NPR 2009-4-22

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack¹ Speer.

President Obama today left open the possibility of criminal prosecution² for Bush administration officials who authorized³ harsh interrogation techniques. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports.

President Obama reassured⁴ intelligence officers from CIA this week, they won't be punished for following harsh interrogation guidelines drawn⁵ up under the Bush administration. But Mr. Obama was less willing to exonerate⁶ the officials who wrote those guidelines. He said he’d leave that up to his attorney general while conceding there are a host of very complicated issues involved.

"As a general view, I think that we should be looking forward and not backwards⁷. Er, I do worry about this getting so politicized that we can not function effectively."

The president said any congressional inquiry⁸ in the harsh interrogation methods should be aimed at learning lessons and not scoring political points. Scott Horsley NPR News, the White House.

A human rights lawyer tells NPR a prominent legal team retained by the family of imprisoned⁹ journalist Roxana Saberi is being prevented from meeting with her by Iranian authorities. The Lawyer apart from the defenders¹⁰ of human rights centers has been blocked from visiting Saberi in a Teheran prison where she’s been held after she was sentenced eight years in prison on espionage¹¹ charges. The lawyer is reported to be seeking to gain power of attorney in order to prepare an appeal. The 31-year-old Saberi who has worked for news organizations including NPR was convicted of espionage last week and sentenced following a one-day-trial behind close doors.

Treasury¹² Secretary Timothy Geithner said today results of government intervention¹³ into the financial system are not yet clear. He assured lawmakers at the hearing on the effectiveness of financial and industry bailout programme that tough standards will accompany any new federal funds for companies seeking government help. NPR’s Paul Brown has more.

Geithner told members of Congress he can't say for sure the 700-billion-dollar programme is helping¹⁵ to make credit more readily available. "To date, frankly¹⁶ the evidence is mixed." Geithner confirmed that banks are actually lending less now than when the programme began. But he said it's hard to know how things would have gone had government not intervened. And he said further bailout funds will come with conditions. "Not just to help protect taxpayers¹⁸ but try to help ensure the system emerges stronger not weaker. Geithner said history shows that early, forceful and sustained government action to promote the flow of credit is essential for a recovery from recessions at the lowest taxpayer¹⁷ cost. Meanwhile a new inspector¹⁹ general’s report recommends tougher rules at monitoring for the bailout programme. Paul Brown NPR News Washington.

According to reports from a special inspector general on the auto²⁰ industry, GM will receive as much as 5 billions dollars on top of the more than 13 billion the carmaker's already gotten, while Chrysler which has gotten four billion could be in light to obtain half a billion more. GM has till June, while Chrysler has till April to convince a government task force they are viable²¹ companies.

On Wall Street today, the Dow was up 127 points.

This is NPR.

A Boston medical student has been held without bail¹⁴ on charges he used the online service Craigslist to arrange a meeting with a woman in a hotel room where he allegedly shot and killed her. 23-year-old Philip Markoff, a second year Medical student at Boston University, has also been implicated²² in an attack on another woman. Prosecutors²³ say both women identify themselves as masseuses. Police say they found a semiautomatic weapon at Markoff’s home as well as ammunition²⁴. Markoff pleaded not guilty today. He is facing charges of murder in the death of Julissa Brisman in New York and kidnapping and armed robbery in the other assault.

Less than a year after receiving a hand-transplant in Jewish hospital, David Robert Armstrong has had his hand removed.  From member station WFPL in Louisville, Gabe Bullard reports.

The 33-year-old Armstrong underwent the transplant last July. Last month he reported poor circulation in the hand and last week doctors removed it. Lead surgeon doctor Warren Breidenbach says the transplant team is awaiting the results of a tissue analysis. They are not sure if the hand was rejected or if problems stemmed from surgical²⁵ complications. “No one's ever followed all the rules as Mr. Armstrong did. He did everything that doctor has asked him to do and then lost his hand. That's what makes this unique. This is the first time the doctors at Jewish have had to remove a transplanted hand.  The program has been temporarily suspended until doctors know why Armstrong developed complications. Breidenbach says the results will likely help surgeons fine tune²⁶ the transplant process. For NPR News, I’m Gabe Bullard, in Louisville.

Owners of mobile homes in California San Fernando Valley destroyed by wildfires last year will receive millions in additional insurance money. California’s Insurance commissioner²⁷ said today the insurer AIG will provide as much as 125,000 in additional insurance coverage²⁸.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

3 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。

4 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 exonerate   

v.免除责任，确定无罪

参考例句：

• Nothing can exonerate her from that.任何解释都难辞其咎。
• There is no reason to exonerate him from the ordinary duties of a citizen.没有理由免除他做公民应尽的义务。

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

9 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

10 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

12 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

13 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

14 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

15 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。

16 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

17 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

18 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

19 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

20 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

21 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

22 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

23 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。

24 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

25 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

26 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

27 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

28 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。