NPR 2009-5-14

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

President Obama said today photos showing the abuse of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan are in his words "not particularly sensational²". However, speaking at the White House, the president said their publication will do no good and Mr. Obama again spoke³ out on the abuse of prisoners.

"I've made it very clear to all who are within the chain of command, however, of the United States Armed Forces that the abuse of detainees in our custody⁴ is prohibited and will not be tolerated."

In opposing a court ruling calling for the release of the photos, the president cited concerns about the safety of US troops. Federal Appeals Court ruling on a request from the ACLU for the photos' release under the Freedom of Information Act agreed the pictures should be made public.

President Obama delivers a commencement address tonight to graduates of Arizona State University. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Mr. Obama has spoken at graduation ceremonies in the past, but this is the first commencement speech he delivered as president. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Mr. Obama will touch on the amazing opportunities waiting for new college graduates as well as the challenges in the world they'll be entering.

"As he has done in many commencements before, he will talk about the fact that the choices that you make leaving college about being involved in your community and serving a purpose higher than yourself, is tremendously important."

The president is also scheduled to deliver the commencement address this weekend at Notre Dame⁵ University and later this month at the US Naval⁶ Academy. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

Retail⁷ sales fell for a second straight month in April; that's the word from the Commerce Department today. NPR's Paul Brown has more.

Most analysts⁸ polled by the Reuters News Service expected US retail sales to be the same in April as March and higher if auto⁹ sales were left out, but they dropped by 0.4% after a much bigger drop in March, dashing some hopes that consumers might be feeling more optimistic and ready to start spending more. Gasoline sales were down again, but auto sales rose slightly as tire kickers found bargains in a depressed¹⁰ industry. Outside of car sales, weakness was widespread in April including at department stores, specialty¹¹ clothing stores, furniture show rooms and food and beverage¹² stores. Sales of electronic goods were down nearly 3%, and that was after a plunge¹³ of nearly 8% in March. Paul Brown, NPR News, Washington.

Intel said today it plans to fight a decision from the European Union to fine the company nearly $1.5 billion over what officials say are illegal sales tactics. The record fine comes amid charges the world's biggest maker¹⁴ of computer chips has shut out a number of rivals including silicon¹⁵ valley based AMD. The fine level against the Santa Clara, California-based company exceeds even a monopoly abuse penalty imposed by the EU last year on software maker Microsoft.

On Wall Street today, the Dow closed down 184 points.

This is NPR.

There were reports of a second day of shelling in Sri Lanka's war zone. The death toll¹⁶ there is estimated as many as 50 people after shells tore through a hospital packed with wounded civilians¹⁷. Health workers at the makeshift medical facility said it was so overwhelmed by the influx¹⁸ of wounded and the shelling that they could do little more than hand out gauze and bandages to the roughly 1,000 people waiting for medical treatment. The strike on the hospital came as the government continues its offensive to destroy Tamil Tiger separatists.

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas has purchased what experts are now saying is the earliest painting by Michelangelo. It will be the only painting by the artist in an American collection. Jerome Weeks from member station KERA has the story.

The image of Saint Anthony being tormented¹⁹ by demons²⁰ was painted on a small wood panel. When Michelangelo completed it around 1488, he was only 12 or 13. Historians have known about the painting ever since critic Giorgio Vasari wrote about in 1550. Eric McCauley Lee is the director of the Kimbell museum.

"But it was so discolored by over-paint and darkened varnish²¹ that it became unrecognizable as a Michelangelo."

Some scholars believed it belongs to another Italian artist's workshop. When an art dealer²² bought it for $2 million, he turned it over to the Metropolitan²³ Museum of Art for cleaning and tests. Those tests convinced the Met's experts that it is indeed a Michelangelo. “The Saint Anthony” will be on display at the Met before coming to Fort Worth in the fall. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Weeks in Dallas.

Crude oil futures²⁴ prices fell today. The near month contract for benchmark grade crude was down 83 cents a barrel to close at $58.02 a barrel in New York.

I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.

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 sensational   

adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的

参考例句：

• Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
• Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。

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 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 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。

10 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

11 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

12 beverage   

n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料

参考例句：

• The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
• Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。

13 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

14 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

15 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

16 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

17 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

18 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

19 tormented   

饱受折磨的

参考例句：

• The knowledge of his guilt tormented him. 知道了自己的罪责使他非常痛苦。
• He had lain awake all night, tormented by jealousy. 他彻夜未眠，深受嫉妒的折磨。

20 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 varnish   

n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰

参考例句：

• He tried to varnish over the facts,but it was useless.他想粉饰事实，但那是徒劳的。
• He applied varnish to the table.他给那张桌子涂上清漆。

22 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

23 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

24 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。