NPR 2009-07-08

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack¹ Speer

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says that Costa Rica's President will try to mediate² an end to a political crisis in Honduras. NPR's Michele Keleman reports.

Just days after his failed attempt to return home, the ousted³ President of Honduras paid a visit to the State Department to meet with Secretary Clinton. She made clear that she doesn't want to see Manuel Zelaya try again to force his way back to power, and she said she is pleased that he has agreed to a new mediation⁴ effort.

"I believe that it is a better route for him to follow at this time than to attempt to return in the face of the implacable opposition⁵ of the de facto regime."

Clinton says the de facto rulers of Honduras have also agreed to let Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias⁶ mediate an end to this political crisis. Arias won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end political violence in Central America in the 1980s. Michele Kelemen, NPR News the State Department.

In a ceremony attended by thousands at the Staples⁷ Center in Los Angeles, entertainer Michael Jackson was eulogized today in words and music. The late entertainer who died last month at the age of 50 was celebrated⁸ by fellow entertainers, athletes and celebrities⁹. Actress Brooke Shields, a longtime friend, described her relationship with Jackson, how, in her view, was often mischaracterized.

"Whenever we were out together and there would be a picture taken, there would be a caption¹⁰ of some kind. And the caption usually said something like an odd couple, or an unlikely pair. But to us, it was the most natural and easiest of friendships."

Singers Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder also paid tribute to Jackson. Jackson's 11-year-old daughter Paris Jackson broke down as she described Jackson as the best father you can ever imagine.

The administration today made some major moves toward improving the safety of the nation's food supply. NPR's Joanne Silberner has more.

Vice¹¹ President Joseph Biden joined the heads of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture to talk about the changes. Biden estimated that one in four people get sick every year from contaminated food, an untenable situation.

"You know, there are few responsibilities that are more basic, or more important than for the government to make and ensure that our families in America eat food that is not contaminated, that’s safe."

Biden announced that HHS and the USDA are now developing new safety standards for eggs, poultry¹², beef and some produce/ and increasing inspections¹³ of food processing facilities. The initiatives are planned to coordinate¹⁴ with legislation now making its way to Congress to give the Food and Drug Administration more money and power. Joanne Silberner, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 161 points to close at 8,163. That was a decline of nearly 2%. The S&P 500 was down 17 points.

This is NPR.

As President Obama prepares to leave Russia, he is calling for both sides to, as he put it "move beyond Cold War thinking” and try and achieve common goals. President told graduates of the New Economic School today, it's "difficult to form a lasting¹⁵ partnership¹⁶ between adversaries¹⁷." However Mr. Obama also said it's in the interest of both countries to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. The President met with Russian leaders and also with opposition leaders, reporters and environmentalists during his visit. Mr. Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev have also agreed to work to negotiate a new nuclear arms deal that by year’s end would slash¹⁸ the arsenals¹⁹ of both countries by a third.

The District of Columbia now recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other states. The DC council passed the bill in Maine today. The deadline passed for the US Congress to review the measure. NPR's Jack Zahora has more.

Congress has the final say over DC laws and it has 30 days to review the bill, and it elected instead to take no action. DC council member Jim Gram who was openly gay and a supporter of gay marriage in the district, says this is a huge victory for his constituents²⁰.

"If I am legally married in Connecticut, and for some reason I might want to move to District of Columbia, of course I want to know whether my marriage is valid²¹ in DC."

Gram says the next step is to pass a bill this year that would allow gay marriages to take place in the city.

"We have a council that is overwhelmingly supportive."

While this is true, today's new law came under heated attacks by council member and former mayor Marian Barry. Protests were also organized by black church leaders who oppose gay marriage. Jack Zahora, NPR News, Washington.

Crude prices fell $1.12 a barrel to settle at 62.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange today.

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 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

3 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

4 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

5 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。

6 arias   

n.咏叹调( aria的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Can you pick out the operatic arias quoted in this orchestral passage? 你能听出这段管弦乐曲里有歌剧式的咏叹调吗？ 来自辞典例句
• The actions are large and colour, there are arias and recitatives. 动作夸张而华美，有唱段也有宣叙部。 来自辞典例句

7 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

10 caption   

n.说明，字幕，标题；v.加上标题，加上说明

参考例句：

• I didn't understand the drawing until I read the caption.直到我看到这幅画的说明才弄懂其意思。
• There is a caption under the picture.图片下边附有说明。

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

13 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

15 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

16 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

17 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

18 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

19 arsenals   

n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成

参考例句：

• We possess-each of us-nuclear arsenals capable of annihilating humanity. 我们两国都拥有能够毁灭全人类的核武库。 来自辞典例句
• Arsenals are factories that produce weapons. 军工厂是生产武器的工厂。 来自互联网

20 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？