NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-01-09

　　From NPR News in Washington, I’m Lakshmi Singh.

 

　　Bells toll¹ across Tucson, Arizona in memory of the lives forever changed by a gunman who killed six people and wounded 13 during an outdoor event. Among the survivors², former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded while she was meeting with her constituents³. Two years later, Giffords is taking on the gun lobby. NPR’s Kirk Ziegler reports that on this anniversary, Giffords and her husband are launching a new political action committee aimed at curbing⁵ gun violence.

 

　　The new pack is called Americans for Responsible Solutions, which plans to raise money to “counterbalance the influence of the pro-gun lobby.” A statement on its new website says the group will encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence while also protecting responsible gun ownership. In an op-ed published in USA Today, Gabrielle Giffords aims her harshest words at Congress, noting that since Tucson, there have been 11 more mass shootings in the US, including the much deadlier ones last year in Aurora⁶, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut. Giffords says the main purpose of the new pack is to raise money so that members of Congress won’t, in her words, have reason to fear the gun lobby. Kirk Siegler, NPR News.

 

　　The White House is stepping up discussions over gun violence in response to last month’s shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school. Vice⁷ President Joe Biden is due to meet with gun control groups tomorrow then gun rights advocates on Thursday. It is part of President Obama’s edict across the administration to present proposals by the end of this month on ways to curb⁴ gun violence.

 

　　Illinois lawmakers have only hours now to come up with a plan to deal with what’s considered the biggest pension shortfall in the nation. NPR’s Cheryl Corley reports a new legislature is sworn in tomorrow, and if no deal was struck, the state must start new negotiations⁸.

 

　　The pension shortfall in Illinois has been years in the making. It totals nearly 97 billion dollars. Some state lawmakers have worked to come up with a comprehensive pension overhaul⁹ that would require the state to fully¹⁰ meet its pension obligations and for state workers to chip in more from their paychecks. But with the clock ticking during the final full day of a lame-duck session, there’s still no deal. And Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said the state’s fiscal¹¹ crisis needs to be resolved.

 

　　“We cannot allow the Illinois economy to be held hostage by political timidity. We have to be bold, we have to do things that are difficult.”

 

　　The lack of a pension fix has led to downgrades of Illinois credit ratings. Cheryl Corley, NPR News.

 

　　At last check on Wall Street, Dow was off 59 points at 13,324, NASQAD down eight at 3,091, and the S&P 500 falling six points, it’s at 1,456.

 

　　From Washington, this is NPR News.

 

　　The 25-year-old army private accused of releasing large amounts of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website may learn today whether he will be cleared of all charges. In the Maryland pretrial hearing for Private First Class Bradley Manning, the judge said she would rule on the defense’s motion. Manning argues that the military held him in extremely harsh conditions for several months after his 2010 arrest. His jailers at the Marine¹² Corps¹³ brig in Quantico, Virginia say Manning was kept in a windowless six-by-eight foot cell for 23 hours a day because they say he was a threat to himself and others.

 

　　The opening of a controversial new airport in the German capital is delayed for a fourth time. NPR’s Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson says critics are calling on Berlin’s mayor to resign over the project.

 

　　Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit refused to quit, but did step down as head of the board overseeing construction of the project that has become a major embarrassment¹⁴ for German officials. Their proposed airport catering¹⁵ to 27 million passengers a year was to be a symbol of Berlin’s growing status as a tourist destination and center for political power. But the project has been plagued by delays since its first scheduled opening in 2011 and roughly two billion euros in cost overruns. The Berlin Airport Authority in a statement said it scrubbed the latest October 2013 opening date because of problems with the airport’s fire safety system. No new opening date has been set. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Berlin.

 

　　US stocks still trading lower with the Dow off now nearly 60 points at 13,325.

 

　　I’m Lakshimi Singh, NPR News.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

5 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

6 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

7 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。

8 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。

9 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

12 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

13 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

14 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

15 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？