NPR 2012-03-28

 The JOBS Act is now headed to President Obama's desk for his approval. A short time ago, it passed the GOP-led House by a vote of 380-41. The legislation makes it easier for startups to navigate¹ federal regulations and raise capital. 

 

The US Supreme² Court's conservative majority appears skeptical³ of the constitutionality of the provision in the new health care law requiring nearly all Americans to have medical insurance. NPR's Craig Windham reperts the justices have heard a second day of oral arguments regarding this law.

 

Conservative justices have sharply questioned the administration's lawyers about the law's insurance mandate⁴. Justice Anthony Kennedy is the conservative who in the past has most often sided with the high court's liberals, but his questions indicate he may have serious concerns about the mandate.

 

"Do you not have a heavy burden of justification⁵ to show authorization⁶ under the Constitution?"

 

Kennedy and Chief Justice John Roberts are emerging as the possible pivotal votes in the court’s consideration of the health care law. The administration is likely to need the support of at least one conservative justice for the law to be upheld. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

Trayvon Martin's parents and their attorney are in Washington for a Capitol Hill briefing this hour on racial profiling in the role they say had played in their son's shooting death last month in central Florida. NPR's Greg Allen reports House Democrats⁷ will address constitutional issues they believe may be raised by the shooting.

 

Members attending the forum⁸ will hear from the lawyer for the Martin family, plus the head of the ACLU's Racial Justice Program. They'll discuss issues of racial profiling and the call for the Justice Department to investigate Trayvon Martin's shooting as a hate crime. But yesterday in Sanford Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said there are other issues. 

 

“The neighborhood watch in all of the nation should be mandatory⁹ solidification¹⁰, and that the Stand and Defend laws will have to be assessed for their disparate treatment, and if they have proven to be discriminatory, they will be ruled unconstitutional.”

 

The Justice Department is already conducting an investigation¹¹ to determine if Martin’s civil rights may have been violated in a shooting by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Greg Allen, NPR News, Sanford, Florida. 

 

The UN and Arab League's envoy¹² to Syria, Kofi Annan, says he has secured the Syrian government's endorsement¹³ for a negotiated end to the year-old Syrian conflict.

 

“We've had very good discussions about the situation in Syria, and they have offered me their full support, and they’re going to work with me and the other members of the Council to ensure that the six-point plan is implemented¹⁴.”

 

But today Syrian activists¹⁵ in Homs are reporting more violence. They say dozens of people have been killed by troops today. 

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down three points at 13,230. 

 

This is NPR.

 

Northern Japan has been struck by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. However, authorities say there was no risk of a tsunami¹⁶ and no injuries have been reported. 

 

In the US, home prices still drifting lower. NPR's Chris Arnold tells us prices fell about 1% from the month before, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

 

With foreclosures continuing to dump more vacant properties onto the market, prices are down a bit from last month and down about 4% compared to a year ago. Still, there are some early signs of recovery. Home sales have been rising, and investors¹⁷ are buying up at least some of those foreclosed homes.

 

“We’re doing 4.5 million sales a year (of) existing homes. So it's not like the market's dead.”

 

Carl Kaysen is a housing economist¹⁸ at Harvard who helped to design the price index.

 

“It's a very mixed bag. It's almost zip code by zip code.”

 

Kay says some neighborhoods are looking much healthier and prices are strong; others are still in big trouble. Overall, though, since 2006, home prices are now down 34% from their peak. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

 

A controlled burn whipped out of control by strong winds in Jefferson County, Colorado is now blamed in at least two deaths and the destruction of two dozens structures. The fire’s burning in the mountain southwest of Denver where some homes are in ruin. 

 

In a legal setback¹⁹ for the government, a federal judge has dismissed the most serious conspiracy²⁰ charges against seven members of a Michigan militia²¹. The group was arrested on suspicion they were extremists plotting war against the US. Two of the defendants²² still face weapons charges.

 

US stocks mixed with the Dow down three points; NASDAQ up nine; S&P 500 up one.

 

This is NPR News.

1 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

4 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

5 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。

6 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

9 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

10 solidification   

凝固

参考例句：

• In the process of solidification the same amount of heat is released. 在固结过程中则将释放出同等的热量。
• The solidification mechanism and adhering formation of the product are also discussed. 对锌粉的凝固机理及粘结现象进行了探讨。

11 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。

12 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

13 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

14 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

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 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。

19 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

20 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。

21 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

22 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件