NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-04-12

　　From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

 

　　The Senate is moving forward with debate on sweeping¹ gun legislation. NPR’s Elsa Chang reports in today’s vote, lawmakers beat back a filibuster² by a group of Republicans who say they are against additional gun restrictions³.

 

　　Sixty votes were needed and Senate leaders got several more than that. Sixteen republicans jointed⁴ them in voting to move towards a debate on expanding background checks and stiffening⁵ penalties for gun traffickers. Gun control supporters are also expected to offer amendments⁶ on banning assault weapons and limiting the size of ammunition⁷ magazines. This procedural vote was a victory for lawmakers who want to see new gun laws, but it’s only the first hurdle⁸. Sixty votes will be needed again to end a debate on the legislation and although Democrats⁹ carry the majority in the Senate, some of them from Conservative states have already expressed problems with the proposals. Elsa Chang, NPR News, the capital.

 

　　Defense¹⁰ Secretary Chuck Hagel is defending the administration’s budget proposal for the Pentagon. NPR’s Larry Abramson reports Hagel told members of Congress the president’s budget maintains key defense priorities.

 

　　A day after the release of the White House 2014 budget proposal, some Republicans said it would continue what they called “dangerous cuts in defense”. But Hagel defended himself against criticism from members of the House Armed Services Committee.

 

　　“The president did not instruct me to go over and cut the heart out of the Pentagon. That wasn’t his instruction.”

 

　　The White House proposes $527bn in defense spending for 2014. That will lead to a cut of $150bn in military spending over the next decade. But the administration says automatic spending cuts already approved by Congress would lead to much bigger reductions. Larry Abramson, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　President Obama says he’ll try to resolve the North Korean crisis diplomatically, but as reported by the Associated Press, will take necessary steps to protect the U.S.. This as North Korea continues to issue nuclear threats against Washington and Seoul.

 

　　A Roman Catholic priest, who served as an army chaplain during the Korean War, is laid as recipient¹¹ of the Medal of Honor. Today President Obama bestowed¹² the medal posthumously¹³ on Emil Kapaun, who died as a prisoner of war at the age of 35. But his story lived on through the troops he saved in various ways from braving enemy fire to caring for captured soldiers’ wounds. Obama said during a White House ceremony today that Kapaun showed a touch of divinity in the worst of circumstances.

 

　　“Father Kapaun has been called a shepherd in combat books. His fellow soldiers, who felt his grace and his mercy, called him a saint, a blessing¹⁴ from God.”

 

　　And there’s word that the Vatican is considering Kapaun for canonization as a saint.

 

　　Before the closing bell, Dow is up 63 points at 14, 865.

 

　　You are listening to NPR News.

 

　　The National Hockey League is taking steps to fight homophobia in the sport and embrace LGBT rights. NPR’s David Schaper reports that NHL officials say they want to become the most inclusive of the major American pro-sports leagues.

 

　　NHL and its Players Association are teaming up with the “You Can Play” project, an organization established to fight homophobia and promote equality in sports. In addition to hearing public service announcements, the group will conduct seminars for rookie players and LGBT issues and will make resources and personnel available to all players and teams wanna information or counselling about matters relating to sexual orientation¹⁵. Project officials say anti-gay slurs¹⁶ remain common in professional team sports and that many gay athletes drop out of sports because they encounter homophobic environments in locker¹⁷ rooms, on the ice and in the stands. David Schaper, NPR News.

 

　　The storm that has generated twister, snow and ice across the mid-western and southeastern U.S. has now turned into a deadly one. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is reporting today that one person was killed and several were injured following a suspected tornado¹⁸ in Kemper County in the eastern portion of the state.

 

　　The Labor¹⁹ Department is reporting a sharp weekly drop in new unemployment claims, claims filed by 42,000 to a seasonally²⁰ adjusted 346,000, suggesting last month’s hiring slowdown may have been temporary. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations²¹, rose slightly to 358,000.

 

　　I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 jointed   

有接缝的

参考例句：

• To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. 若是拥抱她，那感觉活像拥抱一块木疙瘩。 来自英汉文学
• It is possible to devise corresponding systematic procedures for rigid jointed frames. 推导出适合于钢架的类似步骤也是可能的。

5 stiffening   

n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Her mouth stiffening, she could not elaborate. 她嘴巴僵直，无法细说下去。
• No genius, not a bad guy, but the attacks are hurting and stiffening him. 不是天才，人也不坏，但是四面八方的攻击伤了他的感情，使他横下了心。

6 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

7 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。

8 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

12 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

13 posthumously   

adv.于死后，于身后；于著作者死后出版地

参考例句：

• He was confirmed posthumously as a member of the Chinese Communist Party. 他被追认为中国共产党党员。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her last book was published posthumously in 1948. 她最后的一本书在她死后于1948 年出版了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

15 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

16 slurs   

含糊的发音( slur的名词复数 )； 玷污； 连奏线； 连唱线

参考例句：

• One should keep one's reputation free from all slurs. 人应该保持名誉不受责备。
• Racial slurs, racial jokes, all having to do with being Asian. 种族主义辱骂，种族笑话，都是跟亚裔有关的。

17 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

18 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

19 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。

20 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

21 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。