NPR 2010-11-16

Congressman¹ Charles Rangel of New York had requested to delay his ethics² trial and it was denied. Today a bipartisan congressional panel decided³ not to delay the trial after Rangel argued that he needed time to obtain a new lawyer. Rangel faces 13 charges of fundraising and financial conduct violations⁴.
A new report has found that US counter-terrorism agencies still are not coordinating⁵ their efforts. As NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports there is particular concern about responsiveness to attacks that use weapons of mass destruction.
In the past year, US authorities have foiled a handful of terrorist attacks that used WMD, or weapons of mass destruction. But according to the Justice Department's Inspector⁶ General, the department is woefully unprepared for WMD attacks. In a new report looking at top management performance challenges facing the department, the Inspector General found that only one agency had a plan for a WMD attack. That agency is the FBI. The Justice Department has put the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in charge of WMD responses, but the report said that the ATF hadn't prepared for that role. The department has now assigned the Associate Deputy Attorney General for national security to fix the problem. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.
In southern Sudan, people are streaming to more than 2,500 voter registration⁷ sites. Monitoring developments from Juba, NPR's Frank Langfitt reports a 17-day registration drive comes ahead of a January independence referendum that would allow southern Sudan to secede⁸ from the North.
So far things seem to be quiet. I've been moving around Juba, which is the capital of South Sudan. And the biggest problem seems to be it's just really long wait, but you're getting huge crowds. They've registered about 250 people just so far today, but right now I'm looking at another 150 people. And besides, you know, they get irritated because they've taken off from work and they really do want to register to vote. Many of them say they're very interested in starting a new country.
NPR's Frank Langfitt reporting.
October's retail⁹ sales were stronger than expected. More from NPR's Tamara Keith.
October marked the fourth straight month of sales growth with Commerce Department data showing retail sales rose by 1.2%. Autos led the way. Sales at dealerships increased 5%. But hardware stores, specialty¹⁰ clothing retailers¹¹ and general merchandise stores like Wal-Mart all showed gains too. John Long is a retail strategist at Kurt Salmon¹² Associates.
"We were hit by colder weather, which prompted consumers to remember that they had to prepare for the winter season, and that's always a good thing for retailers."He says the fact that sales were strong in October is a sign consumers are not holding back as much as feared.
NPR's Tamara Keith reporting.
Dow's up more than 70 points.
This is NPR.
A test to measure a heart function is actually exposing many patients to dangerous levels of radiation. NPR's Richard Knox reports that scientists are concerned about the possible cancer risk.
The test is called myocardial perfusion imaging. Doctors like it because it gives them pictures of areas of the heart that are starved for oxygen. That helps guide diagnosis¹³ and treatment. Use of the test has skyrocketed in recent years. This one test now accounts for nearly a quarter of all radiation people get from medical sources. Researchers at Columbia University found that 23% of patients who get this test have three, four, five or even more of them. That exposes them to a lot of radiation. Almost a third get enough to put them at increased risk of cancer according to current guidelines. The study was presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association. Richard Knox, NPR News.
Mexican authorities believe the explosion that killed several people at a resort hotel yesterday was caused by a mix of gases from a nearby swamp.

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 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。

3 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。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

6 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

7 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？

8 secede   

v.退出，脱离

参考例句：

• They plotted to make the whole Mississippi Valley secede from the United States.他们阴谋策划使整个密西西比流域脱离美国。
• We won't allow Tibet to secede from China and become an independent nation.我们决不允许西藏脱离中国独立。

9 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

10 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

11 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

12 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

13 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。