NPR 2011-06-17

After two weeks of scandal, Democratic Congressman¹ Anthony Weiner of New York is leaving office. NPR's Margot Adler reports that Weiner officially resigned this afternoon at the same location where he first asked citizens for their votes some 20 years ago.

Weiner again apologized for the embarrassment² he caused and said he had hoped to continue in office.

"To fight for the middle class and those struggling to make it. Unfortunately, the distraction³ that I have created has made that impossible, so today I'm announcing my resignation from Congress."

So that his colleagues can get back to work, he said, and he and his wife can heal from the damage he caused. He described his district as "hardworking, patriotic⁴ and authentic," described himself as a middle-class kid who went to public school and went into the politics to give voice to the voiceless. He thanked his staff, who's young people who are not paid much and work long hours. Weiner came alone, and there was little security. Many hecklers in the room shouted out during his less than four-minute statement. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

Al-Qaeda has announced it has a new leader. Ayman al-Zawahiri, for years the Egyption deputy to Osama bin⁵ Laden⁶, has taken charge of the organization, according to a statement posted online by the al-Qaeda general command. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that Zawahiri had long been expected to replace bin Laden, who was killed last month in a US commando raid.

The surprise about Zawahiri's selection was how long it took. Bin Laden was killed six weeks ago. Zawahiri, an Eyption eye doctor, has served as bin Laden's No.2 ever since the formation of al-Qaeda and was seen as the operational commander even while bin Laden was alive, but he has his detractors within the organization, who see him as abrasive⁷ and uninspiring. Another possible reason for the delay in announcing his selection is that the al-Qaeda Shura or leadership council has had trouble communicating let alone getting together. Some counter-terrorism analysts⁹ suspect Zawahiri will have a hard time managing the al-Qaeda network. He may be under some pressure to orchestrate a major attack in the coming weeks in order to demonstrate his leadership and avenge¹⁰ bin Laden's death. Tom Gjelten, NPR News, Washington.

A political crisis in Greece is escalating¹¹ over widely unpopular austerity measures. Embattled Prime Minister George Papandreou lost two members of his own Socialist¹² Party. They resigned in protest. This as he attempts to form a new cabinet and to get a program of spending cuts and taxes passed to meet the requirements of an international bailout. Analyst⁸ Vangelis Agapitos says Greece needs a solution soon.

"I'd like to be cautiously optimistic that Greece still has a chance to put through, but time is running out, and options are also running out."

The crisis has been affecting world markets. At last check, Dow was up 58 points at 11955; Nasdaq was down seven.

This is NPR News.

Chrysler is recalling more than 11000 cars, minivans and SUVs because of a steering¹³ problem. NPR's Kimberly Adams reports the recall covers nearly a dozen 2011 models.

Included in the recall are the Dodge¹⁴ Avenger¹⁵ and Grand Caravan¹⁶, the Jeep Wrangler¹⁷, Compass and Liberty, the Chrysler Town & Country and others. They could have a missing or improperly¹⁸ installed rivet¹⁹ in their steering columns. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that could hinder the operation of the front impact safety system, which could increase the risk of injury in a frontal crash. Those affected²⁰ by the recall can bring their vehicles into the dealership²¹ to be fixed²² for free. Kimberly Adams, NPR News, Washington.

Anger over a proposed change to public workers' benefits in New Jersey²³ set off confrontations²⁴ at the state Capitol today. Union members heckled the sponsor of the controversial bill, Democratic Senate President Stephen Sweeney. Sweeney, an official with the ironworkers union, is proposing a measure that would require government workers to bear a much larger share of their health care costs.

As many as 1500 Czech transport union workers shut down the Prague underground today. Reportedly, first time that's happened there. The one-day strike was over the government's fiscal²⁵ reforms.

Alaska's been hit by a 5.2-magnitude earthquake that could be felt in Anchorage. There were no immediate²⁶ reports of damage or injuries.

Bombers²⁸ are responsible for more deadly attacks today in Nigeria, Africa's most populous²⁹ nation. Police said two people were killed in the capital Abuja today when a suicide bomber²⁷ struck police headquarters. Three children were killed in northeastern Nigeria.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

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 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

3 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

4 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

5 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

6 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

7 abrasive   

adj.使表面磨损的；粗糙的；恼人的

参考例句：

• His abrasive manner has won him an unenviable notoriety.他生硬粗暴的态度让他声名狼藉。
• She had abrasions to her wrists where the abrasive rope had scraped her.她的手腕有多出磨伤，那是被粗糙的绳子擦伤的。

8 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。

9 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。

10 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

11 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

12 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

13 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

14 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

15 avenger   

n. 复仇者

参考例句：

• "Tom Sawyer, the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main. “我乃西班牙海黑衣侠盗，汤姆 - 索亚。
• Avenger's Shield-0.26 threat per hit (0.008 threat per second) 飞盾-0.26仇恨每击（0.08仇恨每秒）

16 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

17 wrangler   

n.口角者，争论者；牧马者

参考例句：

• When the strangled wrangler dangles the mangled spangles on the bangle jangle.被绞死的辩论者晃荡时，手镯上撕碎的小金属片发出刺耳的声音。
• A wrangler is a cowboy who works with cattle and horses.牧马者是放牧牛马的牛仔。

18 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

19 rivet   

n.铆钉；vt.铆接，铆牢；集中(目光或注意力)

参考例句：

• They were taught how to bore rivet holes in the sides of ships.有人教他们如何在船的舷侧钻铆孔。
• The rivet heads are in good condition and without abrasion.铆钉钉头状况良好，并无过度磨损。

20 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

21 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

22 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

23 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

24 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

25 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

26 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

27 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

28 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。