NPR 2012-03-20

 Jewish schools in religious sites across France are under a heightened security as the hunt continues for a gunman who killed three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in the southern city of Toulouse this morning. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports that the weapon was the same used in the killings¹ of three French soldiers outside a military base in Toulouse last week.

 

In the two previous instances and the latest, the gunman drove up on a motorcycle, apparently³ chose his victims and fired at point-blank range before speeding off. The same 45-caliber handgun was used. French police say they are on the hunt for a possible terrorist or serial⁴ killer⁵ who could strike again. Witnesses at the school described a man dressed all in black with light green eyes. The dead in the latest incident include a rabbi and his two children—ages three and six—and an eight-year-old girl. No motive⁶ is yet known for the attacks. The killings have shocked the nation during a presidential campaign. President Nicolas Sarkozy and the other major candidates temporarily suspended the campaign and came to Toulouse to support the Jewish community. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Toulouse.

 

The Army sergeant⁷ accused of slaughtering⁸ Afghan civilians⁹ has met with his attorney for the first time since the attack on villagers earlier this month. The lawyer, John Henry Browne, tells the Associated Press it was an emotional 3.5 hours at Fort Leavenworth, where Sgt. Robert Bales is being held in isolation¹⁰. He has yet to be charged.

 

Tomorrow is the deadline for presidential candidates to file their fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission. NPR's Scott Horsley reports President Obama's reelection campaign is giving supporters a sneak¹¹ preview.

 

President Obama's reelection team released some selective highlights from its financial report through its Twitterfeed and campaign website. The campaign raised more than 45 million dollars last month, but it offered no breakdown¹² of how much of that total goes to the Democratic National Committee. The campaign also has not yet said how much it spent in February or how much cash it still has on hand. February's fundraising total is about four times Mitt¹³ Romney's whole, but it's less than Mr. Obama himself raised during a similar period four years ago. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 

Meanwhile, Republican Mitt Romney has been campaigning at President Obama's home turf of Illinois. In Springfield today, he talked about the economy. Though it's doing better, Romney says the economic recovery has been slower than expected under Obama's watch. 

 

Peyton Manning reportedly is going with the Broncos. The Denver Post says the quarterback superstar called Broncos legend John Elway to break the news. Elway is now Denver's vice¹⁴ president of football operations. Manning, a four-time NFL MVP, had a series of neck surgeries. He was released by the Indianapolis Colts after 14 years. ESPN is calling it a done deal though barring a snag during intensified¹⁵ contract negotiations¹⁶.

 

Before the close, the Dow was up six points. 

 

This is NPR News.

 

Russia's foreign minister is vowing¹⁷ to keep pressing the Syrian government to honor daily ceasefires that would allow humanitarian¹⁸ aid to get through to the hardest-hit Syrian neighborhoods. Today Sergey Lavrov said his government firmly supports the plan, though Russia and China still oppose a UN resolution that demands the Syrian government end its year-long crackdown on dissent¹⁹.

 

Searchers have found the body of the hot-air balloon pilot who went missing after he was struck by a powerful thunderstorm in Georgia last week. They say Edward Ristaino was ferrying skydivers when a fast-developing storm hit and sucked in his balloon. Skydivers say the pilot was able to find a field where they could parachute to safety before his balloon crashed.

 

Field is set for this year’s Sweet 16 in the men's NCAA Basketball Tournament, all four of the No.1 seats still alive. But as Scott Graf of member station WFAE reports, one has suffered a big injury.

 

Many had the University of North Carolina winning it all this year, but the Tar² Heels suffered the tournament's most significant injury so far in yesterday's 14-point win over Creighton. Point guard and playmaker Kendall Marshall broke one of his wrists. He kept playing, but he's now scheduled to have surgery today. As a result, his status for the rest of the tournament and that of his team's chances to win this year's title aren’t clear. Meanwhile, the lowest-seeded team still playing is Ohio University. The 13-seeded Bobcats have won a school-record 28 games and are having their best seasons since 1964. Ohio will take on North Carolina Friday in St. Louis. For NPR News, I'm Scott Graf in Charlotte.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

2 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

5 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

6 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

7 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

8 slaughtering   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The Revolutionary Tribunal went to work, and a steady slaughtering began. 革命法庭投入工作，持续不断的大屠杀开始了。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• \"Isn't it terrific slaughtering pigs? “宰猪的！ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

11 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

12 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

13 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。

14 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

15 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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。

17 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

18 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

19 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。