NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-05-01

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

 

　　A protracted¹ hunger strike by most of the terror suspects detained Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could fuel a new round of debate over whether to shut down the U.S. prison. President Obama says he is going to re-engage Congress in a bid to close the site he characterizes as unsustainable and unnecessary more than a decade after the 9/11 terror attacks.

 

　　The idea that we would still maintain forever a group of individuals who have not been tried, that's contrary to who we are. It's contrary to our interests, and it needs to stop.

 

　　But Obama faces opposition² from many Republicans who believe Guantanamo should remain open.

 

　　Obama's comments on Guantanamo come at a sensitive time for Americans reeling from the terrorist attacks in Boston. As he addressed the White House press corps³ today, the president said his administration was reviewing whether intelligence agencies might have missed crucial information about the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. NPR's Brain Naylor says the president calls the review standard procedure.

 

　　Speaking at a White House news conference, the president said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is overseeing the review, he'll be looking at what the FBI learned about one of the suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, after Russia sought information about him. The president says based on what he knows.

 

　　The FBI performed its duties. Department of Homeland Security did what it was supposed to be doing. But this is hard stuff.

 

　　Some lawmakers have charged intelligence agencies failed to share information about Tsarnaev. Brain Naylor, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　Americans are feeling more confident about the economy and their incomes. NPR's Dan Bobkoff says the monthly survey came in better than expected.

 

　　Each month, the Conference Board asked Americans how they are feeling about the economy and their wallets. In April, Americans' confidence about their incomes and the short term state of the economy increased moderately, surprising many economists⁴. Lynn Franco of the Conference Board says pessimism⁵ about the job market is easing. But it's too soon to know if confidence is improving in long term.

 

　　While we had somewhat of bounce back, I think the real case looking forward whether or not we are able to sustain these levels or whether we'll continue on this roller coaster ride that we've been on for several months.

 

　　The Conference Board's consumer confidence numbers are somewhat at odds⁶ with a different survey out this month. They showed consumer sentiment fell in April. Dan Bobkoff, NPR News, New York.

 

　　At last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average up 20 points at 14,839; NASDAQ Composite Index also gaining ground with more than 20 points at 3,329, up more than 0.5%; and the S&P 500 up three at 1,598.

 

　　This is NPR News.

 

　　The Netherlands was a sea of orange today, millions of people adorned⁷ that color to mark a historic moment in royalty⁸. Queen Beatrix abdicated⁹ her throne and her eldest¹⁰ son Willem-Alexander became king.

 

　　At 46, King Willem-Alexander is the youngest monarch¹¹ in Europe. He is also the first Dutch king in more than a century.

 

　　A new analysis of ground turkey meat conducted by scientists at Consumer Reports, finds that more than half of the samples tested harbored bacteria that are associated with fecal contamination. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports the group also documented the presence of antibiotic¹² resistant¹³ bugs¹⁴.

 

　　The researchers at Consumer Reports bought packages of raw ground turkey at grocery stores nationwide. In all, they tested 257 samples and what they documented was that the turkeys sold as organic or antibiotic free harbored significantly less antibiotic resistant bacteria, compared to turkeys that are conventionally raised with antibiotics¹⁵. Urvashi Rangan directs  Consumer Reports Food Safety and Sustainability Group.

 

　　We think that these findings underscore that we need to stop overusing antibiotics in animal production.

 

　　The National Turkey Federation¹⁶ says it's supportive of the Food and Drug Administration's efforts to create strategy for judicious¹⁷ use of antibiotics that, they say, are needed to keep flocks of turkeys healthy. Allison Aubrey, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　This is NPR. 

 

1 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 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。

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

6 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

7 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

8 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

9 abdicated   

放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 退位，逊位

参考例句：

• He abdicated in favour of his son. 他把王位让给了儿子。
• King Edward Ⅷ abdicated in 1936 to marry a commoner. 国王爱德华八世于1936年退位与一个平民结婚。

10 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

11 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

12 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

13 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

14 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

16 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

17 judicious   

adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的

参考例句：

• We should listen to the judicious opinion of that old man.我们应该听取那位老人明智的意见。
• A judicious parent encourages his children to make their own decisions.贤明的父亲鼓励儿女自作抉择。