NPR 2008-08-08

A military jury has sentenced the former driver for terrorist leader Osama bin¹ Laden² to five and a half years in prison. The sentence handed down to Salim Hamdan for his conviction of supporting terrorism was far less than the 30 years prosecutors³ have been seeking. The BBC's Kim Ghattas has more from Guantanamo Bay.

The sentence is a dramatic snub to the Bush administration. It was announced after just over an hour and a half of deliberations. The jury of six military officers in a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay sentenced Hamdan to 66 months in prison including time served. This leaves Osama bin Laden's alleged⁴ driver with only five months left as a convict. But Mr. Hamdan can now still be held indefinitely as an unlawful combatant in the US administration's war on terror. BBC's Kim Ghattas.

Earlier in the day, Hamdan pleaded with the court to spare him life behind bars, saying he worked for Bin Laden only because he needed a job. The same jury yesterday cleared Hamdan of the more serious charges of conspiracy⁵.

The EPA has denied a request by the State of Texas to trim a federal rule that mandates⁷ adding ethanol to gasoline. More from NPR's John Burnett.

Last spring Texas Governor Rick Perry requested a temporary one-year waiver that would've cut the federal ethanol mandate⁶ in half. He said it would help ease "the devastating⁸ impact of skyrocketing feed and food costs". More than 70 GOP members of Congress including John McCain had supported the waiver. EPA Administrator⁹ Steven Johnson said they reviewed more than 16, 000 public comments as well as fuel and commodity prices before making their decision. "This research found that the mandate is not causing severe economic harm. Rather, the mandate is strengthening our nation's energy security and supporting American farming communities." As a result of the EPA's decision, the nation's fuel retailers¹⁰ will as mandated¹¹ add nine billion gallons of ethanol to gasoline this year, increasing to 11 billion gallons next year. John Burnett, NPR News.

Pakistan's ruling coalition¹² says it's going to begin impeachment¹⁴ proceedings¹⁵ against President Pervez Musharraf. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

Technically¹⁶, President Musharraf has the power to dissolve Pakistan's parliament and dismiss the government. That would be one way of blocking an impeachment vote against him. But most commentators¹⁷ believe he no longer possesses the political muscle to exercise this power. His party was heavily defeated in the February elections which brought the two main opposition¹⁸ parties to power, the forces now ranged against him. Since then, Musharraf's largely been sidelined. The ruling coalition parties say they can muster¹⁹ the two-thirds vote in parliament needed to impeach¹³ Musharraf. The general's supporters cast doubt on this, saying the numbers are very tight. Philip Reeves, NPR News, Islamabad.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 224 points today. The NASDAQ lost 22 points. The S&P was down 23 points.

This is NPR.

A crash involving a packed SUV has claimed the lives of at least nine people with 10 others injured. Officials say the accident occurred this morning on a stretch of roadway in the Arizona Desert, with suspicions on the part of law enforcement officials that the vehicle was carrying illegal immigrants. According to authorities , the accident occurred on a rural highway between Tucson and Phoenix²⁰, with the SUV leaving the road and rolling over, ending up on its roof.

Top US gymnast Morgan Hamm has pulled out of the Olympic Games because of injury. His announcement today came just two days before the gymnastic competition begins. From Beijing, NPR's Tom Goldman has more.

Morgan Hamm's been dealing²¹ with a left ankle injury for the last year and in Beijing he said it got worse. The extreme pain forced him to withdraw on Thursday. At a news conference, a dejected Hamm said it was best to step down and let another athlete fill his position. "This is something that for me is very tough because it's the end of my career and it's not the way I planned it." Hamm and his twin brother, Paul, have been the stars of US men's gymnastics in recent years. They led the team to a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Games. It was the first Olympic medal for the American men in 20 years. Morgan's withdrawal²² from the Beijing Games follows a similar move by Paul Hamm late last month, also because of injury. Alternate Alexanda Artemev will replace Morgan on the US team. Tom Goldman, NPR News, Beijing.

A couple of green sea turtles are taking unusual route out of Florida Keys to their new home in Connecticut. The turtles hatched four years ago as part of a research project are being sent via FedEx to a 19,000 gallon aquarium²³. Named Righty and Lefty, the turtles are due to arrive at the Maritime²⁴ Museum in Norwalk, Connecticut tomorrow.

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 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。

4 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

5 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

6 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

7 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

8 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

9 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

10 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

11 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

12 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。

13 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

14 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。

15 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

16 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

17 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

19 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。

20 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

21 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

22 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

23 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

24 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。