NPR 2012-04-03

 President Obama has just wrapped up his summit with leaders of Mexico in Canada, where energy and trade were prominent in their discussions at the White House about strengthening the North American economies.

 

“The confidence is up, and the economy is getting stronger. But with lots of folks still struggling to find work and pay the bills, we are doing everything we can to speed up the recovery, and that includes boosting trade with our two largest economic partners.”

 

The president also addressed the debate over the health care law, which is under review by the US Supreme¹ Court. He says he’s confident the law will be upheld.

 

Mr. Obama's political rivals, Mitt² Romney and Rick Santorum, are campaigning in Wisconsin ahead of tomorrow's GOP primary. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports Romney is talking about his personnel life more than he has in the past.

 

A supporter at a rally in Green Bay asked Mitt Romney about the accusation³ that he does not relate to average Americans. Romney talked about his work as a lay pastor⁴ for the Mormon Church and about his wife's struggles with multiple sclerosis and breast cancer.

 

“And when you get a chance to know people on a very personal basis, whether you’re serving as a pastor or perhaps as a counselor⁵ or other kinds of roles, you understand that almost everybody you see is facing some challenges. And one of the reasons I’m running for president of the United States is I want to help people.”

 

Wisconsin is one of three contests tomorrow, along with Maryland and Washington DC. Polls show Romney with a wide lead in all three places. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Green Bay, Wisconsin.

 

Federal immigration officials say they have arrested more than 3,000 people as part of a nationwide crackdown. NPR's Ted⁶ Robbins says the operation was targeting previously⁸ convicted criminals.

 

ICE or Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced the latest in a series of what they call “Operation Cross Check.” The agency released video showing teams of officers, faces obscured, arresting individuals all over the country.

 

“This morning, we’re going to be among all the targets. We’re going after two. One’s an at-large criminal alien convicted of DWI”.

 

ICE doesn't identify the officers in the video. It arrested gang members, sex offenders⁹ and at least one murderer. A large number of people had been previously convicted of immigration violations¹⁰. As for where they came from, ICE says it arrested natives of 116 countries. Ted Robbins, NPR News.

 

Greeted by a massive welcome banner and resounding¹¹ cheers today, about 500 southern Indiana students were back in school for the first time since their town was devastated¹² by a tornado¹³ a month ago. Henryville Jr/Sr High School students arrived by bus after a ten-mile drive from their hometown to a Scottsburg, Indiana complex.

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 83 points a 13,295.

 

This is NPR News

 

A Pakistani court sentenced Osama bin⁷ Laden's widows and two of his daughters to 45 days in jail for illegally living in the country. The women have served much of their time in detention¹⁴ since US forces raided the family compound in Abbottabad last May. They now face deportation¹⁵. One of the wives, a Yemeni, will be deported¹⁶ to her homeland in the coming weeks. But two of the widows are Saudi citizens, and their return home remains¹⁷ uncertain because Saudi officials revoked¹⁸ Osama bin Laden's citizenship¹⁹ in 1994. Their attorney, Amir Khalil, tells NPR News he is in discussions with the Saudis.

 

“Although 45 days, almost a month has been elapsed, and there are only two weeks left. So soon after two weeks, they will be deported.”

 

The widows' attorney, Amir Khalil, speaking with NPR News.

 

Back in the US, the construction industry continues to struggle in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that construction spending fell again in February.

 

The Commerce Department says spending fell by 1.1%, and the decline in January was bigger than first thought. There was weakness across the board. Construction of single-family homes was down, though it was offset²⁰ to some degree by apartment building. Spending on government construction was down, and so was spending on hotels, offices and shopping malls. The construction sector²¹ has rebounded²² somewhat over the past year. But it's still about 1/3 below the levels it hit at the height of the mortgage boom. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

 

Today, we’ve been seeing gains in the US market with the Dow up 83 points; NASDAQ gaining 30; S&P 500 up 14 points.

 

This is NPR News.

1 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。

2 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。

3 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

4 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

5 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

6 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

7 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。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

10 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

11 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

12 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

13 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

14 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

15 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

16 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

19 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

20 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

21 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

22 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。