NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-06-15

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

 

　　The Obama administration is preparing to arm Syrian rebels, but exactly how remains¹ on certain. This comes a day after the US said it came to the decision after obtaining proof that the Syrian military used chemical weapons on opposition² fighters. Today Bashar al-Assad's government said the US was lying. Russia, Syria's most powerful ally, is also voicing doubts. The matter apparently³ came up during talks between US and Russian officials today, as NPR's Corey Flintoff reports.

 

　　Yury Ushakov, a top presidential advisor⁴, says the American delegation⁵ tried to present the Russian side with evidence that the Syrian military has used sarin gas in its effort to crush the rebels. But Ushakov says the Russians were not persuaded by the evidence. He also compared the evidence on Syria to US claims that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, claims that were used to justify⁶ the invasion of Iraq. Ushakov says the US decision to send arms to Syrian rebels will harm chances for a peace conference that Russia and the US have been trying to convene⁷. Corey Flintoff NPR News, Moscow.

 

　　It's been six months since the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut took the lives of 20 children and six adults. Diane Orson of member station WNPR reports events marking the anniversary are being held throughout the day in Newtown.

 

　　“Demetrius Paul Cruz, aged⁸ 15, killed with a gun.”

 

　　The day began with the reading of the names of Americans who died in gun violence in the six months since the Newtown massacre⁹. Standing¹⁰ beside family members of Newtown victims, Gilles Rousseau called on Congress to do everything in its power to keep guns out of the wrong hands. His daughter Lauren, a first-grade teacher, was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

 

　　“No father should ever have a child fall victim of gun violence.”

 

　　The group Mayors Against Illegal Guns launches a bus tour today from Newtown to 25 states, advocating for background checks on all gun sales. For NPR News, I'm Diane Orson.

 

　　A second worker has died in the Louisiana chemical plant explosion. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports there is no word yet on what caused that blast.

 

　　Williams Olefins President Alan Armstrong says the firm is investigating the cause of the explosion and assessing the extent of the damage of the company's plant in Geismar, Louisiana. The explosion and subsequent chemical fire yesterday killed two workers and injured 77 others. The plant is on a heavily industrialized corridor along the Mississippi River between and New Orleans and Baton¹¹ Rouge¹². It makes highly flammable materials used in the petrochemical industry--ethylene and polymer-grade propylene. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

 

　　Before the closing bell, Dow was down 106 points at 15,070, NASDAQ off 21 at 3,424, and the S&P 500 down nine at 1,627. This is NPR News.

 

　　Firefighters are working to keep the Black Forest blaze northeast of Colorado Springs from growing beyond 25 square miles. That fire, which has destroyed 379 homes, is the most destructive in state history. Tens of thousands of people remain evacuated¹³ and are not likely to be allowed back home anytime soon.

 

　　Florida A&M University now has a new marching band director. NPR's Kathy Lohr reports a prominent graduate of the school came out of retirement¹⁴ to try to move the university forward after a 2011 hazing¹⁵ death that has kept the band off the field.

 

　　Sylvester Young takes over as director of the Marching 100. The band has been suspended since drumer major Robert Champion was beaten to death in 2011 in a hazing incident. More than a dozen band members were charged in connection with the crime.

 

　　“Everything that we do here, from this point forward, is to show the world that this should not have happened and it will never ever happen again here.”

 

　　Young was band director at Ohio University and at two other historically black colleges before coming back to Florida A&M. There is no word yet on when the Marching 100 will begin practicing. But Young says the plan to rebuild is moving forward. Kathy Lohr, NPR News.

 

　　The International Monetary¹⁶ Fund says the US economy seems to be doing better than a year ago but remains vulnerable to tax hikes and government spending cuts. It's forecasting a 1.9% growth this year, below many private economists’ expectations. In its annual report, the IMF says key areas such as the housing recovery and steady hiring are helping¹⁷ the US economy.

 

　　I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

6 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

7 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

8 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

9 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！

10 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。

11 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

12 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

13 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

14 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

15 hazing   

n.受辱，被欺侮v.（使）笼罩在薄雾中( haze的现在分词 )；戏弄，欺凌（新生等，有时作为加入美国大学生联谊会的条件）

参考例句：

• With labor, the hazing period ends. 费了好大力气，痛苦的时期终于过了。 来自互联网
• A high-gloss paint surface is one that directly reflects light with minimum hazing or diffusion. 高度光洁的漆表面可以直接反射光源。 来自互联网

16 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。