NPR 2012-02-29

 A third student is confirmed dead from yesterday's shooting rampage at Chardon High School in Ohio. The Metro¹ Health System says Demetrius Hewlin was declared dead this morning. Fellow Classmates Daniel Parmertor and Russell King also died from injuries sustained in the shooting. Two other students, meanwhile, were wounded. The community plans to hold a vigil tonight. Sheriff Dan McClelland says residents are trying to heal.

 

“Chardon, Geauga County, northeast of Ohio is rallying like nothing we've never seen before.”

 

The Geauga County Juvenile² Court says the alleged³ shooter, TJ Lane, will appear in court this afternoon.

 

As Michigan voters cast ballots⁴ today for a Republican presidential candidate, President Obama was speaking to a group of unionized auto⁵ workers in Washington. NPR's Scott Horsley reports Mr. Obama blasted his GOP rivals for campaigning against the government's rescue of the auto industry.

 

President Obama says now that GM and Chrysler are profitable and hiring again. Critics of the government's 2009 rescue might want to changer their tune⁶. But he notes Mitt⁷ Romney and Rick Santorum have continued to badmouth the rescue even if they campaigned in the heart of the American auto industry.

 

“Part of that same old, you are on your own philosophy that says we should just leave everybody to fend⁸ for themselves, let the most powerful do whatever they please.”

 

The UAW has pledged aggressive support for Mr. Obama in his reelection campaign. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Syria's president could be described as a war criminal. As NPR's Michele Kelemen reports, the US has been trying to encourage those around President Bashar al-Assad to split away from him.

 

In a budget hearing that covered most of the world's hotspots, Senator Lindsey Graham asked a pointed⁹ question about Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

 

“Do you believe that Assad should be billed by the international community as a war criminal.”

 

“I think that based on definitions of war criminal and crimes against humanity, there would be an argument to be made that he would fit into that category.”

 

But Secretary Clinton was quick to point out that labeling Assad a war criminal could complicate¹⁰ efforts to persuade him to leave office. She cites the example of Yemen, where there were new elections. Clinton credited the US ambassador there of engaging in persistent¹¹ diplomacy¹². Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

 

Meanwhile, at least one Western journalist who was wounded has escaped the Syrian military siege in Homs. He’s identified as British photographer Paul Conroy. But an opposition¹³ group says 13 Syrians who helped smuggle¹⁴ Conroy out of the country were killed during the operation.

 

Here’s the latest from Wall Street, the Dow was up nine points at 12,990; NASDAQ gaining 11; it’s at 2,977.

 

You’re listening to NPR News.

 

Businesses cut spending on machinery¹⁵ and equipment last month. That's according to the Commerce Department. NPR's Dave Mattingly reports orders for durable¹⁶ goods dropped by the sharpest amount in three years.

 

Economist¹⁷ Hugh Johnson describes January's drop of 4% in orders for durable goods as a little troubling because it's a leading indicator¹⁸ for the US economy, encompassing¹⁹ everything from appliances and new cars and trucks to aircraft.

 

“We know this number can be very volatile²⁰. You can get big swings to the upside and to the downside, and I think most economists²¹ had been expecting a decline but nothing in the order of 4%.”

 

The drop in orders followed strong demand in December, when factory output jumped and companies rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax break.

 

“This is clearly a bump in the road on a very slow recovery.”

 

Dave Mattingly, NPR News, Washington.

 

While consumers are more confident about the economy's outlook, a private research group, Conference Board, released its consumer confidence index that shows a 70.8 reading in February. That's up from a revised 61.5 the month before.

 

Gas prices keep rising. The national average now $3.72 for a gallon of regular gas. However, prices are reported to much higher in Hawaii, California, New York, Alaska and Connecticut. The costs of gas began surging earlier than normal for this time of the year, as oil prices were surging. Crude has jumped about 10% so far in 2012.

 

Dow up eight points, it's at 12990, with the NASDAQ gaining 11 points; S&P 500 up two.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

2 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

6 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

7 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。

8 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

11 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

12 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

13 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。

14 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

15 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

16 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

17 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

18 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

19 encompassing   

v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• Being too large and all-encompassing is a common defect among state-owned enterprises. 过分追求大而全，是国企的一大通病。 来自互联网
• Our services are: all-encompassing, love justice and high quality. 我们的服务目标是：全方位、真情义、高质量。 来自互联网

20 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

21 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》