NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-06-04

 Government surveillance powers that lapsed¹ early Monday should be reinstated soon, just after the senate gave final passage today of the legislation, extending those powers another four years. NPR's DW explains the so-called USA Freedom Act also ends the National Security Agency's massive collection of Americans' phone records. 

The Republican-led senate voted 67-32 in favor of the USA Freedom Act. Minority leader Harry² Reid praised the bipartisan bill. 

It makes it so that people feel more secure about the intelligence operation we have going on in this country. 

The big loser in this fight pitting national security conservatives against civil libertarians was majority leader Mitch McConnell, who voted against the measure.

It does enhance the privacy protections of American citizens, and it surely undermines American security by taking one more tool from our warfighters, in my view, at exactly the wrong time. 

Bulk collection of phone records is to continue six months. After that, investigators³ will have to get specific data from the phone companies with warrant. 

DW, NPR News, Washington. 

 

 

A college friend of Boston Marathon bomber⁴ Dzhokhar Tsarnaev publicly apologized today for hiding key evidence from authorities. NPR's TS reports that the now 21-year-old will be sentenced today to 6 years in prison for his crimes. 

Dias Kadyrbayev says he's been thinking for two years about what he calls a stupid decision to take Tsarnaev's backpack and computer from his dorm and threw some of it in a dumpster. He did that and texted Tsarnaev about it even as the FBI was pleading for help in identifying the bombing suspects. The judge called it repugnant, and said the sentence should send a message about obstructing⁵ terrorism investigations⁶. This month, three other friends will also be sentenced on similar charges and Tsarnaev himself will be formally sentenced to death in three weeks. 

TS, NPR News at federal court in Boston. 

 

 

Lawmakers say they want answers from Japanese airbag maker⁷ Jakata about defective⁸ airbag inflators that prompted one of the largest safety recalls in US history. The faulty inflators that caused the bags to expand with too much force are now blamed for half a dozen deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official Mark Rosekind says his agency is concerned about one thing at this point. 

All of these actions focus on achieving one main goal, the only acceptable goal, a safe airbag in every American vehicle. 

Jakata last month agreed to declare 33.8 million airbags defective on top of millions of others. 

 

 

It's not clear whether Greece will agree to it but it made the international lending group say they come up with the proposed cash-for-reform deal presented to the debt-plagued country. Greece and its creditors⁹ have been in a standoff for months on $7.2 billion worth of loans for the country to remain under a current bailout program. 

 

 

Stocks closed modestly lower today. The Dow was down 28 points at 18,011, the Nasdaq fell 6 points, the S&P dropped 2 points. 

 

 

You're listening to NPR. 

 

 

The federal prosecutors¹⁰ today told members of a jury in New Orleans a former BP executive lied to federal investigators when he explained how he came up with flow estimates from a 2010 oil rig explosion that sent crude oil spewing into the Gulf¹¹ of Mexico. Defense¹² attorney today encountered by saying prosecutors are trying to convict DR based on an interview conducted nearly a year after the spill. He also questioned what reason R would have to lie. The case could go to the jury as soon as the end of this week. 

 

 

A woman known as the mother of folk music has died. Jean Ritchie was the leading figure in the folk revival¹³ in the 1950s and 60s. She was 92. NPR's EB has this remembrance. 

Jean Ritchie was raised on the old mountain ballads¹⁴ (a poem or song narrating¹⁵ a story in short stanzas) of his native Kentucky. 

All in the merry month of May when the green buds they were swelling¹⁶. 

Her crystalline voice and dulcimer playing caught Alan Lomax, who reported her for the Library of Congress. She was a regular at the Newport Folk Festival, and recorded more than 40 albums. 

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Ritchie, her parents, and 13 siblings¹⁷ are all singers. Jean Ritchie died Monday at her home in Berea, Kentucky. EB, NPR News. 

 

 

While heading retailer¹⁸ Walmart plans to raise minimum wages for its workers, many labor¹⁹ advocates say the company still needs to do more. While Walmart early said it's committed to increasing minimum wages for around 500,000 of its employees to $10 an hour, union officials say that still falls well short of what workers need in order to raise families. 

1 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

5 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

6 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。

7 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。

8 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

9 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

12 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。

13 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

14 ballads   

民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴

参考例句：

• She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一个接一个地大唱民谣和乡村小调。
• She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他读书，还教他唱两三首民谣，弹着她的旧钢琴为他伴奏。

15 narrating   

v.故事( narrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She entertained them by narrating her adventures in Africa. 她讲述她在非洲的历险来使他们开心。
• [Mike Narrating] Worm and I fall into our old rhythm like Clyde Frazier and Pearl Monroe. [迈克叙述] 虫子和我配合得象以前一样默契我们两好象是克莱德。弗瑞泽和佩尔。门罗。 来自电影对白

16 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

17 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

18 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

19 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。