NPR 2012-07-13

 Wells Fargo, the country's fourth largest bank has agreed to pay 175 million dollars to settle charges that violated fair lending laws during the housing boom. Deputy Attorney General James Cole says the bank's practices affected¹ minorities in 36 states and the district of Colombia. 

Systematic² discrimination was discovered in Wells Fargo's lending practices. This resulted in more than 34,000 African-American and Hispanic wholesale³ borrowers, paying an increased rate for loans simply due to their color of their skin.

Part of the settlement includes 50 million dollars to help affected buyers with down payments or home improvements in cities that the government has identified as the most severely⁴ hurt in the housing crisis. 

 

 

The US is expanding its sanctions on Iran. It's targeting more firms and individuals for contributing to what the administration says is an effort for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.

 

 

More evidence has been released in the case of George Zimmerman, the Florida man charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin. NPR's ** reports it includes phone calls Zimmerman made to police over several months. 

George Zimmerman identified himself as a neighborhood watch volunteer in the released phone calls telling dispatchers that there have been several break-ins in his community. He calls about kids playing in the street, a man picking up garbage, two men standing⁵ by gate and about unarmed Trayvon Martin on that fateful night last February and encounter that ended with this radio transmission released by officials.

I need somebody ASAP I've got one down with a gunshot wound and I've got another one secured.

Zimmerman was arrested 44 days after the nation. The delay prompted nationwide protests. He was released on bail⁶ last week again and is in what his attorney calls a safe house in Florida. ** NPR News.

 

 

Scaving criticism handed down today to the former leadership of Penn State University in the wake of the child abuse scandal. Former FBI director Louis Freeh has released a report on the school's handling of allegations against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky who has been convicted on abuse charges accuses university officials of a coverup and failing to protect the young victims. 

 

 

Travel through a Michigan tunnel connecting Detroit with Windsor, Ontario was shut down because of a bomb threat about  4.5 million vehicles, passed through that under water tunnel during all of last year. It is one of two international border crossings in Detroit. A new border tunnel apparently⁷ designed to smuggle⁸ drugs from Mexico into the US reportedly has been uncovered in the Tijuana. The Associated Press citing  Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack says the incomplete tunnel began under a bathroom sink inside a warehouse⁹, it did not reach the San Diego border. 

 

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was off 1 points at 12,604. 

This is NPR News.

 

 

New jobless claims in the US dropped by 26,000 last week. They fell to their lowest level in four years. But NPR's Dave Mattingly reports the decline may be seasonal¹⁰. 

Economist¹¹ Jew Johnson says automakers deciding to delay the retooling¹² of their plans are largely behind the drop and weakly jobless claims.

We had expected at this time a year some shutdowns of automobile¹³, of factories and manufacturing facilities, particularly in the case of Chrysler, Ford¹⁴ and Nissan. We didn't get those shutdowns because they are trying to keep those factories open to meet really pretty good demand for automobiles¹⁵. 

Adjusted seasonally¹⁶ new claims declined 360,000, but Johnson expects that number to go back up over the next month. Dave Mattingly, NPR News, Washington.

 

 

The Syrian army is shelling parts of Damascus today in a further escalation¹⁷ of the conflict there. Russell Lewis reports activists¹⁸ say at least 34 people have been killed across Syria today. 

The Syrian government's crackdown on rebels is taking an unprecedented¹⁹ turn today. The Syrian military is shelling the densely²⁰ populated neighborhood of ** in Damascus, about a ten-minute drive from the presidential palace. The government says it's pursuing what it calls armed gangs in the area. The Syrian military is using motors and tanks on the ground and some activists are saying there is also a helicopter fire. Violence elsewhere in the country continues with a focus on Damascus suburbs and rest of areas in the north. Russell Lewis NPR News, Beirut.

 

 

Meanwhile, the Syrian ambassador to Iraq, who defected to the opposition²¹, is officially fired by the Assad regime.  

 

 

This is NPR News.

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

3 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

4 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

7 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。

8 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

9 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

10 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

11 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。

12 retooling   

v.（给…）更换工具， （给…）更换机械设备( retool的现在分词 )；改组，革新

参考例句：

• The factory is retooling to start making the new line of cars. 工厂正在重新装备以便开始制造新系列车型。 来自辞典例句
• Among her suggestions: retooling factories to focus on rebuilding America's transportation system. 她的建议包括围绕重新建设美国交通系统这个重心来重组汽车工业。 来自互联网

13 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

14 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

15 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

17 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

18 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》

19 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

20 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

21 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。