NPR 2012-01-02

 Reports from Iran say the navy has test-fired what it calls a medium-range surface-to-air missile. The official news agency says the test was carried out during a military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf¹ and the Indian Ocean. An Iranian naval² commander was quoted as saying the missile was equipped with the latest technology and intelligence systems. [The] BBC’s Mohsen Askari says that Iran is sending messages to the outside world. 

 

On the one hand, it has the capability³ to defend itself and also to close the Strait of Hormuz, which is the most important oil passage of the world. And on the other hand, Iranian officials have sent a letter to say that they are ready to resume negotiations⁴ over nuclear programs in order to decrease tension. So Iranian officials have adopted a strategy of “carrot and stick” to the West.  

 

[The] BBC’s Mohsen Askari reporting.

 

Also today Iran claimed its scientists have produced a nuclear fuel rod for the first time that could provide fuel for nuclear reactors⁵. 

 

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum says President Obama hasn’t done enough to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that if he were president, he had bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities if that country refused to open them to weapons inspectors⁶. A new poll shows Santorum is now in third place among Republicans in Iowa. The same Des Moines Register poll shows Mitt⁷ Romney in first place with 24% and Ron Paul in second place with 22%, meaning they’re statistically⁸ even. Paul says he’s happy with how he’s doing. 

 

“It remains⁹ to be seen, but I feel very comfortable with the growing number of people that come out to our rallies and the enthusiasm. I’ll tell you what, I think it’s, it’s a mistake if people want to write me off and say that I’m not with the people.” 

 

Paul was interviewed on ABC’s “This Week” just two days before the caucuses’ 21% said they’re still undecided or might change their minds. 

 

Chief Justice John Robert says he’s deeply committed to keeping the Supreme¹⁰ Court fair and impartial¹¹. He used his annual report of the judiciary to address calls for the high court to adopt a tougher ethics¹² code. NPR’s Carrie Johnson reports.

 

Lawmakers and interest groups on both sides of the political isle¹³ have questioned whether Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Elena Kagan can be fair when it comes to hearing a case on the Obama administration’s signature health care law. Both justices rejected calls that they step aside because of personal interest or bias¹⁴. But some law professors still want the Supreme Court to develop its own ethics code. In his report, Chief Justice Robert says his colleagues already consult ethics codes and authorities used by lower court judges. And he says he has complete confidence in his colleagues when it comes to deciding when they should step aside. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington. 

 

Authorities in New York say police arrested 68 protesters during an Occupy Wall Street protest last night. They were taken into custody¹⁵ as they torn down barricades¹⁶ surrounding Zuccotti Park.

 

This is NPR News. 

 

Police in Los Angeles County say they don’t know what they are dealing¹⁷ with—one arsonist¹⁸, several or copycats. There were four more car fires last night, similar to dozens that broke out early yesterday morning and Friday. A hotline is taking tips, and investigators²⁰ are looking through video footage for clues. 

 

NASA is celebrating the New Year’s Eve arrival of a space probe now in orbit around the moon. A second probe is expected to arrive today. NPR’s John Hamilton reports that together the twin spacecraft could help solve a big mystery about the moon’s history. 

 

Some researchers think the Earth’s single moon was once two moons. Maria Zuber of MIT says it’s possible that these moons were in the same obit and collided very gently.  

 

“Because the velocity²¹ of this second moon was so close to the moon itself, it basically bumped and stuck and it made a mountain instead of a crater²².”

 

Zuber, who is the principal investigator¹⁹ of NASA’s current moon mission, says the two spacecraft will test this idea by measuring tiny gravitational changes as they orbit. These measurements should provide hints about events that happened billions of years ago when parts of the moon’s surface was still molten. John Hamilton, NPR News. 

 

Prognosticators say space travel will become more common for everyday people in the near future. 

 

“Commercial space tourism is going to grow really significantly during the coming decade.”

 

That’s Patrick Tucker, the deputy editor of Futures²³ Magazine. He also expects tax books will be obsolete²⁴ within the next 10 years, and that the nanotechnology used in digital cameras could soon help restore sight to the blind.  

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

3 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

6 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

8 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

9 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。

10 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。

11 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

12 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

13 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

14 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

15 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。

16 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

17 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

18 arsonist   

n.纵火犯

参考例句：

• You're pretty sure you can identify a single arsonist?你确信你能鉴别出一个特定的纵火者？
• The arsonist confessed that he set fire to six businesses.那纵火犯承认他给6家商场纵过火。

19 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

20 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 velocity   

n.速度，速率

参考例句：

• Einstein's theory links energy with mass and velocity of light.爱因斯坦的理论把能量同质量和光速联系起来。
• The velocity of light is about 300000 kilometres per second.光速约为每秒300000公里。

22 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

23 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

24 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。