NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-04-16

 President Obama is notifying Congress he plans to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. NPR’s Mara Liasson reports the move comes just days after Obama’s meeting with his Cuban counterpart.

The State Department made the recommendation last week to the president and now with a little fanfare¹ the White House has issued a paper statement saying that Cuba has not sponsored international terrorism for the last six months and has provided assurances that it will not support terrorism in the future. Iran, Sudan and Syria are the other countries that remain on the terrorism list. Cuba has been on the list since 1982. Its removal would clear one of the last hurdles² to improving relations between Cuba and Washington and it could pave the way for the opening of a U.S. embassy in Havana, although Republicans in Congress have said they will block any funds for a new U.S. embassy there. Mara Liasson, NPR News, the White House. 

 

A group of Atlanta educators caught up in a widespread cheating scandal have sentenced to prison time—three were sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $25,000. Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter at their sentencing says the teachers are convicted of inflating³ student scores on standardized⁴ tests. To what they were doing, he says students were the real victims.

“From 2001 there was whole-scale cheating going on in the Atlanta Public Schools and these kids were passed on and passed on and had no chance to begin with because of where they lived, who their parents were, who their, you know, just their situation. And the only chance that they had was the school to get an education.” 

A grand jury in 2013 indicted⁵ 35 Atlanta educators including former school superintendent⁶ Beverly Hall on conspiracy⁷ and other charges. 

 

The Labor⁸ Department has proposed a rule that would force brokers⁹ and financial advisers¹⁰ to put their clients’ needs above their own. NPR’s Jim Zarroli reports the rule is opposed by the financial services industry. 

Right now brokers and advisers are required to recommend financial products that are suitable for their clients. The draft rule would go further requiring them to put their clients’ interests first. Brokerage firms would have to have policies in place to deal with conflicts of interest when they arise. A similar rule is being considered by the Securities and Exchange Commission. President Obama said in February that brokers too often put their clients’ money into high-fee accounts that erode¹¹ their retirement¹² savings¹³ over time. Industry officials warn that the rule will lead brokers to stop offering financial advice and mean fewer products for consumers. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York. 

 

Mixed earning reports of a number of large companies today along with some economic reports that were similarly mixed led to a mixed close on Wall Streets—the Dow up 59 points at 18,036; the Nasdaq lost 10 points; the S&P500 rose 3 points today.

 

You are listening to NPR News in Washington. 

 

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on the heels of her announcement she’s officially in the race kept with her announced strategy of holding small-scale advance. The former secretary of state taking part in a roundtable with students and teachers at Community College in Iowa. This morning she chatted with customers at a coffee house in the town of LeClaire.

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mounted a scathing¹⁴ attacks on developed countries, who he said were responsible for destroying the climate. The Press Trust of India reports Modi told a gathering¹⁵ in Germany India will set the agenda at the upcoming conference on global warming in Paris. From New Delhi, NPR’s Julie McCarthy has more.

“Those who destroyed the climate are asking us to pay”, Modi reportedly told a gathering at the Indian community in Berlin. He asserted that India has traditionally followed the principle of reuse and recycle and that affordable¹⁶ clean energy would be the most effective way to tackle climate change. Modi spoke¹⁷ of India’s ambitious initiative to tap solar energy and advocates that a change in lifestyle can substantially address the phenomenon of global warming. But India is the world’s third biggest polluter after China and the U.S. and it is under pressure to review clear plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions¹⁸ in advance of the climate change conference in Paris in December. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, New Delhi. 

 

In what officials in the mid-west are calling one of the largest and longest lasting¹⁹ cases of canine²⁰ flu, over 1,100 dogs were reported to have died with other second. Veterinaries in the Chicago region began reporting cases of what is known as canine infectious respiratory disease in January. Humans cannot get dog flu, though veterinary officials say they can spread it. 

1 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

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 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

4 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

5 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

6 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

7 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。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

10 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

11 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

12 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

13 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

14 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》

15 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

16 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。

17 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。

18 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

19 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

20 canine   

adj.犬的，犬科的

参考例句：

• The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
• Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。