NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-05-24

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

 

　　President Obama has delivered a national security speech at a time through disruptions from a member of the audience of the National Defense¹ University today. Obama spoke² extensively about drone strikes. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports the president says the US must be careful, not to abuse its power as it confronts an evolving threat from terrorists around the world.

 

　　President Obama says drone strikes are both legal and effective. But under guidelines he signed this week, the US will limit its use of the strikes outside Afghanistan to cases where al-Qaeda or its affiliates³ pose an imminent⁴ threat to Americans and where there is little or no danger to civilians⁵. The president also promised to resume the transfer of prisoners out of Guantanamo, asking Congress for help.

 

　　“There is just no justification⁶ beyond politics for Congress to prevent us from closing a facility that should never have been opened.”

 

　　The president also said the US must address the underlying⁸ grievances⁹ that fuel terrorism through diplomacy¹⁰ and resources. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 

　　GOP lawmakers are reacting to the president’s speech, including Senator John McCain who takes issues with Obama’s contention¹¹ that al-Qaeda is on the run.

 

　　“To somehow argue that al-Qaeda is quote ‘on the run’ comes from a degree of unreality that to me is really incredible.”

 

　　Meanwhile, the US is closely monitoring developments in Britain a day after a brutal¹² attack in east London. There, the residents of Woolwich are paying tribute to Lee Rigby, the 25-year-old British soldier who was hacked¹³ to death in broad daylight near a military barracks .The crime is under investigation¹⁴ as a terror-related event. The Rev⁷. Michael Ipgrave warned against retaliatory¹⁵  attacks against Muslims.

 

　　“People are very shocked. I think the message has to be one of calm, of reassurance¹⁶, and they are working together in different communities.”

 

　　Two suspects shot and arrested by police yesterday reportedly remain hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries .

 

　　In Moore, Oklahoma, the first of many funerals and memorial services is held today for those who died in Monday’s massive tornado¹⁷. NPR’s Kirk Siegler reports friends and family remember nine-year-old Antonia Candelaria as the rain fell in south Oklahoma City.

 

　　Nine-year-old Antonia Lee Candelaria was among the small children to die when the tornado hit Plaza¹⁸ Towers Elementary School in Moore. Debbie Spave worked with Candelaria’s mom Brandie and attended the service.

 

　　“It's to be supportive of Brandie, and I’ll try to help her through this. I’m a mom, too. I just can't imagine losing my daughter.”

 

　　Family and friends remember her as a beloved daughter who love singing and playing music and can always find the positive and joy in everything. Kirk Siegler, NPR News, Oklahoma City .

 

　　At last check on Wall Street, Dow was down 12. This is NPR.

 

　　Applications for unemployment benefits fell last week by 23,000. The report is seen as more evidence the job market is slowly returning to health. NPR’s Jim Howard reports college graduates hoping to enter the job market still face a daunting¹⁹ economy.

 

　　Gus Faucher, an economist²⁰ with PNC Financial Services, says this year's graduating class will walk into what might be the best jobs market since the start of the recession.

 

　　“But it's still not a great job market. So I think it will be a decent job market for graduating students, but not like what it was, you know, ten years ago. So it's much easier to find a job.”

 

　　Faucher says that while unemployment remains²¹ at about 7.5%, the economy continues to add about 180,000 jobs a month. Jim Howard, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　New home sales are up more than 2%. The Commerce Department says sales rose last month to a seasonally²² adjusted annual rate of 454,000, reaching the second-highest level since the summer of 2008. The median price is also going up. The average was 271,600 dollars. But April price was about 8% higher than the month before and more than 13% above levels a year ago .

 

　　The White House is announcing confirmation²³ of the first South Asian American in US history to serve as a circuit court judge. It says the Senate unanimously approved Srikanth Srinivasan to be a judge on the US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit.

 

　　Before the closing bell, Dow was down 12 points at 15,295, NASDAQ off four at 3,459, S&P 500 down four at 1,651. This is NPR.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

4 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

7 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

8 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

9 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

11 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

12 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

13 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

14 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。

15 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

16 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

17 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。

18 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

19 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

20 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

21 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。

22 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

23 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。