NPR 2012-04-14

 President Obama has apparently¹ signed off on a plan to increase aid to Syria’s opposition². The Associated Press is reporting that the president has approved a plan to provide communications equipment and medical supplies to Syria’s non-violent political groups and not to the armed rebels. Activists³ in Syria say at least five people have been killed today in massive anti-government demonstrations⁴ on the heels of the ceasefire agreement.

 

President made a stop in Florida today on his way to the Summit of Americas in Colombia. From member station WUSF in Tampa, Susan Giles Wantuck reports.

 

This is the president’s second campaign stop in a week to the crucial swing state of Florida. During his quick visit to the port of Tampa, Mr. Obama said rather than being a nation of consumers, we need to get back to our manufacturing roots.

 

“Shipping containers left ports like this packed with goods that were stamped with three proud words: Made in America.”

 

As he heads to Cartagena for the Summit of Americas, the thorny⁵ issues of immigration policy, Cuba and drug policy are likely to hang over the discussions between the president and South American leaders. For NPR News, I’m Susan Giles Wantuck in Tampa.

 

The UN Security Council held a closed-door meeting today to discuss North Korea’s failed rocket launch. The world body says the attempted lanuch violated two council resolutions concerning testing for nuclear and missile technology. Council members would not say whether or not they are considering more sanctions against North Korea. Until previous occasions, the Security Council hasn’t imposed sanctions after North Korea conducted nuclear tests. The rocket broke into pieces shortly after liftoff.

 

Banking⁶ giant J.P. Morgan Chase says its profits improved during the first three months of the year. NPR’s Jim Zarroli reports that the bank contributes the improvement in part to a stronger economy.

 

J.P. Morgan said its profits were down 3% from the year before, but its overall revenue was up. The company said its revenue from investment banking was higher than it had been in the fourth quarter, and there was an increase in loan demand and credit quality. Bank officials said that was partly because of new strength in the economy. J.P. Morgan is the second-largest US bank by assets. Meanwhile, the fourth-biggest Wells Fargo also reported a better-than-expected first quarter. It said its profits were up 13% from the year before. The bank said that was largely because of a big increase in its mortgage banking results. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

 

The White House says the president and the first lady paid more than 160,000 dollars in federal taxes last year. The president’s income return shows an adjusted gross income of about 790,000 dollars. About half of the Obamas' income comes from his presidential salary; the rest is from book sales. The returns also show the Obamas made to 172,000 dollars in charitable contributions.

 

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 68 points at 12,918; the NASDAQ Composite is down 35 points at 3,020. 

 

This is NPR.

 

Two Oklahoma men are being charged with murder and hate crimes for an Easter weekend shooting spree that left three people dead. Police say 19-year-old Jake England and 33-year-old Alvin Watts⁷ have confessed. All of the victims were black. England’s father was killed two years ago by a black man, and police say the shootings may have been to avenge⁸ his father’s death.

 

A British police detective is suing Rupert Murdoch’s Times of London for hacking⁹ into his email and exposing him as the writer of an anonymous¹⁰ police blog. Larry Miller¹¹ reports that he was subsequently disciplined by his force and order to stop his award-winning blogging.

 

In the legal action brought by Richard Horton, a detective with the Lancashire police force, the Times is cited for breach¹² of confidence, misuse¹³ of private information and deceit. Horton is seeking damages which, if he’s successful, could be substantial. Horton was revealed as the writer of a police blog after a Times reporter hacked¹⁴ into his emails three years ago. Horton sought a high court injunction to remain anonymous, but the Times withheld¹⁵ the information that his emails were hacked and he was exposed. The Times has sinced admitted the hacking and apologized. Horton’s lawyer is also representing three people who will be the first phone-hacking victims to sue the Murdoch organization in US courts. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

 

Osama bin¹⁶ Laden¹⁷’s three widows and their children will be heading to Saudi Arabia after they complete a prison sentence in Pakistan for entering that country illegally. The defense¹⁸ attorney for the women says Pakistani officials will deport¹⁹ the bin Ladens sometime next week. Two of the women are from Saudi Arabia; one is from Yemen. They’ve been held in captivity²⁰ since the US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden last May.

 

I’m Jim Howard, NPR News in Washington.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 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。

3 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》

4 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。

5 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

6 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

7 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

8 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。

9 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

10 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

11 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

12 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

13 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

14 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

15 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

17 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

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 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

20 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。