NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-10-21

 The nation's largest bank, JP Morgan Chase has tentatively agreed to pay a record 13 billion dollars to settle allegations surrounding the quality of its mortgage back securities in the runup to the nation's financial crisis. The agreement in principle with the justice department was reached last night during a phone call that included attorney general Eric Holder¹, and the bank's CEO, Jamie Dimon. It does not release bank employees from criminal liability. 

 

In Italy, demonstrators clashed with police in Roma today as tens of thousands of mostly young people march to protest all-time high jobless rates, welfare cuts, and a shortage in low income housing. More than 4,000 riot police were deployed² in the streets. 15 people were arrested. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli has more from Roma. 

 

Many shops close down as young demonstrators march through the streets holding banners against a record high 40% rate in youth unemployment. They also protest against government cuts to welfare programs like affordable³ housing and high speed train linked to France, they say as draining money from social services. Who did protesters infiltrated⁴ the mostly peaceful march, turning over trash cans in front of the economy ministry⁵ and setting some on fire. They threw smoke bombs, eggs and bottles at the ministry. Police defused a large firework with a bullet inside and said two officers were injured in the clashes. Sylvia Poggioli NPR NEws, Roma. 

 

Northeast of San Francisco, two transit⁶ workers were struck and killed by an auto⁷ service commuter⁸ train. The bay area rapid transit agency says the workers were performing track inspections⁹ and the BART train was on a routine maintenance run under automatic computerized control. The accident comes on the second day of a BART strike, that brought no sign of a bargain today. The union wants unsolved issues to go to arbitration¹⁰. Management says they only go to an arbitrator to deal with the entire contract. 

 

Emergency crews in  Alberta, Canada are containing a dangerous train derailment and fire. The train was hauling liquified natural gas and crude oil. As Dan Karpenchuk reports a small community west of Edmonton has been evacuated¹¹. 

 

Officials in Alberta have declared a state of emergency after 13 cars of a CN freight train derailed overnight near the umland of Gainford, about 50 miles west of Edmonton. There was at least one explosion before cars carrying gas and oil ignited. Transportation safety board officials are around site and an investigation¹² is underway. The accident comes just four months after another train hauling crude oil derailed in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic. The explosions and fire destroyed the downtown and killed nearly 50 people. That sparkled the countrywide political debate about whether regulations covering the transportation of hazard goods such as oil and gas go far enough. For NPR NEws, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto. 

 

This is NPR. 

 

Firefighting helicopters in New South Wales, Australia, from the sky and the ground, crews are battling more than 80 destructive wildfires in the state. Hundreds of home are damaged or destroyed. Authorities are trying to determine whether one of the fires was started during a military training exercise. 

 

In Belgium a small plane crashed today killing¹³ all 11 peole on board. From Brussels, Teri Schultz reports the passengers were skydiving students and instructors¹⁴. 

 

A witness reports it seems some of the passengers trying to open their parachutes as the single-engine plane struggled to stay aloft, but none succeeded. All ten skydivers and their pilot were killed when the plane plumped to the ground in  Namur, about 45 miles southeast of Brussels. Investigators¹⁵ have released any suspected cause of the accident, bystanders say it appears a wing tip came off and there wasn't explosion. Air field authorities say the plane had been capped well tune¹⁶ and passed on maintenance checks. King Phillipe arrived the scene early evening, during the Belgium prime minister and their luminaries¹⁷ along with families and friends of the victims. For NPR NEws, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels. 

 

An anonymous¹⁸ buyer at a British auction¹⁹ house, has purchased an unplayable violin for more than 1.5 million dollars. The instrument is believed to have been played by the bandmaster of the Titanic²⁰ to calm passengers, as the ship sank in freezing waters 101 years ago. The bandmaster, Wallace Hartley was among those who drowned, but the violin apparently²¹ survived in a leather case strapped²² to his body. The winning bid is the most ever paid for a piece of Titanic memorabilia. 

1 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。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

4 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》

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

7 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

8 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

9 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

11 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

15 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

17 luminaries   

n.杰出人物，名人（luminary的复数形式）

参考例句：

• In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 亚14:6那日、必没有光．三光必退缩。 来自互联网
• Includes household filament light bulbs & luminaries. 包括家用的白炙灯泡和光源。 来自互联网

18 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

19 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

20 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

21 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。

22 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》