NPR 2012-04-28

 President Obama has signed an executive order designed to shield military families from deceptive¹ marketing² by for-profit schools. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports the order came during a visit by the president and First Lady Michelle Obama to Fort Stewart, Georgia.

 

President Obama was joined at Fort Stewart by past and present service members who’ve had bad experiences with for-profit colleges. Thanks to their GI Bill benefits, military families are sometimes targets for aggressive college marketers, whom Mr. Obama says don’t always deliver on their promises of education.

 

"Sometimes you’re dealing³ with folks who aren’t interested in helping⁴ you. They’re not interested in helping you find the best program. They’re interested in getting the money.”

 

The president’s executive order calls for more disclosure of tuition cost and graduation rates. The order also directs the VA to trademark⁵ the term “GI Bill,” making it harder to use for deceptive online marketing. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 

The US economy is growing but more slowly by than the government had hoped. The first quarter saw a growth rate of 2.2%, lower than the 3% increase the country saw the previous quarter. The Commerce Department says consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in more than a year, but that was partially⁶ offset⁷ by cutbacks in government spending.

 

Syrian state television says an explosion in the Syrian capital of Damascus has killed at least nine people and injured many more. NPR’s Kelly McEvers reports the explosions come as Syrians took to the streets for the latest round of weekly protests that have gone on for more than a year.

 

Syrian state television blamed the blast on terrorists, but so far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Video from the blast site near a mosque⁸ showed gruesome images of body parts. The Syrian government and those who oppose it are trading accusations⁹ over who has made more violations¹⁰ of a UN-brokered ceasefire that was supposed to take effect two weeks ago. Syrian activists¹¹ say hundreds of people have died at the hands of government troops. The Syrian government says armed rebels have committed hundreds of violations themselves. Right now a handful of UN observers are inside Syria. More are expected next week. Kelly McEvers, NPR News, Beirut.

 

John Edwards’ terminal trial entered the fifth day. In the latest development, Judge Catherine Eagles is denying a bid by Edwards’ former mistress Rielle Hunter to restrict what the public will be allowed to learn about a court battle over a sex tape. Hunter has said that tape of her and the former Democratic presidential candidate are of a personal nature. Edwards denies charges that he violated campaign finance rules by using donors’ money to conceal¹² his extramarital affair with Hunter.

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 33 points at 13,238. 

 

This is NPR News.

 

NATO is reporting the death of another service member in an insurgent¹³ attack in southern Afghanistan. The military alliance’s statement today does not reveal, however, the fallen soldier’s nationality. At least 36 international service members have died in Afghanistan so far this month.

 

Three men have been arrested in Denmark on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack. Teri Schultz reports the new arrest comes as headlines are being made in a terror trial already underway.

 

The Danish Security Service says the arrests were made at two different locations in the capital. The three men have been charged with illegally possessing automatic weapons and ammunition¹⁴, and officials believe they were in the process of planning an attack. In a separate trial that opened in Copenhagen earlier this month, four men are accused of plotting a shooting spree in 2010. They were found with enormous weapon supplies. The chief prosecutor¹⁵ in that case says the attack was planned on the office of the newspaper that in 2005 sparked controversy¹⁶ by publishing characters of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. A taped conversation with an investigator¹⁷ has been revealed in the press in which one of the defendants¹⁸ says a member of their group was given orders from Pakistan to kill as many people as possible in Denmark. For NPR News, I’m Teri Schultz.

 

In the face of growing public outrage¹⁹, the Czech government has managed to survive a confidence vote. Politicians have come under fire for attempting to make deep cuts in spending. The right-leaning government is also the target of widespread corruption²⁰ allegations.

 

We’ve been seeing gains in the US stocks today with the Dow up 31 points at 13,235; NASDAQ up more than 0.5%, 19 points, at 3,069; S&P 500 gaining three points.

 

I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

8 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。

9 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

10 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

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 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

13 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

14 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。

15 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

16 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

17 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

18 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

19 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。

20 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。