NPR 2012-12-18

 　　From NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.

 

　　In the aftermath of Friday's deadly shooting at a suburban¹ Connecticut elementary school that killed 20 children and seven adults, there is a renewed push to address gun control measures. White House spokesman, Jay Carney says, curbing² gun violence will be no easy task.

 

　　It's a complex problem that will require a complex solution. No single piece of legislation, no single action will fully³ address the problem.

 

　　President Obama is promising⁴ to use the power of his office to tackle gun violence. The President is expected to engage the American people as well as lawmakers in the coming weeks.

 

　　A Democratic senator, who was a gun rights advocate with an A rating from the National Rifle Association, is the latest lawmaker to indicate he may support a ban on assault weapons. NPR's Craig Windham reports Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia says the mass killing⁵ of the young people in Newtown has changed the nation.

 

　　Manchin is an avid⁶ hunter, but he says the shootings are causing him to take a new look at laws that allow assault rifles and clips of more than 10 rounds of ammunition⁷.

 

　　I don't know anyone in the sporting or hunting arena⁸ that goes out with an assault rifle. I don't know anybody that needs 30 rounds in the clip to go hunting.

 

　　Manchin in an interview on MSNBC says the NRA should be included in the effort to find ways to prevent mass shootings, such as the one in Newtown.

 

　　This has changed the dialogue and it should move beyond dialogue, we need action.

 

　　Several Democratic lawmakers have said they'll press to reimpose a ban on the sale of assault weapons or to make it harder for people with serious mental health issues to get guns. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　In Spain, unions are calling for mass demonstrations⁹ against austerity measures that many blame for rising unemployment and poverty. Lauren Frayer reports from Madrid where protests cap 11 days of strikes by medical workers.

 

　　Doctors and nurses occupied Madrid's Central Square, protesting the privatization of local hospitals, one of several cost-cutting measures with which the government hopes to avoid a larger EU bailout. Camilla Vilnius is a doctor skipping work to join the protests.

 

　　The problem is that they don't have any cash, so they need to get some money and the only way they can do that is by selling off the health care.

 

　　Spain's government says austerity is unavoidable and that demonstrations only make matters worse. Officials say 4,000 surgeries have been canceled in Madrid over the past 11 days while doctors have been on strike. For NPR News, I'm Lauren Frayer in Madrid.

 

　　The Census¹⁰ Bureau for the first time is giving U.S. households a chance to respond to government surveys over the Internet. Beginning this week, more than 3 million U.S. households will be asked to respond to the American Community Survey online.

 

　　On Wall Street, the Dow was up 58 points.

 

　　This is NPR News.

 

　　A pro-nuclear party has won Japan's parliamentary election. More than 20 months after a nuclear disaster in the country, anti-nuclear activists¹¹ are shocked over the Liberal Democratic Party's victory. Following the earthquake and tsunami¹² that caused meltdowns and explosions at a nuclear power plant last year. Public opinion polls supported the phaseout of reactors¹³.

 

　　Two washing-machine-size probes that have been orbiting the Moon for almost a year, will make a planned crash landing into its surface later today. The probes have been measuring subtle variations in the Moon's gravity field. And as NPR's reports NASA says its Grail Moon mission has achieved all of its goals.

 

　　The two NASA probes have flown close to the lunar surface, producing a high resolution gravity map of the Moon. These data have given scientists their most detailed¹⁴ look yet at the Moon's internal structure and chemical makeup¹⁵. But Ebb¹⁶ and Flow, as the probes are called, are running out of fuel. Grail project manager David Lehman says NASA will intentionally¹⁷ crash the probes into a mountain near the Moon's north pole.

 

　　To avoid what are called historic heritage sites, the various places where the U.S. and the Russians have put soft landers on the Moon.

 

　　But the site will be in shadow and with the probes' fuel tanks on empty, NASA says the impact won't be visible from Earth. Vera Nicola Capra, NPR News

 

　　A factory fire in Bangladesh that killed 112 people last month was deliberately¹⁸ set. A government committee investigating the blaze says some people who worked at the factory might be involved in the sabotage¹⁹. But it says no matter who set the fire, the factory owner must be punished for his negligence²⁰.

 

　　I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News, Washington.

1 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

2 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

3 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。

4 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

7 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

8 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

9 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

10 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

13 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

14 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

15 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

16 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

17 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

18 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

19 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

20 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。