NPR 2009-03-11

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

In a surprising development, the lawyer for disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff has told a federal judge he will plead guilty later this week to 11 charges that will result in a life sentence. NPR's Margot Adler has more.

The hearing was supposed to simply resolve an apparent conflict of interest between Bernard Madoff and his lawyer Ira Sorkin. Sorkin and his family had invested more than 900, 000 dollars with Madoff and the judge wanted to make sure that Madoff could not have the case thrown out based on a conflict of interest. In the end, Judge Chin ruled that the lawyer could continue to represent the money manager. But then the judge said I gather it is the expectation that he, referring to Madoff, will plead guilty on Thursday. And Sorkin said that was a reasonable expectation. Madoff is charged with 11 separate felonies including four counts of fraud as well as theft, perjury² and three counts of money laundering³. Prosecutors⁴ say Madoff faces up to 150 years in prison. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

US Vice⁵ President Joe Biden at a meeting in Brussels today appealed to NATO allies to help the US deal with the worsening situation in Afghanistan. Biden told representatives of the 26-country military pact⁶ that the deteriorating⁷ situation there poses a security threat not just to the US but other nations as well. Meanwhile, in an interview with NPR today, Defense⁸ Secretary Robert Gates also acknowledged the US could use military assistance, though he said civilian⁹ help is also vital. “We would like more help. But I would say that really where we need the help as we look to the weeks and months ahead is on the civilian side, whether it’s agricultural specialists or people who can help with governance, economic development and so on.”

The Netherlands announced today it will host a one-day UN conference on the future of Afghanistan at The Hague later this month.

Pakistan is sliding into yet another political crisis. President Asif Ali Zardari's government has responded to challenges by one of the leaders of the main opposition¹⁰. He could face charges of treason. NPR's Anne Garrels has more.

The warning comes as the country's lawyers planned a 4-day march to the capital later this week to demand an independent judiciary. Zardari has broken promises to restore the popular Supreme¹¹ Court justice who was removed by his predecessor¹². Fueling growing oppositions¹³, Zardari then upheld a recent ruling that bans his main opponent Nawaz Sharif from public office. The lawyers' movement argues that verdict is invalid¹⁴ because until the fired chief justice is restored, the Supreme Court itself is illegitimate. So the lawyers and Sharif are now joining forces. Zardari's top security advisor¹⁵ has accused Sharif of calling on people to defy the government, warning he could be charged with treason. The government is paralyzed in the face of an economic crisis and a growing Islamic militant¹⁶ threat. Anne Garrels, NPR News, Islamabad.

On Wall Street, positive earning: the news from Citibank sent stock soaring. The Dow gained 379 points today. This is NPR.

……

The Vatican has launched a barrage¹⁷ of criticism against President Barack Obama's decision to lift restrictions¹⁸ on federal-funding for human embryonic¹⁹ stem cell research. One official called it a victory of politics over ethics²⁰. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome.

Monsignor Rino Fisichella told an Italian news agency that President Obama's decision was probably influenced by some drug companies or some economic interests. Fisichella heads the Pontifical²¹ Academy for Life. His predecessor Monsignor Eli Sgreccia echoed the suggestion, telling the Italian media the motive²² for this decision should be seen in the pressure for profits. In an article in the Vatican Daily, L'Osservatore Romano said a real democracy should be founded on protection of human dignity in every phase of its existence. The Vatican opposes this kind of research because it involves the destruction of embryos²³. In announcing his decision, President Obama had said he was ending what he believes was a false choice between sound science and moral values. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

Crude oil futures²⁴ prices moved lower today. The price for benchmark crude was down $1.36 a barrel to settle at $45.71 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 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。

3 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

7 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

8 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。

9 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

10 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。

11 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。

12 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

13 oppositions   

（强烈的）反对( opposition的名词复数 )； 反对党； （事业、竞赛、游戏等的）对手； 对比

参考例句：

• That's fine because all perihelic oppositions of Mars are spectacular. 但它和最近的几次区别不大，因为火星所有的近日对冲都很壮观。
• He tried his best to bear down all of his oppositions. 他尽全力击败一切反对意见。

14 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

15 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。

16 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

17 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

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 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

20 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

21 pontifical   

adj.自以为是的，武断的

参考例句：

• His words criticizing modern society just right indicate his pontifical character.他用以批评现代社会的言论恰好反映了他自大武断的性格。
• The lawyer,with pontifical gravity,sat on a high chair.那律师摆出一副威严庄重的样子，坐在一把高脚椅上。

22 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

23 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

24 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。