NPR 2009-07-29

Over nearly solid Republican opposition¹, the Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to approve Judge Sonia Sotomayor the first Hispanic nominee² to the Supreme³ Court. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

The vote was 13-6 with Senator Lindsey Graham, the only Republican Senator to vote for Sotomayor. He said while she would not have been his choice, he understood why President Obama named her and as the hearings were on, he became satisfied that she is a well-qualified judge in the mainstream⁴ of judicial⁵ and political thought.

"We're 200 and something years old as a nation. This is the first Latino woman in the history of the United States to be selected for the Supreme Court. Now that is a big deal. America has changed for the better with her selection. "

The nomination⁶ now goes to the Senate floor where Sotomayor is expected to win easy confirmation⁷ with support from all the Democrats⁸ and probably just a handful of Republicans next week. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

President Obama continues to discuss overhauling⁹ the nation's health care system. Today he hosted a question-and-answer event where people called in some of their questions. The White House says the group that co-sponsored it was the AARP. Older Americans who use Medicare are worried they'll see cuts to their medical benefits. The Q&A session comes as several Senators try to reach an agreement on a plan changing health care insurance. In the House, Democratic lawmakers are trying to incorporate proposals for moderate and conservative lawmakers to their plan.

Violence at Iraq has marred¹⁰ a visit by US Secretary of Defense¹¹ Robert Gates. A bomb exploded, killing¹² at least eight people and wounding dozens in a crowded marketplace. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.

A bomb mounted on a motorcycle exploded in Baghdad Jadida neighborhood in the east of the capital. Still, violence has dropped drastically in the past year which Secretary Gates noted¹³ as he praised the Iraqi security forces who have taken responsibility for Iraqi cities since US combat troops formally withdrew last month. Gates is meeting Iraqi officials to discuss arms sales as well as the issue of Kurdish area tensions which American officials fear could threaten Iraqi stability after a US withdrawal¹⁴ in 2012. Also distracting from Gates' visit, the Iraqi government raided a camp north of Baghdad that has been home to an Iranian dissenting¹⁵ group, the People's Mujahideen. While the group’s classified as terrorists by the US government, they have been under US protection until this year. Casualty figures from the raid could not be independently verified. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Baghdad.

A private business research group says American consumers were less confident this month. The conference board released its consumer confidence index today dropped in July. More people are worried about finding and keeping their jobs.

On Wall Street at the close, the Dow Jones Industrials were down 12 points at 9,096.

This is NPR.

Several dozen victims and family members of Virginia Tech shooting victims are asking the State of Virginia to reopen and investigate in the 2007 shooting deaths of 32 people at Virginia Tech. Beverly Amsler reports from member station WVTF in Roanoke.

More than 60 people have signed a statement asking Governor Kaine to reconvene his Blue-Ribbon panel in light of missing mental health records of the gunman being found. The former head of the Cook Counseling Center of Virginia Tech says he mistakenly took shooter Seung-Hui Cho's file and those of several other students with him when he left his position in 2006. Cho was under a court order to have counseling at the center 16 months before he shot and killed 32 students and faculty¹⁶ members and then himself on April 16th, 2007. Governor Kaine says he probably won't reconvene the panel; but the state will update the narrative¹⁷ of the report to include this new information. For NPR News, I'm Beverly Amsler in Roanoke, Virginia.

The space shuttle Endeavor has undocked from the International Space Station. The shuttle is scheduled to return to Earth on Friday. The Endeavor was in space for a week and a half and the crew installed a new laboratory and several batteries in the International Space Station over the course of several spacewalks.

The government of Myanmar says it will announce a verdict this week in a case of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been charged with violating terms of her house arrest, the charge she denies. Supporters expect that she will be convicted as a way for the military government to silence her ahead of elections next year. Many believe that the military government will rig the elections. Suu Kyi is a recipient¹⁸ of the Nobel Peace Prize.

1 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。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 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。

4 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。

5 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

6 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

7 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 overhauling   

n.大修；拆修；卸修；翻修v.彻底检查( overhaul的现在分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• I had no chance of overhauling him. 我没有赶上他的可能。 来自辞典例句
• Some sites need little alterations but some need total overhauling. 有些网站需要做出细微修改，而有些网站就需要整体改版。 来自互联网

10 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

11 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。

12 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。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

15 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

16 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。

17 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

18 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。