美国国家电台 NPR 2012-08-16

 The FBI is investigating today's shooting at the headquarters of the Family Research Council in Washington DC. A man is in custody¹. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports the case could be investigated as an example of domestic terrorism.

 

A security guard has been taken to a hospital after he was wounded in the gun attack. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, says his first concern is for the health and welfare of the guard. Metropolitan² Police Chief Cathy Lanier and James McJunkin, head of the FBI office in DC, said they'd recovered a weapon at the scene. It's been traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Authorities say they are investigating whether the shooter had any prior contact with the Family Research Council. The conservative Christian³ group was founded to support traditional family values. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

 

President Obama has taken another verbal swipe at the Romney-Ryan campaign over Medicare, disputing their claims that he’s raiding a Medicare trust fund to help pay for health care overhaul⁴. He campaigned in Dubuque, Iowa today as his challenger Mitt⁵ Romney prepared for fundraisers in North Carolina and Alabama. As Alabama Public Radio's Maggie Martin tells us, immigrant advocates will hold a rally at the Birmingham, Alabama event to protest Romney's stance on immigration.

 

The Immigrant Youth Leadership Initiative of Alabama, also known as the DREAMers, will hold a rally outside a Romney's fundraising event tonight. The former Massachusetts governor has said if elected president, he'll veto the DREAM Act. The protest comes on the same day illegal immigrants can start applying for President Obama's deferred⁶ action program. It allows illegal immigrants 30 or younger who were brought to the country as children to apply for relief from deportation⁷ as well as a two-year renewable work permit. For NPR News, I'm Maggie Martin in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

 

Unfortunately, it's another hot and windy day for crews battling wildfires across the West. In Idaho, one of those fires has people ready to leave their homes. Sadie Babits of Boise State Radio reports a massive wildfire burning northwest of the town of Stanley is growing. 

 

The Custer County sheriff in central Idaho went door-to-door Tuesday night, hand delivering evacuation orders. People leaving along a popular highway outside of town are packing up valuables. Merry Senacheck, a fire information officer, says once a thick cloud of haze⁸ lifts, the fire will take up, fueled by trees that have been killed by beetles¹⁰.

 

“A lot of pinewood dead standing¹¹ beetle⁹ killed. You get crown fires or fires that are leaping from the tops of trees to the next trees. And it allows the fire to cover a lot of ground very rapidly.”

 

Senacheck says crews will focus on protecting a major power line that provides electricity to Stanley and communities in the high country. She says that line is in the path of the fire. For NPR News, I'm Sadie Babits.

 

This is NPR.

 

Nine years after a wildfire led to several deaths in San Bernardino, California, a conviction. Today jurors found Rickie Fowler guilty of murdering five people who suffered heart attacks after he set the fire in the foothills above San Bernardino in 2003. That fire damaged or destroyed about 1,000 buildings over nine days. 

 

The longest freighter on the Great Lakes is grounded in St. Mary's River. WCMU's Mike Horace reports coast guard investigators¹² are now trying to assess the damage.

 

The Paul R. Tregurtha grounded early this morning south of Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a rocky area known to be particularly dangerous to mariners¹³. Lieutenant¹⁴ Rob Scott is with the US Coast Guard.

 

“There was some damage to the vessel¹⁵ in way of the bow. We don't know the exact amount of damage. The divers¹⁶ are en route now. But there was some water intrusion as a result of that initial grounding on the bow of the vessel.”

 

Scott says the pumps onboard the Tregurtha are keeping up with the leaks. And no collusion has been observed coming from the vessel. The Tregurtha is blocking all southbound traffic through the St. Mary's River, tying up one of the nation's busiest shipping¹⁷ lanes. For NPR News, I'm Mike Horace in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

 

Consumer prices in the US remain flat for the third time in four months. Energy costs edged down, while food prices increased slightly, the Labor¹⁸ Department saying today core consumer prices which exclude the volatile¹⁹ food and energy sector²⁰ rose 0.1% last month.

 

Dow is up six points at 13,178; NASDAQ gaining 13 and the S&P 500 up three.

1 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

2 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

5 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

6 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

7 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

8 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

9 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

10 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 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。

12 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 mariners   

海员，水手（mariner的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Mariners were also able to fix their latitude by using an instrument called astrolabe. 海员们还可使用星盘这种仪器确定纬度。
• The ancient mariners traversed the sea. 古代的海员漂洋过海。

14 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

15 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。

16 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

17 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

18 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

19 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

20 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。