NPR 2011-10-04

 Amanda Knox is walking free. As heard through an interpreter on CNN just moments ago, a judge with the Italian appeals court announced the panel was throwing out the former student’s murder conviction. 

 

“So we have overturned. So, knox, Amanda, is free.”

 

Knox had been serving a 26-year-sentence for the 2007 murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher, whose family had been monitoring today’s developments, and they’ve long said that the victim had been overlooked and even forgot in the worldwide media coverage¹ of Knox’s appeals stemming from new questions about DNA² evidence. Knox’s ex-boyfriend who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in connection with Kercher’s death was also ordered free. 

 

The Nobel Prize in Physiology³ or Medicine this year recognizes basic discoveries in the workings of the immune system. But as NPR’s Richard Knox reports, the death of one of the three winners has clouded the usual festivities. 

 

The Nobel committee awarded half the $1.5 million prize to Ralph Steinman of Rockefeller University in New York City. The other half went to American Bruce Beutler and Frenchman Jules Hoffmann. But Steinman died last Friday of pancreatic cancer. Neither the Nobel committee nor Steinman’s own university knew that until after the prize was announced early this morning. Nobel rules don’t seem to allow prizes for scientists who have died before the award is announced, but at the end of the Swedish day, Nobel officials offered condolences to Steinman’s family and said he would keep the prize. Steinman discovered the function of a key immune cell. The other two winners discovered fundamental workings of innate⁴ immunity⁵, the first line of defense⁶ against invading organisms. Richard Knox, NPR News, Washington. 

 

All three Detroit automakers saw their sales increase in September. NPR’s Sonari Glinton reports pickups and SUVs led the sales growth. 

 

Most of the sales growth among US automakers is based on need, there’s a lot of pent-up demand as consumers held off on purchasing new vehicles. General Motors was up by 20%, Chrysler by 27%, though that’s compared to some dismal⁸ numbers from last September. Meanwhile, Ford⁹ saw its sales increase by 9%. It was trucks that carried the payload for the American automakers. That comes as gas prices fell. Each of the Detroit Three saw their sales of pickup⁷ trucks jump by more than 30%. While car and truck sales continue to grow, analysts¹⁰ expect the industry to sell about four million fewer vehicles this year than it did at its height before the last recession. Sonari Glinton, NPR News.

 

Investors¹¹ still worried about the debt crisis in Europe after Greece said it wouldn’t make its deficit¹² reduction target to keep getting an international bail-out. On Wall Street, Dow was down 258 points for more than 2% at last check at 10,655. 

 

This is NPR News.

 

Several columns of thick black smoke can be seen rising from a magnablend chemical plant burning out of control just south of Dallas. The facility in Waxahachie reportedly had more than two dozen employees inside when the fire broke out this morning. Several areas are being evacuated¹⁴. Jessenia Colin works at the local Hampton Inn, where she’s been watching the situation just get worse. 

 

“So it’s just spreading and spreading and they are telling everybody to evacuate¹³. Like we have another college that’s near us, the very college they’ve evacuated already. And an elementary school they’ve evacuated as well.”

 

So far though no injuries have been reported. 

 

A new study finds the number of Americans living in multi-generational households has grown by nearly five million during the recent recession. NPR’s Jennifer Ludden reports it’s the largest such increase in modern history. 

 

The Pew Research Center finds doubling up with relatives is a financial lifeline for many. A quarter of young unemployed¹⁵ have done so. The move that reports suggest has kept many from falling into poverty. Young adults also fuel the trend. In 2009, a fifth of those aged¹⁶ 25 to 34 lived in a multi-generational household. Asians, blacks and Hispanics are all far more likely than whites to live with other generations. The Pew study finds the sharpest spike¹⁷ has been among Hispanics, a group hit especially hard by the downturn. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington. 

 

South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary is now scheduled for January 21st, becoming the latest state to jockey for a higher profile in the presidential nominating process. The state responded after Florida announced it wouldn’t move up its election, violating national party rules. 

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

3 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

4 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

5 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

6 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。

7 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

8 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

9 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

10 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。

11 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

12 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

13 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

14 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

15 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

16 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

17 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。