NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-10-17

 The Obama administration now says it will keep more US troops in Afghanistan than previously¹ planned, the White House saying the security situation in Afghanistan remains² fragile. It's unveiling a new plan under which 5500 troops will remain there pass the end of president Obama's term. NPR's SK spoke³ today with secretary of state John Kerry after an foreign policy address in Indiana University, Kerry defending the president's decision. He obviously hoped that there would have been great progress. So I think he is, you know, but I don't think he is feeling it's a matter of blame. I think it's you know, it's gonna have made enormous progress. But it wouldn't be completed before the next president. That is a fact.  Military leaders have been pushing for additional help from the US to challenge the Taliban and hold gains made over the past 14 years. The change does mark a shift in the administration's previously announced plan of ending all US involvement there. A state judge in McLennan Texas has empaneled a grand jury to look into the Biker Shooting last May that killed 9 people. As NPR's JB reports the county has come under intense criticism for picking a list of attacked to form the grand jury to look into the police actions that day. The second grand jury meeting in secret will consider evidence from the clash of the two motorcycle clubs, the Bandidos and the Cossasks in a parking lot outside a Twin Peaks restaurant.177 riders were charged with bonds initially⁴ said billion dollars a piece. Most have been released after complaining bitterly the arrests were unfair. Even so, more than 430 weapons were recovered, including firearms, knives and clubs. The grand jury is expected to look at why the two biker gangs fought and whether the large police forces symboled the scene have overreacted. Investigators⁵ still refuse 5 months later to  release forensic⁶ and ballistic records that show how many of the 9 bikers were killed by each other and by the police. JB, NPR news, Austin.

Volkswagen has been recalling 8.5 million cars in Europe because its German transport ministry⁷ ordered a mandatory⁸ recall of VW models that contained the software that enables treating on emissions⁹ test. NPR's JN reports Volkswagen had requested the recall be voluntary. A voluntary recall would have allowed customers to choose not to bring the cars in for a fix. That would have meant they could continue to spill an nitrogen-oxide pollution above the levels allowed by the government. In addition to making the recall mandatory, the German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered Volkswagen to provide technical details of the fix by the end of November. Volkswagen has already said some of the vehicles in question would only need a software fix but others would need added hardware including catalytic converters that remove nitrogen-oxide. The recall will begin in 2016. JN, NPR news.

On Wall Street, stocks move higher today amid some positive third quarter earnings¹⁰ reports. The Dow closed up * at 17 points. You're listening to NPR news in Washington.

Shifting winds have been blamed for helping¹¹ to fuel a wild fire that has been burning in central Texas since Tuesday. Governor Greg Abbott today declared that part of the state a disaster area noting that more than 6 square miles have been burn there. And at least 9 homes have been destroyed. Texas A&M Forest Service estimates the fire is now about 50 percent contained. Italian navy rescuers have recovered the bodies of 118 migrants who died in a ship wreck¹² while crossing the Mediterranean¹³ in April. NPR's SP reports the ship sank with up to 800 migrants on board. Only 28 people survived what is believed to have been the Mediterranean's worst tragedy in living memory. The ship wreck shook European governments and prompted the EU to enlarge its migrants rescue mission to the Libyan coast from where most of the human smuggling¹⁴ operations were launched. The technical analysis of the 65-foot-long fishing boat is complete allowing for its recovery as Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had pledged after it sank off the Libyan coast. Bodies were found on the sea bed but more may still be tracked below the ship's deck. Italian navy rescuers later wreathed under the deck of the sunk vessel¹⁵ with the help of robotic arm. SJ, NPR news, Rome.

Millions of Americans have been expecting to begin receiving new credit card in the mail soon. The cards which in many cases include more security chip technology are designed to replace older cards. In some cases, the replacements¹⁶ are causing headaches for companies that rely on working cards to charge their customers on a monthly basis. Technologies ended it, making it more difficult for thieves to steal consumers' information from old magnetic cards. I'm J, NPR news in Washington.

1 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 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。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 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》

6 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 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。

9 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。

10 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

11 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。

12 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

13 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

14 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

15 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

16 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网