NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-05-16

 Speaking at Camp David, where he is meeting with leaders and representatives from the Persian Gulf¹, President Obama is again seeking to reassure² them the U.S. is committed to their security. The meeting comes amid heightened tension as talks continue on a possible nuclear deal with Iran, something the president acknowledged while at the same time saying the U.S. supports its Gulf partners. 

“We’ve been able to strengthen each other and work together to counter terrorism, to deal with issues like nuclear proliferation, to address the problems of conflict that are causing so much misery³ and hardship for so many people.”

Leaders are expected to issue a statement announcing new military commitments including joint⁴ exercises and cooperation on ballistic missiles. 

 

Jeb Bush has changed his mind after telling Fox News earlier this week he would have authorized⁵ the invasion of Iraq in 2001 if he’d been in his brother’s shoes. He’s now come out and said in hindsight he would not gone into Iraq. NPR’s Mara Liasson has more. 

After days of evasions⁶ and awkward answers, Jeb Bush has finally settled on a definitive⁷ response to the question “knowing what we know now, would have invaded Iraq?” In Tempe, Arizona, he said he would not have done what his brother George W. did. 

“I would have not engaged. I would not have gone into Iraq. That’s not to say that the world is safer because Saddam Hussein is gone. It is significantly safer.”

Bush has now associated himself with mainstream⁸ public opinion. Big majorities of Americans think the war in Iraq was a mistake and every one of the potential GOP presidential candidates have also said that knowing what we know now about the non-existent weapons of mass destruction, they would not have started the war in Iraq. Mara Liasson, NPR News, Washington. 

 

The death toll⁹ has now risen to eight following Tuesday night’s high-speed derailment of an Amtrak passenger train in Philadelphia. Investigators¹⁰ say the body was found in a mangled¹¹ train car by dog. Officials say they now believe all 243 people on board that train have been accounted for. Amtrak says it expects limited train service between Philadelphia and New York to resume Monday. 

 

The S&P500 hit a record high today. As NPR’s John Ydstie explains, other major stock indexes also rose sharply. 

The S&P pushed a record high. It’s helped by some stability in the bond and foreign exchange markets. Interest rates have risen sharply in the bond market over the last month, curbing¹² enthusiasm for stocks. But rates are now declining after reaching a six months’ high on Tuesday. Stock investors¹³ drove the S&P500 up 22 point, more than 1%. The Dow and Nasdaq also rose more than 1%. The S&P500 is up 1.6% for the year. Stocks have continued to rise despite Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s recent comment that stock values are quite high, suggesting investors might be taking excessive risks. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington. 

 

The Dow was up 191 points. 

 

This is NPR. 

 

Jurors deliberating the fate of convicted Boston Marathon bomber¹⁴ Dzhokhar Tsarnaev a few hours into weighing the penalty phase of the trial have reportedly sent true questions to the judge overseeing the case. The first question referring to the aiding and abetting¹⁵ in conspiracy¹⁶ concepts raised in the initial phase of the trial. During that phase Tsarnaev was convicted of committing the bombings with his brother that killed three and injured more than 260 others. The judge responded that whatever intensions Tsarnaev had, that needs to be determined¹⁷ by the jury. 

 

Restrictions¹⁸ are tightening¹⁹ today on would-be migrants abandoned at sea by human traffickers in Southeast Asia. As Michael Sullivan reports from Bangkok, both Thailand and Malaysia today made it clear they would be allowing any more boats to make land. 

Malaysia turned back at least one boat early today, but did provide food for the hundreds on board and fuel for the boat to go somewhere else. It appears that won’t be Thailand. The Thai Navy today spotted²⁰ a vessel²¹ with hundreds of migrants on board and also provided food but made it clear the boat should go elsewhere. Yesterday it was Indonesia turning back at least one boat. Human Rights Watch is accusing the countries of playing a three-way game of human ping-pong with the migrants, several thousands of whom are believed to be trapped on boats offshore²². All three countries have allowed boats to land before as recently as this week, but all are afraid accepting more will trigger an exodus²³ from Myanmar’s western Rakhine state and Bangladesh. The Muslim minority Rohingya in Myanmar, formally known as Burma, suffer persecution²⁴ at the hands of Myanmar’s Buddhist²⁵ majority. For NPR News, I’m Michael Sullivan in Bangkok. 

 

Critical futures²⁶ prices moved lower today. The price of oil down 62 cents a barrel ending the session at $59.88 a barrel in New York.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

3 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

6 evasions   

逃避( evasion的名词复数 )； 回避； 遁辞； 借口

参考例句：

• A little overwhelmed, I began the generalized evasions which that question deserves. 我有点不知所措，就开始说一些含糊其词的话来搪塞。
• His answers to my questions were all evasions. 他对我的问题的回答均为遁词。

7 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

10 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》

11 mangled   

vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• His hand was mangled in the machine. 他的手卷到机器里轧烂了。
• He was off work because he'd mangled his hand in a machine. 他没上班，因为他的手给机器严重压伤了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

14 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。

15 abetting   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的现在分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• On Earth, unknowingly abetting a criminal doesn't merit this kind of punishment. 在地球上，不知不觉地帮助罪犯并不构成这种惩罚。 来自电影对白
• "By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder." 援助和唆使谋杀的塔利班政权与杀人犯同罪。 来自互联网

16 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

17 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

18 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

19 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

20 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

21 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。

22 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

23 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

24 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

25 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

26 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。