NPR 2009-05-17

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.

President Obama has nominated Republican governor Jon Huntsman of Utah to be the next US ambassador to China. Huntsman has a strong background in Asia, including a stint¹ as ambassador to Singapore. He also served as co-chair of Senator John McCain's unsuccessful presidential campaign. NPR's Frank Langfitt has the story.

President Obama said he chose Governor Huntsman in part for his knowledge of both Asia and international trade. In addition to serving as ambassador to Singapore in the early 1990s, Huntsman also worked as deputy US trade ambassador earlier in the decade. Citing China and America's global influence and the complexity² of their relationship, President Obama put Huntsman's new job in perspective. "I can think of no more important assignment than creating the kinds of bridges between our two countries that will determine the well-being³, not just of Americans and Chinese, but also the future of the world." The President also said Huntsman is fluent in Mandarin⁴ Chinese and has an adopted daughter from China. Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Washington.

Astronauts from the Space Shuttle Atlantis have completed another marathon spacewalk as they repair and upgrade components⁵ on the Hubble Space Telescope, which is nestled in the shuttle's cargo⁶ bay. Pat Duggins of member station WMFE reports the toughest task today was fixing a broken camera that was not designed to be taken apart, especially in the weightlessness of space.

The repair to the advanced camera for surveys was the one job NASA was most nervous about but the spacewalkers made it appear easy. Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel took out dozens of screws replaced four electronic circuit boards and rewired the camera's power supply faster than NASA anticipated. The work was considered tricky⁷ since the spacewalkers were wearing gloves thick as a boxer's. Despite the quick repairs, mission manager say it could be September before the repaired camera and other new parts on Hubble are calibrated⁸ and tested to make sure they work. The spacewalkers also installed a new box on the telescope called "the Cosmic Origin Spectrograph". It measures faint light coming from distant objects like quasars. For NPR News, I'm Pat Duggins in Orlando.

First Lady Michelle Obama spoke⁹ to graduates of the University of California at Merced today after students there swamped her with cards and e-mail, urging her to give the school's first ever commencement address. She urged the students to call upon the hope and optimism that got them to this day to help a lot of others who are less fortunate. "By using what you've learned here, you can shorten the path perhaps for kids who may not see a path at all." Mrs. Obama acknowledged that this year's college graduates are facing a very tight job market, but she urged students to put fear and anxiety behind them and hold on to hope instead. The Merced Campus is about 90 miles from the Yosemite National Park. It's the newest and smallest school in California system of public universities.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Opening arguments got under way today in Wisconsin in a trial that pits the responsibility of parents to care for their children against the constitutional right of freedom of religion. Glen Moberg of member station WHRM in Wausau reports.

Leilani Neumann is charged with reckless homicide because she prayed for her daughter Madeline Kara instead of calling a doctor as the daughter died from treatable diabetes¹⁰. Neumann collapsed¹¹ as prosecutors¹³ gave graphic¹⁴ descriptions of her daughter's comatose¹⁵ state in the hours before her death. Prosecutor¹² LaMont Jacobson said the Newmann didn't call for an ambulance or seek medical attention because they felt their faith was being tested. "This case is not about her right to pray. This case is about the needless suffering and death of an 11-year-old child." Leilani Neumann's husband Dale faces a separate trial in July. For NPR News in Wausau, Wisconsin, I'm Glen Moberg.

The owners of 1,100 General Motors' dealerships are considering their options today after being told that they would be dropped by the company next year. Among them, John Wolf, who runs a dealership¹⁷ in Belvidere, Illinois, that was established by his grandparents. "My grandparents made it through the Depression, they made it through both the World Wars, they made it through an awful lot of turns, both positive and negative, within General Motors. And so this is, it's a very tough time that way, but our family has been successful for an awful long time and we will continue that success." Wolf and other dealers¹⁶ are appealing GM's decision. The National Automobile¹⁸ Dealers Association, a trade group, says the dealership cuts announced by GM and Chrysler could eliminate up to 100,000 jobs.

I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.

1 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

2 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

3 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

4 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

5 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

6 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。

7 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

8 calibrated   

v.校准( calibrate的过去式和过去分词 )；使标准化；使合标准；测量（枪的）口径

参考例句：

• Power pesticide dusters can be calibrated and used to apply pertilizer. 动力杀虫剂可以调整用来施肥。 来自辞典例句
• The flexible diaphragm is connected to a plat cantilever-calibrated spring. 柔韧的膜片一扁平的悬臂校正弹簧相连。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

11 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

12 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

13 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。

14 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

15 comatose   

adj.昏睡的，昏迷不醒的

参考例句：

• Those in extreme fear can be put into a comatose type state.那些极端恐惧的人可能会被安放进一种昏迷状态。
• The doctors revived the comatose man.这个医生使这个昏睡的苏醒了。

16 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

17 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

18 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。