NPR 2008-03-13

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Carl Kasell.

 Amid calls for his resignation, New York State's Governor Eliot Spitzer has not given any word on his future. After being identified as an alleged¹ customer of a prostitution ring, the governor remains² surrounded by family and advisers³ in his New York City apartment. Mike Pesca reports.

 The state waits. This much is known. Democrat⁴ Eliot Spitzer has been listed as client No. 9 in a federal indictment⁵ of an alleged prostitution service, known as the Emperor’s Club. Spitzer's Democratic Lieutenant⁶ governor says he has little insight as to the governor’s thinking, but many members of Spitzer's own party like Assemblyman Mike Spano of Yonkers say if the allegations are true, Spitzer should step down. "Certainly client No.9 isn't somebody I want to see in the governor’s office." The top Republican in the state assembly has said he will bring impeachment⁷ charges if Spitzer does not resign. Mike Pesca, NPR news, Albany, New York.

 With the Mississippi primary behind them, Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are looking ahead to the Pennsylvania primaries next month. Obama was the winner yesterday, with 99 percent of the vote counted, Obama has 61 percent to Clinton's 37 percent of the vote. Obama secured at least 17 of the state’s 33 delegates. He plans to be in his hometown of Chicago today, saying he is confident the Democratic Party will be unified⁸ once a candidate is chosen. The Clinton campaign has congratulated Obama, and says it is looking forward to campaigning around the country. Clinton is in Washington today attending a presidential forum⁹.

 The president’s veto of an intelligence bill that would have banned harsh interrogation techniques will stand. House Democrats¹⁰ failed yesterday to muster¹¹ enough votes to override¹² the veto. NPR’s Debbie Elliott reports.

 House leaders were 51 votes, short of the two-thirds majority needed to override the president’s veto of the Intelligence Authorization¹³ Bill. It would have required agents to adhere to the interrogation standards contained in the US Army Field Manual which explicitly¹⁴ prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman¹⁵ and degrading treatment, including water boarding. The White House said an override would have diminished the intelligence community’s ability to protect the nation by eliminating, quote, the legal alternative procedures in place in the CIA program to question the world’s most dangerous and violent terrorists. Democrats argued that military and intelligence officials can keep the country safe without resorting to torture. Debbie Elliot, NPR news, the Capitol.

 Japanese stock prices closed higher today. The Nikkei Average was up by 1.6 percent. Oil prices held steady in Asian trading after hitting a record near 110 dollars a barrel overnight. US light crude for April delivery fell 10 cents to 108 dollars and 65 cents a barrel. This is NPR News.

 Thailand's ousted¹⁶ Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who returned to the country late last month has pleaded not guilty to corruption¹⁷ charges. NPR’s Michael Sullivan reports.

 Thaksin’s not guilty plea came as hundreds of his supporters gathered outside the Supreme¹⁸ Court to cheer him on. The case involves his wife's purchase of a prime piece of Bangkok real estate from a state agency while Thaksin was still Prime Minister. Anti-corruption laws prohibited politicians and their spouses¹⁹ from doing business with government agencies. Thaksin and his wife faced up to ten years in jail if convicted. But few observers expected the couple to do time now that a Thaksin-friendly party leads Thailand’s coalition²⁰ government. Thaksin insists he is innocent and insists he is through with politics forever. He remains hugely popular with many rural and urban poor but was banned from politics for five years by the military-led government that overthrew²¹ him. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for late April. Michael Sullivan NPR News, Hanoi.

 A new report from the Pentagon says Iran and Syria continued to pose problems for Iraq. The quarterly report says as many as 90 percent of the foreign fighters in Iraq cross over from Syria. The report also says Iran's continued support for Shiite militants²² is hurting Iraqi security and stability efforts. The Pentagon report also looks at Iraq's progress. It says death tolls²³ are down sharply from the last report in June. However, it says corruption continues to plague the Baghdad government. In Washington, a report from the comptroller general says that Iraq is not spending enough of its own money, even though soaring oil revenues have created a massive budget surplus.

 I’m Carl Kasell, NPR news, in Washington.

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 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 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 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。

6 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

7 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

8 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

9 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。

10 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》

11 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

12 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

13 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。

14 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

15 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

16 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

17 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。

18 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。

19 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

20 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

21 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

22 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

23 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。