NPR 2009-05-12

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

 Officials say a soldier opened fire on fellow soldiers at a US military base near Baghdad today, killing² five of them before being taken into custody³. There are conflicting reports on whether there were additional injuries. Speaking at the Pentagon, Defense⁴ Secretary Robert Gates says they are now trying to determine the events leading up to the incident.

 "We are still in the process of gathering⁵ information on exactly what happened. But if the preliminary reports are confirmed, such a tragic⁶ loss of life at the hands of our own forces is a cause for great and urgent concern."

 According to Pentagon officials, the shooting occurred at a stress clinic at the base where soldiers go to deal with personal issues and anxieties related to combat. Separately, Gates announced today he’s replacing his top military commander in Afghanistan General David McKiernan, calling for a fresh approach there.

 An attorney for a US Iranian journalist who's been held prisoner in Iran says she has been released. Chicago Public Radio's Tony Arnold reports.

 It's been almost a month since Roxana Saberi was convicted of espionage⁷ by the Iranian government. The case drew attention from around the world as Saberi protested her 8-year sentence with a hunger strike. Students and faculty⁸ at Northwestern University near Chicago held their own hunger strike to draw attention to her case. Journalism⁹ professor Jack Doppelt was among them and taught Saberi when she was a student at Northwestern.

 "It's really edifying¹⁰ to feel that the Islamic Republic decided¹¹ to do the proverbial right thing and release her."

 Doppelt says Saberi's arrest serves as a reminder¹² of the importance of having a free press. As a condition of her release, Saberi has been banned from reporting from Iran for five years. For NPR News, I'm Tony Arnold in Chicago.

 The State Department says it is worried that foreign fighters are again making their way into Iraq via Syria. Obama administration officials brought up the issue on their latest trip to Damascus. NPR's Michelle Kelemen has more.

 Two envoys¹³, one from the State Department and one from the National Security Council are in Syria, exploring ways to renew a diplomatic dialogue. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly says one issue they brought up was the Obama administration's concerns about Iraq.

 "We continue to have very deep concern about this issue of the flow of foreign fighters going into Iraq via Syria. And we can also continue to call on Syria to take immediate¹⁵ and decisive action."

 He said the US is calling on Syria to do a better job of screening people at the airport and securing the border with Iraq. Last week President Obama renewed sanctions on Syria despite his diplomatic outreach. Michelle Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 155 points, ending the session at 8418. The NASDAQ lost 7 points; the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 19 points to close at 909.

This is NPR.

 Federal Aviation investigators¹⁶ now say it appears the pilot at the controls of the commuter¹⁷ plane that crashed into a home near Buffalo¹⁸ in February lacked the required training with the critical safety system aboard the aircraft. Officials say the pilot also had failed several tests in aircraft simulators during his career. That's according to sources with the National Transportation Safety Board who spoke¹⁴ with the Associated Press, the individuals asked not to be named since the agency has not yet released its official report on the crash. The plane, a Colgan Air commuter plane nosed into a home on its approach to the Buffalo Niagara international airport, killing all 49 people on the plane and one person on the ground.

 The Attorney General for the state of Massachusetts said today he's reached the 60-million-dollar settlement with Goldman Sachs for the bank’s involvement with subprime mortgages. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has more.

 The settlement, the first of its kind, includes about 50 million dollars to provide relief for homeowners. That money would go toward modifying mortgages or writing down principal on the mortgage to reduce payments. It also includes a 10-million-dollar payment to Massachusetts to settle an investigation¹⁹ into the role investment banks played in originating and securitizing mortgages. Laxness in lending to under-qualified borrowers and the subsequent crash in the subprime housing market dragged the financial sector²⁰ down. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said many of these loans were destined²¹ to fail and that the settlement will help at least 715 homeowners plus thousands more whose loans are held by a company Goldman Sachs bought. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News.

 The weak economy coupled with job loss and fears of job loss apparently²² is keeping more people close at home this summer. A new survey suggests fewer than half of those polled, just 42%, are planning a leisure trip this summer, that’s down from 49% a year ago.

 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 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 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。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

7 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

8 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

9 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

10 edifying   

adj.有教训意味的，教训性的，有益的v.开导，启发( edify的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Young students are advised to read edifying books to improve their mind. 建议青年学生们读一些陶冶性情的书籍，以提高自己的心智。 来自辞典例句
• This edifying spectacle was the final event of the Governor's ball. 这个有启发性的表演便是省长的舞会的最后一个节目了。 来自辞典例句

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

13 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

16 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》

17 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

18 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

19 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

20 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

21 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

22 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。