NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-03-28

 Authorities in Washington state working at the scene of a devastating¹ landslide² north of Seattle say the death toll³ remains⁴ at 16, but at least eight additional bodies located but not recovered. However, the number of missing people or unaccounted for individuals has been lowered. Snohomish County Emergency Management Director John Pennington says that number has gone from 176 to 90. However, he says there’re still some others whose status isn’t clear. 

 

“It did drop significantly. I do believe that it might drop a little bit more than that, but at least we’re getting a clear picture of the number of individuals that are out there, that we need to focus on at this point.”

 

The huge landslide that developed a one-square-mile area near the town of Oso, Washington destroyed or damaged dozens of homes, bringing some in deep mud. Two hundred search personnel have been working at the scene. 

 

Transportation Safety Administration, or TSA, is calling for more armed police officers at airport security checkpoints. NPR’s Nathan Rott reports the TSA conducted a nationwide review of airport checkpoints after the deadly shooting at Los Angeles International Airport last November.

 

The TSA’s review has recommendations for everything from employee training to improved emergency technology. But the headline grabber is a call for an increased police presence at “high-traffic locations during peak travel times.” That includes ticket counts and security checkpoints. Last November a gunman entered LAX’s Terminal 3 on a busy Friday morning and started firing at TSA agents. Thirty-nine-year-old Gerardo Hernandez was shot a dozen times and killed; two other officers and a school teacher were wounded. Last week a report prepared for L.A.’s airport authority found that the emergency response to that shooting was poorly executed and plagued with bad communication. Nathan Rott, NPR News.

 

Two Congressmen are calling for more accountability from the US Border Patrol. NPR’s Ted⁵ Robins⁶ says new legislation demands more transparency and oversight⁷ from the agency.

 

New Mexico Republican Steve Pearce and Texas Democrat⁸ Beto O'Rourke say their constituents⁹ frequently report mistreatment by the Border Patrol, but there’s no coherent complaint process. The Border Patrol also refuses to release the result of investigations¹⁰ into incidents of agents killing¹¹ people. Among the things the bill would do create an independent oversight commission and require the Border Patrol to report more openly on the use of force, on migrant deaths and on accusations¹² of civil liberties violations¹³. Both Congressmen represent border districts. Ted Robbins, NPR News. 

 

Bank of America has reached a more than $9 billion settlement to resolve a dispute over mortgage-backed securities with the Federal Housing Finance Agency. It’s part of a 2011 suit filed against 18 financial agencies including Bank of America over allegations the banks falsely represented mortgage loans behind those securities which soured after the housing bubble burst.  

 

Stocks give up some of their modest gains during the morning hour to close sharply lower. The Dow was down 98 points; the S&P 500 fell 13 points. This is NPR.

 

As the search for that missing Malaysian Airlines plane continues another day, court documents have already been filed by a US law firm on behalf of a relative of one of the passengers. So far search efforts have failed to locate the wreckage¹⁴ of the jet or the bodies of any of the 239 people onboard when the plane went down. Officials believe the jet crashed in a remote section of the southern Indian Ocean. Court filing asks a judge to order both Malaysian Airlines and the maker¹⁵ of the plane Boeing to include any documentation about the possibility of a fatal depressurization in the cockpit of the plane. 

 

Republican Congressional leaders are sharply criticizing the Obama administration’s decision to give some uninsured Americans more time to finish signing up for a health plan beyond next Monday’s deadline. NPR’s Craig Windham reports people who cannot finish enrolling¹⁶ online will be given an extension until mid-April. 

 

The government will take people at their word rather than trying to determine if they did in fact have problems completing the sign-up process. That drew a scathing¹⁷ reaction from House Speaker John Boehner.

 

“What hell is this, a joke?”

 

And Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell says all the waivers and changes have undermined the healthcare law.

 

“The heart of the law—the individual mandate—may actually no longer even be viable¹⁸. It’s basically become the legal equivalent of Swiss cheese.”

 

But consumer advocacy groups have been calling on the administration to provide additional time for people to finish enrolling, given the possibility of heavy traffic or technical problems on the federal website as the deadline approaches. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

Wall Street’s famous bull sculpture’s finally been freed from its barricades¹⁹, according to New York Post. The police have now taken down the barricades that surround the 3.5-ton bronze sculpture that was put up in 2011 amid fears the iconic statue might be a target of protesters including the group Occupy Wall Street. 

 

I’m Jack²⁰ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

3 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。

4 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。

5 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 robins   

n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书）

参考例句：

• The robins occupied their former nest. 那些知更鸟占了它们的老窝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Benjamin Robins then entered the fray with articles and a book. 而后，Benjamin Robins以他的几篇专论和一本书参加争论。 来自辞典例句

7 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 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》

10 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

11 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。

12 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

13 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

14 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

15 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

16 enrolling   

v.招收( enrol的现在分词 )；吸收；入学；加入；[亦作enrol]( enroll的现在分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They lashed out at the university enrolling system. 他们猛烈抨击大学的招生制度。 来自辞典例句
• You're enrolling in a country club, Billy. 你是注册加入乡村俱乐部了，比利。 来自辞典例句

17 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

19 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

20 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。