NPR 2008-03-25

From NPR news in Washington, I'm Jack¹ Speer.

 

President Bush offered his sympathies to the families who lost their loved ones fighting in Iraq as the death toll² of that war has now reached 4000. Mr. Bush made the comments as the White House and the Pentagon engaged in the formal assessment³ over the future of Iraq policy. NPR’s Guy Raz has more.

 

Almost exactly 5 years since the start of the war, 4000 US service men and women have lost their lives in Iraq. The president acknowledged the milestone⁴ and said history will prove the sacrifices worthwhile. "One day people will look back at this moment in history and say, thank God there were courageous⁵ people willing to serve, because they laid the foundations for peace for generations to come."

 

The president made the comments at the State Department. There he heard from senior diplomats⁶, sounding out their views on the way forward in Iraq. Early in the day, the top military commander there, General David Petraeus, offered the president his perspective. Most senior military commanders now favor a temporary freeze in troop withdrawls starting later this summer. Guy Raz, NPR news Washington.

 

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick faces felony charges of perjury⁷ and obstruction⁸ of justice in a scandal that could end his political career and send him to prison. Detroit Public Radio’s Quinn Klinefelter has more.

 

Prosecutors¹⁰ say Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff lied under oath about having an affair and firing policemen investigating them. Prosecutors add that various documents they saw as evidence seem to have disappeared or are being withheld¹¹ by city officials. For his part, Kilpatrick who has often blamed racism¹² and biased¹³ media for his troubles says the prosecutor⁹ is bowing to the bad press thrown at the mayor. "I am deeply disappointed in the prosecutors' decision. I can’t say that I am surprised, however, this has been a very flawed process from the very beginning. I look forward to complete exoneration¹⁴ once all the facts surrounding this matter have been brought forth¹⁵." Kilpatrick’s attorney argues that the mayor is a victim of, quote, selective prosecution¹⁶.

 

On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 187 points today closing at 12,548. This is Npr.

 

The Supreme¹⁷ Court has voted to uphold a federal policy that permits employers to reduce health insurance expenses for retired¹⁸ workers once they turn 65 and qualify for Medicare. The justices turned down an appeal from the group AARP asking the court to undo¹⁹ a rule that allows employers to treat retirees differently based on their age. The rule was put in place by the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission amid concerns employers might reduce or even eliminate benefits for retirees. They could not take Medicare into account when structuring benefit plans.

 

Today is the deadline for Pennsylvanians to register to vote. Only voters who are registered with the party can vote for their party’s ticket in the Keystone State's April 22nd primary. From Member Station WHYY in Philadelphia, Elizabeth Fiedler reports.

 

Fans of Senator Hillary Clinton stayed at a center city intersection²⁰. They held up "Honk²¹ for Hillary" signs and directed passers-by like Sheen and *(人名) toward a sidewalk registration²² table. “I really haven’t been following either of their campaigns, but I know that Hillary stays by Mr. Clinton. So she has experience, she knows.” A few blocks away staff and volunteers filled Senator Obama’s headquarters, where Valerie Roscoe was busy sorting registration forms. “Senator Obama is truly the type of president we need. We need someone who would inspire all of us to do what we can to change the condition of our nation.”  Voter registration forms must be postmarked by today, or Philadelphians have until midnight to drop them off at the city commissioner’s office. For NPR news, I’m Elizabeth Fiedler in Philadelphia.

 

Crude oil fell 98 cents a barrel today ending the session at 101 dollars and 86 cents a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

 

I'm Jack Speer, NPR news in Washington.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

4 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

5 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 perjury   

n.伪证；伪证罪

参考例句：

• You'll be punished if you procure the witness to commit perjury.如果你诱使证人作伪证，你要受罚的。
• She appeared in court on a perjury charge.她因被指控做了伪证而出庭受审。

8 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

9 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

10 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

11 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

13 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

14 exoneration   

n.免罪，免除

参考例句：

• Empathy for the criminal's childhood misery does not imply exoneration of the crimes he committed as an adult. 对罪犯悲惨的童年表示怜悯不等于可以免除他长大成人后所犯的罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Exoneration or rehabilitation should be made known as widely as were the original wrong decisions. 原来在什么范围内弄错的，也应该在什么范围内宣布平反。 来自互联网

15 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

16 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

17 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

18 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

19 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

20 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

21 honk   

n.雁叫声，汽车喇叭声

参考例句：

• Don't honk the horn indiscriminately.不要乱鸣喇叭！
• While passing another vehicle,you must honk your horn.通过另一部车时必须鸣按喇叭。

22 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？