NPR 2009-5-18

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.
 
President Obama's commencement address at Notre Dame¹ University today was punctuated² by the shouts of some hecklers who strongly disagreed with his support for abortion³ rights.
 
"And since this is Notre Dame, I mean..." But the hecklers were drowned out by students and others in the crowd. "That's all, that's all right." Mr. Obama defended his stance on abortion but he called for open hearts and open minds towards those who disagree with him. "Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded, not only in sound science but also in clear ethics⁴." Mr. Obama also urged people on both sides of the issue to work to reduce the number of women seeking abortions⁵. Just outside the gates of university, hundreds of anti-abortion demonstrators protested his visit.
 
In Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger rebels are conceding defeat in the country's long-running civil war, hours after they sent out suicide attackers in a last-ditch effort to push back a final assault by government troops. NPR's Philip Reeves has the story.
 
The battle has reached its bitter end and the guerrillas have decided⁶ to silence their guns. That's according to a statement on a pro-Tamil Tiger website bearing the name of the senior separatist official. It's not clear what "silence in their guns" means. The Sri Lanka military said today that Tamil Tiger suicide cadres have been coming to the front line and detonating themselves. The rebels are completely surrounded in the tiny scrap⁷ of land of about one square kilometer. It's hard for the media to verify information without access to the area. But the Sri Lanka military says that all of many thousands of civilians⁸ who were trapped in the war zone have got out. It claims to have rescued them. This is undoubtedly⁹ the final military phase in the island's conflict. Some of Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majorities are already celebrating in the streets with dancing and fireworks. Philip Reeves, NPR News.
 
The top Republican lawmaker in the House says speaker Nancy Pelosi should provide evidence to back up her claim that the CIA misled her about harsh interrogation techniques and that she had no idea of methods such as waterboarding were being used. NPR's Allison Keyes reports.
 
Since last week, Pelosi has tried to clarify what she knew about brutal¹⁰ interrogation techniques like waterboarding during the Bush era and when she knew about them. The Speaker has disputed a CIA report that she was told about the use of waterboarding in 2002. But Ohio Republican leader John Boehner told CNN State of the Union:
 
"And if the speaker is accusing the CIA and other intelligence officials of lying or misleading the Congress, then she should come forward with evidence."
 
If not, Boehner says, Pelosi should apologize to intelligence professionals around the world. Boehner says information from the intelligence community is helping¹¹ soldiers protect this country and instead of accusing them of lying, we should be telling them "job well done".
 
This is NPR News.
 
Fire gutted¹² a decades old Mormon church in Cambridge, Massachusetts this morning. The blaze broke out as about 300 people were gathering¹³ in the church, all were evacuated¹⁴ safely. Investigators¹⁵ say the fire started in the building's attic¹⁶.
 
In Kuwait, several women have been elected to seats in Parliament. That's a first for that country. Dale Gavlak has the story.
 
Kuwait’s Parliament has been run by men for nearly half a century. Now all that has changed. The women's resounding¹⁷ victory cast their right to vote and run for office won just four years ago. One other women elected, Massouma al-Mubarak was also Kuwait’s first female Cabinet Minister. Other winners were women's rights activist¹⁸ Rola Dashti, education professor Salwa Al-Jassar and philosophy professor Aseel al-Awadhi. The election also showed fundamentalist Muslims losing seats in the legislature. They won 16 seats. In the previous House, they have 24. Kuwait, one of the few democracies in the gulf¹⁹, has led the region in giving its people political rights. For NPR News, I'm Dale Gavlak in southern Shuneh, Jordan.
 
Gasoline prices have jumped 25 cents a gallon over the past three weeks. The national average now for a self-service regular is $2.30 a gallon. Industry analyst²⁰ Trilby Lundberg cites a number of reasons for the rise in prices at the pump.
 
“Crude oil prices are up nearly five dollars per barrel in these three weeks. Seasonal²¹ regulation for environmental protection purposes have added to cost. We also have seasonal demand rises as we always do."
 
But Lundberg says even with these latest price increases, gas prices are nearly $1.50 a gallon lower now than they were at this time last year.
 
I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

4 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

5 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

8 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。

9 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

11 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。

12 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

14 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

15 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

17 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

18 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

19 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

20 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

21 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。