NPR 2010-12-28

Thousands of air, rail and road travelers along the East Coast are stranded¹ or looking for other ways of getting home after a snowstorm blanketed much of the region over Christmas weekend. In New York City, which bore the brunt of that storm, subway passengers were marooned² for hours on trains that broke down overnight. Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road commuter³ rails connecting the city to the suburbs were suspended.

"The trains on tracks 17 and 19 will not depart the station and is only being used to provide customers with additional seating NE."

Amtrak meanwhile says it has resumed service between Boston and New York, but major airlines are facing huge backlog⁴ of passengers from canceled flights. Utility crews are working to restore power to more than 22,000 customers in Connecticut in the wake of the major storm. Diane Orson of member station WNPR reports that driving in that state is still hazardous⁵.

The powerful Nor'easter dumped up to 15 inches of snow in parts of Connecticut. Wind gusts⁶ reached 68 miles an hour along the shoreline. Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell says blowing snow continues to affect travel on state roads.

"If you don't have to be out, by all means, don't go out. Let the DOT, let the state police do their job. I know that many of us would love to be out doing that after-holiday shopping, but those sales will still be there tomorrow."

An emergency operation center will remain open throughout the day to assist utilities as they restore power to customers. New outages are cropping up along the coast, where warmer temperatures allow the snow to stick to power lines. For NPR News, I'm Diane Orson in New Haven⁷.

Former Russian tycoon⁸ Mikhail Khodorkovsky could face more jail time. As Jessica Gallaher reports from Moscow, a Russian judge has handed down a ruling in the second big trial against the imprisoned⁹ businessman. Khodorkovsky and a business partner were found guilty of embezzlement¹⁰ and money laundering¹¹.

Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering. Many analysts¹² saw the trial as a litmus test of the Kremlin's promises to reform the country's court system, which they say is marred¹³ by corruption¹⁴ and political influence. Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, was nearing the end of an eight-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion¹⁵ charges, when prosecutors¹⁶ added new charges that he stole $27 billion in oil from his now defunct¹⁷ company Yukos through pricing schemes. Khodorkovsky's lawyers dismissed the charges, calling them absurd, and say it's the Kremlin's politically motivated attempt to keep him behind bars. About 100 demonstrators chanted "freedom" outside the courthouse. No word yet when the sentencing is expected to take place. For NPR News, I'm Jessica Gallaher in Moscow.

Stocks are mixed. Dow's down 17 at 11,557.

This is NPR News.

Italian authorities are investigating the attempted parcel bombing at the Greek embassy in Rome today. Greek ambassador Michalis Kambanis says authorities defused the package; no one was hurt.

"We immediately informed the carabinieri, who arrived here within three minutes with the appropriate services and the bomb was neutralized¹⁸."

On Thursday, similar packages exploded at two other embassies. Two people were injured.

Two people are dead after an early morning shooting at an adult entertainment club in Phoenix¹⁹. Arizona Public Radio's Gillian Ferris Kohl reports that patrons helped subdue²⁰ the gunman before police arrived.

Witnesses say the gunman opened fire just before midnight at the Great Alaskan Bush Company in northwest Phoenix. Police say the 28-year-old man shot four people before running out of ammunition²¹. That's when patrons of the club wrestled²² the man to the ground and held him until authorities arrived. One person died shortly after arriving at a Phoenix hospital. Another victim died several hours later. Authorities say two other people were wounded, including a 20-year-old woman. There's no word yet on a possible motive²³ for the shooting. For NPR News, I'm Gillian Ferris Kohl in Flagstaff.

Stocks remain mixed after China moved to hike interest rates to offset²⁴ rising inflation, the second time in three months that occurred. Investors²⁵ are concerned that a slowdown in China will affect markets worldwide. Here's the latest from Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average down 16 points at 11,557 in trading of just over a billion shares, the NASDAQ Composite Index up three at 2,669 with S&P 500 up slightly at 1,258

1 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

2 marooned   

adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的

参考例句：

• During the storm we were marooned in a cabin miles from town. 在风暴中我们被围困在离城数英里的小屋内。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Five couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks. 埃文河决堤的时候，有5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

5 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

6 gusts   

一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作

参考例句：

• Her profuse skirt bosomed out with the gusts. 她的宽大的裙子被风吹得鼓鼓的。
• Turbulence is defined as a series of irregular gusts. 紊流定义为一组无规则的突风。

7 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

8 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

9 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

10 embezzlement   

n.盗用，贪污

参考例句：

• He was accused of graft and embezzlement and was chained and thrown into prison.他因被指控贪污盗窃而锒铛入狱。
• The judge sent him to prison for embezzlement of funds.法官因他盗用公款将其送入监牢。

11 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》

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 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。

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

15 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

16 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。

17 defunct   

adj.死亡的；已倒闭的

参考例句：

• The scheme for building an airport seems to be completely defunct now.建造新机场的计划看来整个完蛋了。
• This schema object is defunct.No modifications are allowed until it is made active again.此架构对象不起作用。在重新激活之前，不能进行任何改动。

18 neutralized   

v.使失效( neutralize的过去式和过去分词 )；抵消；中和；使（一个国家）中立化

参考例句：

• Acidity in soil can be neutralized by spreading lime on it. 土壤的酸性可以通过在它上面撒石灰来中和。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This strategy effectively neutralized what the Conservatives had hoped would be a vote-winner. 这一策略有效地冲淡了保守党希望在选举中获胜的心态。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

20 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

21 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

22 wrestled   

v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤

参考例句：

• As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
• Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 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。

24 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

25 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会