NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-04-02

 Attorneys for Boston marathon bomber¹ Dzhokhar Tsarnaev took just hours to present their defense² before resting their case today. As NPR's Tobia Smith explains they are trying to show Tsarnaev as a junior partner to his older brother. An FBI fingerprint³ expert testified only Tamerlan's prints were found on pieces of the marathon bombs, none from Dzhokhar; the same with bomb remnants from the firefighter with police. Dzhokhar's prints were found on an unexploded tupperware bombs, but there were more from Tamerlan. Also, a computer expert testified that while Tamerlan's computer showed searches for fireworks, detonators and gun stores, Dzhokhar's didn't; it was used most for social media. And, that the online bomb-making instructions on Dzhokhar's computer came from Tamerlan's, all reinforcing the idea that the older brother was the driving force behind the attacks. The defense hopes that'll convince jurors not to sentence Tsarnaev to death. Tobia Smith, NPR News at the federal court in Boston.

Even though today was the deadline set by Iran and six world powers working to crack a deal regarding the country's disputed nuclear program, respected sides have probably opted⁵ to go into it overtime⁶. State Department saying the extension was justified⁷ as the two sides grappled over two difficult issues. Parties were supposed to come up with a framework agreement for controlling Iran's nuclear ambitions with a final deadline at June 30th.

The Obama administration announced today it's ending a freeze on deliveries of certain weapons of war to Egypt. United States is the third largest receptive military aid after Afghanistan and Israel. NPR's David Wong reports the weapons freeze has been imposed following the 2013 overthrow⁸ of Egypt-elected Muslim Brotherhood⁹ government. A Whitehouse statement says it is not certifying¹⁰ to Congress that Egypt has made progress as a democracy. Instead, it cites recent attacks by so-called Islamic State Fighters on Egyptian soldiers and civilians¹¹ as grounds for lifting a hold on the delivery of 12 F-16 jet fighters, 20 harpoon¹² missiles and up to 125 state-of-the-art Abrams tanks. From un-Democratic Senator Partrick Lay, he says Egypt's government continues to crack down on opponents. They are still holding a huge sum of people in prison simply for protesting, simply for speaking up. The military aid for Egypt comes as the US seeks a nuclear deal with Iran, Egypt's long-time rival. David Wong, NPR News, Washington.

Home prices were continuing to move steadily¹³ higher as new year began. That's the termination of the latest Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index, which looks at home affordability¹⁴ in 20 major US cities. It found that home prices rose 4.6% in January, compared to 12 months earlier, up 4.4% in December. Only small and minor¹⁵ homelist for sale prices has been continuing to move higher.

A down-into-the-quarter for Wall Street that Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in the first quarter down 200 points at 1700776 than Nasdaq was 46 points today.

This is NPR.

The chair of the House Committee investigating the 2012 attacks against the US consulate¹⁶ in Benghazi, Lybia that resulted in the death of the US ambassador and 3 others says he wants to interview Hillary Clinton. The Republican Trey Gowdy says he wants a recorded interview with the former Secretary of State before his committee no later than May 1st. Gowdy says one of his concerns is the e-mails Clinton said she deleted from her private account while she was Secretary of State. 

Agents from the Department of Homeland Security searched a school in north Georgia today. They are trying to determine whether the school broke immigration laws when it brought in internationl students to US to play sports. NPR's Alexandar Star reports. The students, who range an age from late teens to early 20s, are primarily from Dominican Republic. They had been brought here to play for the high school sports teams. This is the second time DHS agence have raided a private procure¹⁷ school in Georgia. Last week it was Faith Baptist Christian¹⁸ Academy south in the Ludowici, where they discovered 30 international students living in the school's gym, sleeping on the floor and showering in a multi bathroom. Some are now in foster care. A DHS spokesman says coachs and school administrators¹⁹ could eventually be charged with criminal immigration violations²⁰. Alexandar Star, NPR News.

So Microsoft and Google on the same day are unveiling what they believe to be less expensive computer products. Microsoft today unveiled a less expensive version of its Surface Pro⁴ 3 tablet, sold for 499 dollars. Google for its part today, unveiled its cheapest chromebook laptops, versions of the price 149 dollars.

I'm Jack²¹ Spear, NPR News in Washington.

1 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

2 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。

3 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

4 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

5 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

6 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

7 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

8 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

9 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

10 certifying   

（尤指书面）证明( certify的现在分词 )； 发证书给…； 证明（某人）患有精神病； 颁发（或授予）专业合格证书

参考例句：

• Signed Commercial in quintuplicate, certifying merchandise to be of Chinese origin. 签署商业发票一式五份，证明产品的原产地为中国。
• Other documents certifying the truthfulness of the contents of the advertisements. （三）确认广告内容真实性的其他证明文件。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

12 harpoon   

n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获

参考例句：

• The harpoon drove deep into the body of the whale.渔叉深深地扎进鲸鱼体内。
• The fisherman transfixed the shark with a harpoon.渔夫用鱼叉刺住鲨鱼。

13 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

14 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

15 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

16 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

17 procure   

vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条

参考例句：

• Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗？
• I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。

18 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。

19 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

20 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

21 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。