NPR 2012-05-14

 The CEO of JP Morgan Chase says he was dead wrong when dismissed concerns about the banks trading. Speaking on ABC's Meet the Press, Jamie Dimon played down the concerns in April as a tempest in a teapot. 

So first, I was dead wrong when I said that.  I obviously didn't know, I'd never have said that. And one of the reasons it became public was because we wanted to say, ‘You know what, we told you something that was completely wrong a mere¹ four weeks ago. And we took a $2 billion loss and we made it clear it could get worst before it gets better. 

Last week, the bank disclosed $2 billion in trading losses over the past six weeks. Dimon says he supports giving the government the authority to take down a failing big bank.

 

 

Effects to put together in coalition² government in Greece are starting to fall apart, if Greece's president fails to broker³ a coalition. Greek voters will have to return to the polls. Last week's parliamentary elections produced no clear winner. The political uncertainty⁴ has alarmed international creditors⁵ who have given Greece billions of Euros and bailout loans over the past two years.

 

 

In Afghanistan, a gunman has assassinated⁶ a member of that country's High Peace Council. NPR's Quil Lawrence says the former Taliban official was a key negotiator between the Afghan government and insurgents⁷. 

Arsala Rahmani, had been a minister during the Taliban regime, but later became a key advisor⁸ to the Afghan government on peace talks. Afghan authorities said Rahmani was stuck in traffic on his way to work when a man in the car beside him fired a single shot, killing⁹ him instantly. Last September, another assassin killed the leader of Afghan's High Peace Council. While the council had made scant¹⁰ progress toward negotiations¹¹. Both killings¹² threatened to what little trust exists between national and regional powers involved in the talks. The Taliban denied involvement in the killing, but in previous statements, the group has threatened members of the peace council. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Kabul. 

 

 

Thirty-seven dismembered bodies have been found on a road near Mexico's industrial city of Monterrey. James Blears reports on the latest carnage in the country's intensifying¹³ drug war now in its sixth year.

Police reached the scene of carnage following a tip-off. They found the body parts in plastic bags. The region's currently torn by few between the gulf¹⁴ and the Zatus Drug Cartels. This latest massacre¹⁵ follows another mid-week in which 18 decapitated corpses¹⁶ were found near Mexico's second city, Guadalajara. Last August, the Casino fire in Monterrey started by  the Zatus when owners refused to pay production money, killed 53 people. The worst single atrocity¹⁷ so far in Mexico's drug war. For NPR News, I'm James Blears, in Mexico City.

 

 

A drawing based on information from Iranian military site could be evidence that Iran has facilities for experimenting with a new clear explosion. The image obtained by the Associated Press, shows an explosives contain the chamber¹⁸ of the type needed for nuclear arms-related tests. 

 

 

This is NPR News.

 

 

The authorities in South California have launched a massive search for a missing FBI agent, who is believed to be suicidal. They say special agent, Steven Evens, is armed, but not a threat to others. He is described as an avid¹⁹ runner and hiker. Dogs have tracked descent to the rugged²⁰ mountains, East of Burbank. The searchers have found out to look through Los Angeles County. 

 

 

Thousands of people have rallied across Australia as part of a national day support of same-sex marriage. As Stewart Colin reports from Sydney, President Obama's recent comments in support of gay marriage have been new debate across the region.

More than 4,000 people turned out in Melbourne as 1,100 took to the streets of Sydney as part of the rallies. While Australian ** same-sex couples move to the same benefits as heterosexual couples. Activists²¹ want the Federal government to legalize same-sex marriage. Two separate bills are currently working their way through parliament. But Prime Minister Julia Gillard has steadfastly²² refused to support gay marriage. Even after public pressure has increased in the wake of president Obama's comments. On Friday, New Zealand's prime minister came out in support of gay marriage, but said legalizing it isn't currently on his parliament's agenda. Meanwhile, the Australian Medical Association is working to distance itself from a prominent group of doctors who issued a statement calling same-sex marriage on healthy for children. For NPR News, I'm Stewart Colin in Sydney.

 

 

The latest number showed  the number of New York Police Department street stops jumped to more than 200,000 stops during the first three months of 2012. That's something just over 183 stops during the same quarter last year. The policy allows police to stop a person based on reasonable suspicion.

 

 

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

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

7 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

8 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

9 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。

10 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 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。

13 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

14 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

15 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！

16 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

17 atrocity   

n.残暴，暴行

参考例句：

• These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity.这些人犯有令人发指的暴行。
• I am shocked by the atrocity of this man's crimes.这个人行凶手段残忍狠毒使我震惊。

18 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

19 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。

20 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

21 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》

22 steadfastly   

adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝

参考例句：

• So he sat, with a steadfastly vacant gaze, pausing in his work. 他就像这样坐着，停止了工作，直勾勾地瞪着眼。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Defarge and his wife looked steadfastly at one another. 德伐日和他的妻子彼此凝视了一会儿。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记