NPR 2008-03-12

From NPR news in Washington, I'm Carl Kasell.

 The space shuttle Endeavour is closing in on the International Space Station. The seven astronauts blasted off early this morning in a rare nighttime shuttle launch. Pat Duggins of member station WMFE reports.

 NASA admits it's going to be crowded around the International Space Station. Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the outpost late tomorrow. While the astronauts perform five space walks, another spacecraft will be in a holding pattern nearby. That's the new European robot cargo¹ craft called Jules Verne launched on a rocket of its own. NASA's Bill Gerstenmaier says Jules Verne plus the two payloads onboard Endeavour mean three deliveries for the space station. ''When we see two of those arrive with the docking that'll be a nice sigh of relief. And then when we with get those installed on the station that will also be a very good sigh of relief.'' Endeavour's cargoes² were a Japanese science lab and a Canadian-built robot arm for the space station. Endeavour's set to return to Earth after sixteen days in space. For NPR news, I’m Pat Duggins at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

 Mississippi is the only state holding a primary today. The state has an open primary system which means anyone can declare their party affiliation³ today and vote. NPR’s Audie Cornish reports.

 The presidential party nominations⁵ are usually decided⁶ by the time Mississippi votes. But thanks to the competitive race on the Demoncratic side, the state is enjoying a rare bit of attention. Both senators, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, campaigned in the state this past week. The Democrats⁷' delegates are awarded per congressional district and 33 pledged delegates are at stake. Outside of the presidential nomination⁴ race, Mississippi has two of its key congressional seats up for grabs and both Senate seats are contested. Audie Cornish, NPR news, Jackson, Mississippi.

 New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was allegedly caught on a federal wiretap arranging a meeting with a high-class prostitute. He apologized publicly to his family and to the public but did not say whether he would resign. NPR’s Libby Lewis reports.

 Spitzer apparently⁹ got swept up in a federal investigation¹⁰ into an international online prostitution ring called the Emperor's Club. In court documents, prosecutors¹¹ say the ring had a website that ranked its prostitutes using a system of one to seven diamonds. And it priced their services from $1000 an hour to more than $5000 an hour. According to published reports, Spitzer is identified as client No. 9 in a federal indictment¹² of the ring's alleged⁸ operators. Spitzer built his public images as a fighter of corruption¹³ and a promoter of ethical¹⁴ conduct, both as New York's governor and before that as attorney general. Libby Lewis, NPR news.

 Oil prices held steady above $107 a barrel in Asian trading today after rising to a record in yesterday's trading. US light crude fell by 21 cents to $107.69  a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This is NPR news.

 An approved drug reduces the chance that the most common type of breast cancer will recur¹⁵ even if a woman starts taking it years after her diagnosis¹⁶. NPR’s Richard Knox reports.

 The drug is called Letrozole. It blocks the production of oestrogen. A new study finds that women who took Letrozole after finishing a five-year course of tamoxifen had almost 70 percent lower risk of recurrence¹⁷. The drug works for women with breast cancers that are sensitive to oestrogen. That's about two thirds of all breast cancers. An earlier study showed that taking Letrozole after tamoxifen reduces breast cancer recurrence. The new study shows that it works even if women don't start taking Letrozole for years after they finish the first round of treatment. That's important because 30 percent of women with oestrogen sensitive breast cancer can get a recurence 15 years or more after the diagnosis. The new study is in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Richard Knox NPR news.

 Former Attorney General John Ashcroft this morning goes before a congressional panel examining lucrative¹⁸ agreements with private law firms. New guidelines require the Justice Department's No.2 official to approve contracts with outside firms hired to monitor corporations that are accused of wrongdoing. The Justice Department says the guidelines are designed to provide more transparency in how the monitors are picked. But congressional Democrats say those guidelines are too weak. One congressman¹⁹ wants federal judges to approve contracts. Ashcroft's testimony²⁰ comes a day after the Justice Department issued the new guidelines. According to an SEC filing his firm stands to make as much as $52 million from one such contract.

 I'm Carl Kasell in Washington.

1 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

2 cargoes   

n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负

参考例句：

• This ship embarked cargoes. 这艘船装载货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crew lashed cargoes of timber down. 全体船员将木材绑牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

4 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。

5 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

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 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

9 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

10 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。

11 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。

12 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

14 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

15 recur   

vi.复发，重现，再发生

参考例句：

• Economic crises recur periodically.经济危机周期性地发生。
• Of course,many problems recur at various periods.当然，有许多问题会在不同的时期反复提出。

16 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

17 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

18 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

19 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

20 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。