NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-03-25

　　From NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman.

 

　　Secretary of State John Kerry is urging Iraq to stop its neighbor Iran from using Iraqi airspace to ship weapons and fighters to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports Kerry made the appeal during an unannounced visit to Baghdad today.

 

　　Syria was one of the dominant¹ themes during Secretary Kerry's brief stay in Iraq. The secretary says he had a spirited discussion with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki about the Iranian overflights.

 

　　The overflights from Iran are in fact helping² to sustain President Assad.

 

　　And Kerry warns that members of Congress are watching closely to see what Iraq does. He also brought up his concerns with Maliki about upcoming provincial³ elections and a decision to delay the vote in two Sunni provinces. Kerry says if Iraq's Democratic experiment is to succeed, then Shia, Sunni and Kurds must all work together. Michele Kelemen, Baghdad.

 

　　At the U.S. Supreme⁴ Court, people began lining⁵ up more than five days ahead of time, in hopes of securing a seat for the court's historic arguments this week on same-sex marriage. As NPR's Nina Totenberg reports that's two days earlier than last year when the line began forming for arguments over the Obama health care overhaul⁶.

 

　　The stakes are high for people on both sides of the same-sex marriage issue, pitting notions of equality and tradition against each other. On Tuesday, the court will hear a challenge to California's ban on same-sex marriage. And on Wednesday, the issue will be the Federal Defense⁷ Marriage Act, which bars federal benefits for same-sex couples who are legally married in states where such unions are authorized⁸. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit⁹ against the California ban against same-sex marriage is Sandy Stier. She and her partner Kris Perry say they are honored the case has been taken by the Supreme Court.

 

　　We don't know yet what we'll be when the verdict comes down, but what we do know is when the verdict comes down, if it is favorable, which a court's figure much hoped it is. We'll be planning a wedding and having one as soon as possible we can.

 

　　Stier and Perry plan to be in the Supreme Court on Tuesday to watch their case being argued.

 

　　Heavy weather's descended¹⁰ on the Midwest. The National Weather Service says parts of Kansas got between 10 and 15 inches of snow. The storm blew out of the Rocky Mountains, snarling¹¹ travel in Colorado and cancelling dozens of flights out of Denver. Now the storm is headed east. A winter storm warning has been posted for areas from Missouri to Pennsylvania.

 

　　Bodybuilder and promoter Joe Weider has died at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93. Weider helped popularize the sport. He also introduced young bodybuilders to the world, including Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

　　Somebody is a lot richer today. The Powerball Lottery¹² says a single winning ticket hit the jackpot last night. It's worth more than $338 million.

 

　　You're listening to NPR News.

 

　　Rebel fighters have entered the capital of the central African Republic. There are reports of gun battles as they seized the presidential palace. As NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports the president is said to have fled.

 

　　Beleaguered¹³ President Francois Bozize is reported to have left CAR's riverside capital Bangui and crossed the border into neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. France, the former colonial power, which refused  Bozize military assistance during an earlier crisis, is calling for an urgent UN Security Council session on the central African Republic. Rebels took up arms against the president in December, seizing key towns and cities and threatening to topple and take the capital. Peace talks were held and a deal agreed. But the rebels claimed Bozize again remained on his promises, issued an ultimatum¹⁴ and warned they would march on Bangui just as they've done. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, Lagos.

 

　　The president of Cyprus is holding emergency talks with European finance leaders, hoping to arrange a bailout package for his country. Cyprus could start losing rescue money and might face bankruptcy¹⁵ as early as this week. An earlier plan to help finance, Cyprus's European bailout  was scrapped¹⁶. It called for a tax on Cypriots' saving accounts. It was very unpopular.

 

　　British police say they have scoured¹⁷ the property of the late Russian Financier Boris Berezovsky. They did not find any hazardous¹⁸ substances. Berezovsky died yesterday at his home in England. Police say his death is unexplained. He had survived other assassination¹⁹ attempts. He was an exile from Russia, that's because he was wanted there on fraud charges and was a critic of President Vladimir Putin.

 

　　I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.

1 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 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。

5 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

6 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

7 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。

8 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

9 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

10 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

11 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

12 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

13 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

15 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

16 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

17 scoured   

走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮

参考例句：

• We scoured the area for somewhere to pitch our tent. 我们四处查看，想找一个搭帐篷的地方。
• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。

18 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

19 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。