NPR 2012-01-25

 Charges of discrimination and mistreatment of Latinos has landed four Connecticut police officers in jail. Today the FBI arrested the officers for allegedly assaulting undocumented immigrants in East Haven¹, conducting illegal searches of Hispanic-owned businesses and bullying² anyone who reported the officers' conduct. Last month, the Justice Department said the police department engaged in a pattern of discrimination against Latino residents.

 

[In] New Jersey³, authorities are charging a 19-year-old man with attempted murder and hate crimes for recent attacks on two synagogues in Rutherford and Paramus. Anthony Graziano is being held on five million dollars bond. Prosecutors⁴ are expected to release more details in a news conference shortly.

 

President Obama’s expected to make the economy, jobs and housing central in his State of the Union address tonight. NPR's Scott Horsley reports this speech comes at a crucial time for the president who's trying to reassure⁵ voters worried about the high unemployment rate.

 

The president's campaign is certainly doing its best to capitalize on this high-profile opportunity. They've been organizing house parties where the president's supporters can get together to watch the speech. The president also sent an email alert to his extensive email list with a video preview highlighting some of the points he'll make in the speech.

 

NPR's Scott Horsley.

 

Republican presidential candidates continue to attack the administration's economic policies in the run-up to the State of the Union address tonight, calling them failed attempts at speeding up recovery in the US.

 

Egypt's top military ruler says he's ending a much hated state of emergency law that has been in effect for three decades. But as NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson tells us from Cairo, there is one huge caveat⁶.

 

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi said on state television that he was lifting the decades-old state of emergency law on the first anniversary of the revolution. That's months after the ruling generals pledged to do so. Tantawi added the law will still be in effect for Egyptians deemed to be thugs. That's the term the ruling military council used to describe many of the thousands of protesters it arrested this past year. His decision to partially⁷ lift the law that gives Egyptian security forces far-reaching powers is unlikely to satisfy protesters and rights groups. They accuse the military of using the same oppressive tactics former President Hosni Mubarak's government did. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Cairo.

 

The Syrian foreign minister is signaling the country will continue its crackdown on political dissent⁸. Today Walid al-Moualem said in a news conference that it was the government's duty to take any steps deemed necessary to maintain order. The comments came a day after President Bashar al-Assad rejected an Arab-brokered plan to end the crackdown which the UN estimates has cost thousands of lives in the last ten months.

 

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Security is tightened⁹ in the Tibetan region. A monk¹⁰ says dozens of Tibetans injured by Chinese police during yesterday's crackdown sought shelter in a monastery¹¹ that was surrounded by security forces. Chinese officials say the unrest in Sichuan province's Luhuo County was caused by a mob.

 

The weather from space is about to get worse. NPR's Christopher Joyce reports on the biggest solar radiation storm in more than six years, and it's headed our way.

 

Weathercasters who keep an eye on the sun say a solar flare¹² last Sunday is sending a radiation storm that should arrive on Earth Tuesday. Radiation storms are a concern for astronauts and satellites, and they can trigger communications problems for some aircraft and affect the electric power grid¹³. The storm is expected to be moderate-to-strong. It started when the sun emitted a burst of charged particles and a magnetic field. The entire storm comes in three waves: first, electromagnetic radiation; then a stream of protons; finally atomic particles called a coronal mass ejection. NASA has determined¹⁴ that the six astronauts on the International Space Station are not in danger. Christopher Joyce, NPR News.

 

European stocks fell today with persistent¹⁵ worries over Greece's prospects¹⁶ for securing enough help to avoid default. Eurozone finance ministers have rejected an offer from private bondholders to help restructure Greece's debt. This coupled with the IMF's downgraded outlook on global growth appeared to weigh on world markets. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down 43 points at 12,666; NASDAQ down slightly at 2,785.

1 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

2 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

5 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

6 caveat   

n.警告； 防止误解的说明

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling.为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。
• As I have written before,that's quite a caveat.正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。

7 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

8 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

9 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

10 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

11 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

12 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

13 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

14 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。

15 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

16 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。