NPR 2010-09-23

President Obama is arriving in New York where he will speak at the United Nations anti-poverty conference. Mr. Obama is expected to outline his administration’s goals for helping¹ the world's poorest nations. But the UN gathering² is also expected to highlight Iran’s nuclear program, for which the UN has imposed sanctions as well as the fragile Middle East peace process.

More unrest breaks out in the Middle East. Protesters shouted during a funeral of a Palestinian man who was killed by an Israeli private security guard in Jerusalem. Crowds of young Palestinians rioted and vandalized vehicles. Israeli authorities say at least ten people were hurt.

The owner of an Iowa egg company that was one of the sources of a salmonella outbreak in the US says he’s sorry. Jack³ DeCoster expressed remorse⁴ before a House panel today.

 

"We were horrified⁵ to learn that our eggs may have made people sick. We apologize to everyone, who may have been sickened by eating our eggs."

 

As many as 1,600 people are believed to have gotten salmonella poisoning.

Homegrown terrorism is on the rise as al-Qaeda recruits more Americans into its ranks. That was a message today from three of President Obama’s top national security advisors⁶ who spoke⁷ on Capitol Hill. More from NPR’s Rachel Martin.

FBI Director Robert Mueller, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and the head of the National Counterterrorism Center Michael Leiter all appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. One by one they described how the terrorism threat has changed since 9/11. They each spoke to a disturbing trend. There is still a threat from terrorists abroad, but more and more it’s American citizens who are becoming radicalized. Mueller told the committee that groups affiliated⁸ with al-Qaeda are now actively⁹ targeting the United States and looking to use Americans who can travel on US passports and avoid strict new security protocols¹⁰. Leiter said al-Qaeda in Pakistan has been weakened. Still, he says, the group remains¹¹ a capable and determined¹² enemy. Rachel Martin, NPR News, Washington.

Iranian authorities are investigating a bomb blast at a military parade that killed at least ten spectators today. Dozens of people were wounded in that attack. The explosion went off in the northwestern town of Mahabad, a predominantly Kurdish area near the borders of Iraq and Turkey.

The French government is bracing¹³ for another massive labor¹⁴ strike that could disrupt operations across the country tomorrow. It will be the third nationwide protest over President Nicholas Sarkozy’s pension reform plan. Demonstrations¹⁵ earlier this month drew more than a million people. 

Last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 20 points at 10,740.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for multiple sclerosis. As NPR's Richard Knox tells us it's the first to slow the course of MS that can be taken without an injection.

Studies show patients on the new pill had about half as many flare-ups of MS compared to those taking a widely used drug given by injection. The new drug also slows progression of the disease and reduces the number of new abnormalities in patients' brains. It's called fingolimod. Beginning next month drugmaker Novartis will sell it as Gilenya. A company spokeswoman says no information is available on the price of the new drug, but one analyst¹⁶ expects it will cost at least 30,000 dollars a year. Fingolimod works in a new way compared to the half dozen other MS drugs on the market. An official of the National MS Society says it might be somewhat more effective than most existing drugs. But it requires more monitoring for side effects such as heart and liver problems and infections. Richard Knox, NPR News.

The mayor of Bell and seven other high profile figures from a Los Angeles area suburb were arraigned¹⁷ today on charges they bilked taxpayers¹⁸ out of more than five million dollars. The defendants¹⁹, who also include a former city manager and council members, were arrested yesterday. The district attorney said the group defrauded²⁰ residents of the working-class community while it paid itself hefty salaries.

The driver who is involved in a deadly tour bus crash last month in Utah is now in police custody²¹. Authorities say Yasushi Mikuni faces at least 11 charges of having trace amounts of an intoxicant in his blood. The crash led to three deaths; eleven people were hurt.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

5 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

6 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

9 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

10 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

13 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

16 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

17 arraigned   

v.告发( arraign的过去式和过去分词 )；控告；传讯；指责

参考例句：

• He was arraigned for murder. 他因谋杀罪而被提讯。
• She was arraigned for high treason. 她被控叛国罪。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

19 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

20 defrauded   

v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He defrauded his employers of thousands of dollars. 他诈取了他的雇主一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He defrauded them of their money. 他骗走了他们的钱。 来自辞典例句

21 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。