NPR 2012-05-03

 The San Diego Chargers former linebacker Junior Seau has been found dead at his southern California home. Police are investigating the death as a possible suicide. Authorities say the 43-year-old was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Seau spent most of his 20-season career with the Chargers. 

 

Thirteen people are charged in the alleged¹ hazing² death of a Florida A&M University drum major. Prosecutor³ Lawson Lamar says most of the suspects will face a felony hazing charge.

 

"Obtaining justice for Robert Champion, his family, and by extension the university family, is paramount⁴. We never shy away from difficult prosecutions⁵."

 

The charges come more than five months after the 26-year-old band member died aboard a chartered bus in Orlando.

 

More conflicting reports are surfacing on the condition under which a Chinese dissident left the US embassy in Beijing today. Was it free will or under government threat? The Associated Press is now reporting that Chen Guangcheng wants to seek asylum⁶ in the United States. But there‘s been no confirmation⁷ of that from Washington, which has been eager to move beyond the diplomatic route ahead of crucial talks with the Chinese government. We have this from NPR's Louisa Lim.

 

Speaking from his hospital bed, activist⁸ Chen Guangcheng told AP that a Chinese official threatened to beat his wife to death, if he did not leave the embassy. The AP report quotes a US official who denies knowledge of the threat. But he acknowledges that Chen was told his family would be sent home, if he stayed in the embassy. Friends of the dissident had warned he'd been threatened and had reached his decision under duress⁹. These latest revelations will undermine US relief at reaching an agreement with Beijing on the eve of high-level diplomatic talks. Senior US officials had said that Chen had received assurances he'd be able to live in safety and study at the university away from his home province.  Louisa Lim, NPR News, Beijing.

 

Newt Gingrich has formally announced his exit from the GOP presidential campaign. More from NPR's Kathy Lohr.

 

Almost a year after announcing he would make a run for the GOP presidential nomination¹⁰, Gingrich ended it. 

 

"Suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship¹¹. Callista and I are committed to be active citizens."

 

The former speaker won just two primaries, South Carolina and Georgia, which he represented in Congress for two decades. During the campaign, Gingrich fiercely attacked his opponent Mitt¹² Romney, now the presumptive GOP nominee¹³. The former speaker did not announce that he would endorse¹⁴ Romney today. He did say he would work to get Republicans elected across the spectrum¹⁵, saying the election just starts the dance, it doesn't end it. Kathy Lohr, NPR News.

 

The Dow is down 11 points. 

 

This is NPR.

 

The NFL is suspending without pay four current and former New Orleans Saints players for their participation¹⁶ in a cash-for-hits bounty¹⁷ system intended to knock an opposing player out of the game, among those punished for the entire 2012 season, linebacker Jonathan Vilma.

 

The Drug Enforcement Administration's reportedly apologizing to a 23-year-old California student who was arrested during a drug raid and left in a holding cell for several days without food, water or access to the bathroom. It says in a statement that the treatment of Daniel Chong is not consistent with the agency's practice, and that an investigation¹⁸ is underway.

 

Well, one of the art world's most iconic images, The Scream, is being auctioned¹⁹ at Sotheby's in New York tonight. NPR's Margot Adler reports that the pastel done in 1895 could go for as much as 80 million dollars.

 

The Scream, as a symbol of the anxiety of modernity, has been on T-shirts, key chains and inflatable dolls. It has spoken to millions as both a personal scream from the abyss and a symbol of modern horrors like World War II and the holocaust²⁰. The hairless figure, hands blocking the sound of the scream under a blood-red sky, is one of the four versions Munch²¹ created. The others are in museums in Norway. The original frame includes the hand-painted poem that inspired the image. Munch described himself as "shivering with anxiety." "I felt the great scream in nature." The pastel is owned by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend and patron of the artist. Olsen plans to use the money to create a museum and art center. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

 

Before the close, US stocks mixed with the Dow down 11 points, NASDAQ up nine, S&P 500 down four. 

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 hazing   

n.受辱，被欺侮v.（使）笼罩在薄雾中( haze的现在分词 )；戏弄，欺凌（新生等，有时作为加入美国大学生联谊会的条件）

参考例句：

• With labor, the hazing period ends. 费了好大力气，痛苦的时期终于过了。 来自互联网
• A high-gloss paint surface is one that directly reflects light with minimum hazing or diffusion. 高度光洁的漆表面可以直接反射光源。 来自互联网

3 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

4 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

5 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

6 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

7 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

9 duress   

n.胁迫

参考例句：

• He claimed that he signed the confession under duress.他说他是被迫在认罪书上签字的。
• These unequal treaties were made under duress.这些不平等条约是在强迫下签订的。

10 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

11 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

12 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

13 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

14 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

15 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

16 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

17 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

18 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。

19 auctioned   

v.拍卖( auction的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was sad to see all grandmother's lovely things being auctioned off. 眼看着祖母那些可爱的东西全都被拍卖掉，心里真不好受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

21 munch   

v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼

参考例句：

• We watched her munch through two packets of peanuts.我们看她津津有味地嚼了两包花生米。
• Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult.使他们吃素菜就比较困难了。