NPR 2012-06-01

 Jurors in the campaign finance trial of former senator John Edwards have reached a partial verdict issuing a unanimous guilt¹ vote on the third count of illegal campaign contributions. The judge has ordered the juror back to deliberations on the other counts. The decision comes after a 17-day trial and 9 days of deliberations in Greensboro in North Carolina.

 

 

Plus lawmakers have voted against the measure making it a federal crime to provide an abortion² to a woman who is motivated by the sex of the fetus³. NPR’s Elizabeth Blair reports.

The bill to ban gender⁴ based abortions⁵ was introduced by Arizona congressman⁶, Trent Franks.

It is my hope that by protecting unborn children from being aborted⁷ based on their sex, that one day very soon, we will also recognize the humanity and justice are protecting unborn children regardless of their race or color as well.

But researchers say that studies so far show the practice is not wide spread in the US. Though there is some evidence that it occurs in Asian American communities. The American College of Obstetricians(产科学) and Gynecologists(妇科医生) opposes sex selected abortion, but is against the bill proposed by Franks, because among other things, it would violate doctor-patient confidentiality⁸. Elizabeth Blair, NPR news, Washington.

 

 

Prisoners in California’s Pelican⁹ Bay State Prison have filed a law suit, protesting what they call inhuman¹⁰ treatment. Many of the inmates¹¹ say they’ve been held in solitary¹² confinement¹³ for more than a decade. NPR’s Carrie Johnson reports on conditions inside the prison.

Criminals held in the special housing unit spend at least 22 hours a day in a small cell with no windows. They say they’re denied phone calls, family visits and any kind of education behind bars. More than 500 prisoners in Pelican Bay have spent more than 10 years in solitary confinement. And a few dozen have been isolated¹⁴ there for more than 20 years. Their lawyers at the * constitutional rights, argue that violates the 8th Amendment¹⁵, which bans cruel and unusual punishment. The prisoners say they have no way to get out of the unit, short of informing on other inmates, which violates their due process rights. Several of the inmates helped lead hunger strike last year. Carrie Johnson, NPR news, Washington.

 

 

The Dragon spacecraft has landed safely back on earth. The unmanned cargo¹⁶ ship parachuted into the Pacific this morning after leaving the international space station. It brought back nearly 1,400 tons of old gear. It’s the first vessel¹⁷ to return such a load since last shuttles retired¹⁸ last year. It will take a few to transport the capsule by barge(驳船) to Los Angeles. From there, Dragon will be taken to the Space X rocket factory in Texas for unloading and inspections¹⁹.

 

 

On Wall Street, the Dow was up almost 2 points at 12,421; The Nasdaq down 16; The S&P down 16.

 

 

This is NPR news.

 

 

Super-sized sugary drinks in New York City may no longer be an option. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is proposing to ban the sales of large size sugary beverages²⁰ in an effort to fight the nation’s obesity²¹ epidemic²². The ban which could take effect as soon as March, would not apply to diet sodas²³, food juices or alcohol beverages. Documents show 58% of New York City adults and nearly 40% of city public school students are overweight or obese²⁴.

 

 

European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi is critical of the way the Eurozone crisis has been handled, saying it’s the job of European Union leaders and not the bank to come up with a vision for the common currency’s future. Teri Schultz in Brussels has the details.

Draghi says the central bank can’t fill the policy void and the European leaders must decide now how they want the Euro and their own cooperation to develop. He criticized the way governments have underestimated their economic problems and then had to issue correction after correction as their assessments²⁵ became more realistic.

That’s the worst possible way of doing things because everybody ends up doing the right thing but at the highest possible cost and price.

Using the example of bank recapitalization specifically, Draghi says it’s better to do too much than too little. He suggests a cross border banking²⁶ union with centralized funding and supervision²⁷ so that no matter what country is struggling bank in, it will be supported. Germany is opposed to such collective guarantees. From NPR news, I’m Teri Schultz in Brussels.

 

 

Then the update on the John Edwards’ case is unclear whether the juror announced its decision on count 3. The jurors say that’s the only count they could agree on. The judge sent the jurors back to key deliberating.

 

 

I’m Windsor Johnston, NPR news in Washington.

1 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

2 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

3 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

6 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 aborted   

adj.流产的，失败的v.（使）流产( abort的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）（某事物）中止；（因故障等而）（使）（飞机、宇宙飞船、导弹等）中断飞行；（使）（飞行任务等）中途失败

参考例句：

• The rocket flight had to be aborted because of difficulties with computer. 因电脑出故障，这次火箭飞行只好中辍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They aborted the space flight finally. 他们最后中止了这次宇航飞行。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

9 pelican   

n.鹈鹕，伽蓝鸟

参考例句：

• The pelican has a very useful beak.鹈鹕有一张非常有用的嘴。
• This pelican is expected to fully recover.这只鹈鹕不久就能痊愈。

10 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

11 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

13 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

14 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

15 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

16 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

17 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

18 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

19 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例

21 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

22 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

23 sodas   

n.苏打( soda的名词复数 )；碱；苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• There are plenty of sodas in the refrigerator. 冰箱里有很多碳酸饮料。 来自辞典例句
• Two whisky and sodas, please. 请来两杯威士忌苏打。 来自辞典例句

24 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

25 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

26 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。

27 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。