise."

 

Other winners include Homeland, Modern Family, Claire Danes, Kelsey Grammer, Matt Leblanc, Octavia Spencer, Christopher Plummer, Woody Allen, Martin Scorcese, Kate Winslet and Idris Elba. Trina Williams, NPR News.

 

Still no sign of that Russian Mars moon probe which fell to earth yesterday after being stuck in orbit for two months. Speculation¹⁹ was that fragments of that craft had fallen in the Pacific Ocean off Chile's coast.

1 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

2 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

3 degenerated   

衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

4 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

5 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

8 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

9 commuting   

交换（的）

参考例句：

• I used the commuting time to read and answer my mail. 我利用上下班在汽车中的时间来阅读和答复给我的函电。
• Noncommuting objects are as real to the mathematicians as commuting objects. 对于数学家来说，不可交换的对象与可交换的对象是一样真实的。

10 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

11 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。

12 clemency   

n.温和，仁慈，宽厚

参考例句：

• The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题，将由国王决定。
• They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。

13 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

14 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

15 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。

16 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。

17 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。

18 wager   

n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌

参考例句：

• They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
• I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。

19 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。