NPR 2012-05-10

 President Obama now says same-sex marriage should be legal. NPR’s Ari Shapiro reports the White House has been under pressure to clarify the president’s position since Vice¹ President Joe Biden expressed support for gay marriage on Sunday.

 

The president sat down for a hastily arranged interview at the White House with ABC News. He said he’s been going through an evolution on this issue, initially² thinking that several unions would be sufficient.

 

"At a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to be get married.”

 

Gay rights advocates are calling this a monument day. On Monday, North Carolina became the latest state to ban gay marriage. President Obama says he still believes the issue should be left up to the states. Expressing support for same-sex marriage during a reelection campaign could be a political risk for the president. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

 

The FBI’s getting a closer look at the latest al-Qaeda bomb that was intended for a US-bound airliner³ in Yemen. Today FBI Director Robert Mueller updated the House Judiciary Committee.

 

"We in the bureau are currently exploiting an IED, improvised⁴ explosive device, seized overseas, which is similar to the devices used by AQAP in the past.”

 

An agent working for the CIA and Saudi intelligence agencies had infiltrated⁵ the terror group as the would-be-bomber. Instead he delivered the sophisticated device to the US government.

 

The Postal⁶ Service is bowing to congressional pressure in backing off the plan to close more than 3,500 rural post offices that are losing money. Details from NPR’s Craig Windham.

 

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe insists the goal is to keep open as many rural post offices as possible.

 

"Rural communities in America will be served by the US Postal Service.”

 

Under the plan, lobbies and PO boxes would remain accessible, but window service at many rural post offices would be cut from eight to as little as two hours a day. Postal Service Chief Operating Officer Megan Brennan says that’s one of several options being offered to rural communities.

 

"We believe nearly every community will prefer the reduced window hours, and that many will wanna supplement their service with the village post office.”

 

Those village post offices would be set up in stores, government buildings or libraries. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

Pioneering hairstylist Vidal Sassoon has died at the age of 84. Los Angeles police are quoted as saying that Sassoon was found dead in his home this morning. The London born stylist was celebrated⁷ for his geometric “wash-and-wear” cuts. He’s been called an artist by some, a rock star, by others, a figure who forever changed the way. Many women felt about their hair reaffirming it with this slogan: “If you don’t look good, we don’t look good.”

 

This is NPR News.

 

Further threatening an already fragile ceasefire in Syria, a Syrian military truck that was escorting a UN convoy⁸ to Daraa was hit by a roadside bomb today. Ten Syrian soldiers were injured. The head of the UN observer mission, Major General Robert Mood, says the attack is an example of what many Syrians endure every day.

 

"This is exactly the graphic⁹ example of the kind of violence that is challenging the life of the civilian¹⁰ population every day in many cities around the country.”

 

The UN envoy¹¹ to Syria Kofi Annan has said the ceasefire Syrian forces and rebels agreed to is Syria’s last chance to avoid civil war.

 

One of the best and brightest in the legal field certainly is gone. Former US Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach has died. NPR’s Carrie Johnson reports he had a long record of public service.

 

Katzenbach filled several top jobs at the US Justice Department, second-in-command to Attorney General Robert Kennedy until he became the nation’s top law enforcement officer under President Lyndon Johnson. In 1963, Katzenbach famously confronted Alabama Governor George Wallace, as he stood in the way of black students trying to integrate the state university. One of those students became the sister-in-law of Eric Holder¹², the country’s first black Attorney General. Katzenbach wrote a memoir¹³ of those years called "Some of It Was Fun." He died Tuesday at age 90 from undisclosed causes. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

 

World markets still affected¹⁴ by the political impasse¹⁵ in Greece. Before the close, the Dow was down 97 points at 12,835.

1 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。

2 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

3 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

4 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

5 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

7 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

8 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

9 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

11 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

12 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

13 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

14 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。

15 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。