NPR 2010-08-08

You can now call her Justice Elena Kagan. She was sworn in this afternoon as the 112th justice for the US Supreme¹ Court. NPR's Allison Keyes tells us Kagan is the fourth woman to serve on the high court.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts first administered the constitutional oath to Kagan at a private ceremony in the court's justice's room with only her family present. At a second ceremony in the Supreme Court building, Kagan stood before wood-paneled walls and a fireplace in a dark suit and ivory top, raised her right hand and repeated the oath.

"I, Elena Kagan, do solemnly swear (that I will administer justice without respect to persons) that I will administer justice without respect to persons..."

As part of her oath, Kagan also vowed² to do equal right to the poor and to the rich. And finally Roberts said, "Congratulations."

Kagan won't be formally seated on the court until October 1st, but Roberts said she took the oath today, so that she can begin work right away. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

For a second straight day, Moscow is socked in by a layer of smog from wildfires that are burning in the region. Peter Van Dyk is in Kolomna about 75 miles southeast of Moscow.

Russians are used to hoping for themselves. And in that respect, each person will find his own solution, but everyone knows that with this level of smoke, there's really not that much you can do at this point in Moscow. All the apartments have smoke in them to some degree except for, perhaps, the apartments of the very wealthy, which will have very good air-conditioning. So, there is an acceptance that there's not a lot that they can do. And officials actually say the most important thing we can do now is get to grips with the fires, and the time for apportioning³ blame and bringing negligent⁴ officials to justice will only come later.

City health officials say the pollutants⁵ in the air around Moscow are six times than normal levels.

Ten members of a medical team helping⁶ villagers in Afghanistan are dead, victims of an ambush⁷ in the northern part of the country. Six of the victims were Americans; two were Afghan interpreters. One was from Germany; the other from Britain. The Taliban says the group was carrying Bibles and spying for the US, an accusation⁸ that's been denied by Dirk Frans, executive director of International Assistance Mission, which employed the medics.

"Some of them have actually been here for decades. The team leaders first came to Afghanistan in 76, all of them who came to basically serve the people of Afghanistan. And to kill these people is totally senseless."

The team was attacked as it was returning to Kabul.

It's unclear what caused an explosion today in the Iraqi city of Basra, but at least 14 are dead, dozens more are wounded. Police officials say there were twin blasts within minutes of each other in a downtown market. But the police chief says the explosion was caused by a malfunctioning⁹ generator¹⁰.

This is NPR News from Washington.

It'll take another spacewalk to fix a faulty ammonia cooling pump at the International Space Station. Two astronauts worked for hours, trying to free the failed part, but had to give up when they couldn't even remove the hoses. It's unclear if the repairs could be made during a scheduled second spacewalk or whether they'll need a third.

President Obama is taking credit for shoring up Medicare, the health care program for seniors. NPR's Giles Snyder reports the president says seniors are benefiting from his health care overhaul¹¹.

President Obama says Medicare has a stronger foundation thanks to the health care law he signed in March.

"Medicare isn't just a program. It's a commitment to America's seniors that after working your whole life, you've earned the security of quality health care you can afford."

Speaking in his weekly address, Mr Obama welcomed a report that says the costs cut prompted by the overhaul, but helped Medicare stay afloat for a dozen years longer than previously¹² projected. Republicans are taking a swipe at the president over taxes. The president wants to let a series of tax cuts for the wealthy expire, but Illinois Congressman¹³ Peter Roskam says that would not be a good idea.

"Every dollar in new taxes owed is a dollar that can't be used to pay current employees or hire new workers."

Roskam was speaking in the GOP address. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

President Obama is wrapping up his birthday week with an afternoon of golf today and a barbeque tomorrow. The White House says he played golf with eight friends, some he'd known since college.

Tiger Woods could lose his No.1 golf ranking this weekend after three rounds of play in the Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio. Woods is 11-over-par, the worst score since he turned professional.

I'm Nancy Lyons, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 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。

2 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

3 apportioning   

vt.分摊，分配（apportion的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• There is still no law apportioning Iraq's oil resources. 关于一如何分配石油还是没有法律出台。 来自互联网
• The act or a round of apportioning or distributing. 分布或散布或分配的行为。 来自互联网

4 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

5 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

8 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

9 malfunctioning   

出故障

参考例句：

• But something was malfunctioning in the equipment due to human error. 但由于人为的错误，设备发生故障了。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• Choke coils are useful for prevention of malfunctioning electronic equipment. 扼流圈对于防止电器设备的故障很有帮助。 来自互联网

10 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

11 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 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。