NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-08-31

   British prime minister David Cameron is describing the threat posed by the Islamist militant¹ group ISIS as even more severe than that posed by al- Qaeda. As a result, the British leader today announced he is raising the terrorist threat designation in Britain to severe, the second highest level. Other officials say they weren't responding to any specific threat. Cameron says recent moves by the group Islamic State and others bear watching. The ambition to create an extremist califate in the heart of Iraq and Syria is a threat to our own security here in the UK, and added in addition to the many other al- Qaeda inspired terrorist groups that exist in that region. The White House risk part says it does not expect any uptake in the US threat level. The officials stress they are in touch with their British counterparts, and obviously there are as many as 500 Britishs who have gone to fight in Syria or Iraq.

 

    The Pentagon says air operations in Iraq against the Islamic State have now cost more than half a billion dollars since they began in June. NPR's Tom Boman reports the military is also looking to expand the training effort for   moderate rebels in neighbouring Syria. The Obama administration has asked Congress for 500 million dollars to increase  for rebel forces who are fighting both the Islamic State and the Assad regime. The CIA already is providing some limited training to moderate rebels in Syria. Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said before the military takes part, there are a number of hurdles² to overcome. You gotta have a moderate opposition³ that you can rely on. ****** You got to have at least one willing partner in the region to help sponsor some other tips for training. I mean there's a lot of work that we gotta do and more work after we are through that. Meanwhile Admiral Kirby said there's a possibility that the current US assessment⁴ of Iraqi forces could turn into advisory⁵ mission. Tom Boman, NPR News, Washington.

 

    Present officials in California agreed to segregate⁶ mentally ill inmates⁷ into specialized⁸ housing units. NPR's Richard Gonzales explains the move comes in response to a federal court ruling that past treatment of the inmates has violated constitutional safeguards. In April, a federal court ruled the conditions for mentally ill inmates amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. The ruling came after the release of videos showing guards using large amounts of pepper spray to subdue⁹ inmates in their cells. In a court filing, the state agreed to create separate, short- and long- term housing units for about 2500 mentally ill inmates who are currently in solitary¹⁰ confinement¹¹. The state plans to improve inmates' access to mental health professionsls and will review the cases of thousands of other mentally ill inmates to see whether they need to remain in solitary confinement. Richard Gonzales, NPR News, San Francisco.

 

    A federal judge is throwing out new abortion¹² restrictions¹³ in Texas that would affectably close down more than a dozen clinics in that state. US district court judge signing with clinics and suitor of a part of a sweeping- any- abortion measure signed the law by the state governor Rich Perry would have required clinics provide abortion with the hospital operating standards. 

 

    On Wall Street the Dow was up 18 points. This is NPR.

 

    The man accused of masterminding, one of the largest ever insurance scam in Florida's history has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. The judge today sentenced in Joel Steinger, the former head of Fort Lauderdale-based Mutual¹⁴ Benefits Corp. to the prison term after he pleaded guilty in March to mail and wire fraud and conspiracy¹⁵ charges. Prosecutors¹⁶ contend the company was actually a massive fraud scheme, in which investors¹⁷ lost up to 850 million dollars from 1994 to 2004. Now they found company purchased life insurance policies from people with AIDs, cancer and other chronic¹⁸ illnesses, then sold them to investors. 

 

    During her closing arguments in the corruption¹⁹ trial against former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell today, NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports McDonnell and his wife could face decades in prison. They are convicted of doing favours for wealthy businessmen in exchange for loans and gifts. Prosecutors laid out a detailed²⁰ timeline of phone calls, e- mails, texts showing the gifts from CEO Jonnie Williams for closely followed by the governor's actions on his behalf. They also argued that McDonnell tried to keep the loans in country island's secret, assigned he knew they were wrong. Defense²¹ Attorney said McDonnell did not know about many of the gifts and did not give Williams anything concrete in return. This case, they said, amounted to a quid without a quo. They also repeated their contention²² that the couple's marriage was so broken- they were bearly speaking, and so could not have conspired²³ together. ** expected to start their deliberations next week. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News.

 

    The CEO of US- based catering²⁴ company is in hot water after being caught on video tape kicking a dog. The board of the company ccnter place announcing it's placed CEO Desmond Hague in a definite probation²⁵, who's caught by surveillance camera in an elevator.

 

    I'm Jack²⁶ Speer, NPR News.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

5 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

6 segregate   

adj.分离的，被隔离的；vt.使分离，使隔离

参考例句：

• We have to segregate for a few day.我们得分离一段日子。
• Some societies still segregate men and women.有的社会仍然将男女隔离。

7 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

9 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

10 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

11 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

12 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

13 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

14 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

15 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

16 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

17 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

18 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

19 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

20 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

21 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。

22 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。

23 conspired   

密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They conspired to bring about the meeting of the two people. 他们共同促成了两人的会面。
• Bad weather and car trouble conspired to ruin our vacation. 恶劣的气候连同汽车故障断送了我们的假日。

24 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？

25 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

26 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。