NPR 2012-03-14

 President Obama is condemning¹ this week's attack on Afghan civilians² allegedly at the hands of one US soldier, and he’s promising³ swift punishment for anyone involved.

 

“The United States takes this as seriously as if it was our own citizens and our own children who were murdered.”

 

But outrage⁴ in Afghanistan is spreading. Crowds in Jalalabad burned President Obama in effigy⁵ today. The Taliban are threatening to behead Americans in Afghanistan to avenge⁶ the killings⁷, and NPR's Quil Lawrence reports one Afghan soldier was killed and two others wounded today when gunmen attacked a local government delegation⁸ in southern Afghanistan as it visited the scene of Sunday's massacre⁹.

 

A high-level government delegation, including two of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brothers, had entered a mosque¹⁰ to prey¹¹ with family members of Sunday's victims when gunmen opened fire outside. The attack took place in a village southwest of Kandahar, where residents are still mourning the loss of friends and relatives, including children between the ages of 2 and 12. Afghan soldiers returned fire as the delegation quickly escaped back to the relative safety of Kandahar's capital. Afghan politicians have appealed for calm after the massacre. But they have also demanded that the perpetrator be tried in Afghanistan. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Kabul.

 

The Fed is sounding more optimistic about the US economy. It's said today unemployment in the US should continue to decline. The Federal Reserve is also expected to soon release the results of its so-called stress tests of 19 financial institutions.

 

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 218 points at 13,178.

 

Polls will be open [for] a few more hours in Alabama and Mississippi's GOP presidential primaries. NPR's Tamara Keith reports the results are expected to be very close.

 

Polls headed into today's voting showed the top three GOP presidential candidates in a tight race. For Mitt¹² Romney, wins in these two southern states would prove he could notch¹³ victories while outside of his comfort zone. Last week, he described it as a bit of an “away game.” For former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, wins in these states would keep his candidacy alive; and for former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, it's all about showing that this primary really should be a two-men contest between himself and Mitt Romney. Regardless of who wins the popular vote, the candidates will split the all-important delegates. Tamara Keith, NPR News.

 

Doobie Brothers Drummer Michael Hossack has died. His drumming can be heard on early hits, including “Listen to the Music.” Hossack played with the group from 1971 to 1973 and rejoined the Doobie Brothers over a decade later. He stopped performing with the band two years ago after being diagnosed with cancer. A spokesperson says Michael Hossack died yesterday at his home in Wyoming. He was 65. 

 

This is NPR News.

 

The US Commerce Department says retail¹⁴ sales notched¹⁵ up about 1% in February. NPR's Annie Baxter reports sales got a bump in a number of industries.

 

Last month, the consumers doled¹⁶ out more for autos, electronics, clothing and restaurants among other things, and higher fuel prices meant that sales at gas stations ticked up for the second month in a row. Chris Christopher, an economist¹⁷ with the IHS Global Insight, says the retail picture is looking strong.

 

“And it's sort of indicating that Americans are still spending, still feeling very comfortable going out to the malls and things to buy clothing or whatever despite the higher gasoline prices.”

 

But Christopher says if gasoline prices soar, that will dampen overall retail sales. Annie Baxter, NPR News.

 

The defense¹⁸ has rested in a wrongful death civil lawsuit¹⁹ surrounding the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings. Attorneys for the state called their final witness to the stand today to counter claims that Virginia Tech officials mishandled their response to the shootings in which a gunman killed 32 people on campus.

 

The most recent snapshot of advertised jobs shows fewer openings posted in January than the month before. The number fell about 3.5 million, the most in 3.5 years. That's not to say, though people are not getting hire. Just a few days ago, the Labor²⁰ Department noted²¹ employers have added an average of 245,000 jobs per month since December.

 

US stocks sharp rised today, with the Dow closing up more than 200 points or more than 1.5% at 13,178; NASDAQ up nearly 2% at 3,040; and the S&P 500 also up 1.8% at 1,396.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 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。

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 effigy   

n.肖像

参考例句：

• There the effigy stands,and stares from age to age across the changing ocean.雕像依然耸立在那儿，千秋万载地凝视着那变幻无常的大海。
• The deposed dictator was burned in effigy by the crowd.群众焚烧退位独裁者的模拟像。

6 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

7 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

8 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

9 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

10 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

11 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

12 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。

13 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

14 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

15 notched   

a.有凹口的，有缺口的

参考例句：

• Torino notched up a 2-1 win at Lazio. 都灵队以2 比1 赢了拉齐奧队。
• He notched up ten points in the first five minutes of the game. 他在比赛开始后的五分钟里得了十分。

16 doled   

救济物( dole的过去式和过去分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• The food was doled out to the poor. 食品分发给了穷人。
• Sisco briskly doled out the United States positions on the key issues. 西斯科轻快地把美国在重大问题上的立场放了出去。

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 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

19 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

20 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

21 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。