NPR 2010-01-29

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

President Obama is on the road repeating his promise to boost job growth and broaden economic recovery. Today, he took his case to a town hall meeting in Tampa Florida.

"Irresponsibility from Wall Street to Washington left good, responsible Americans who did everything right still struggling in ways they never imagined. Joe and I took office in the middle of this raging storm."

President Obama and Vice¹ President Joe Biden went to Tampa to talk about an eight-billion-dollar funding for a national high-speed rail system. Florida is getting money to build the Tampa-Orlando corridor. Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia will receive grants.

The defense² is expected to begin its case today in the trial [of] Scott Roeder. He was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of an abortion³ provider. Roeder has confessed to shooting Dr. George Tiller but said he did it to protect the unborn. Roeder is expected to testify on his own behalf. From Wichita, NPR's Kathy Lohr has details.

Roeder testified that he did shoot Tiller last May in the lobby of his church. He said he became a Christian⁴ in 1992 and began protesting outside of clinics including Tiller's clinic. Defense attorney Mark Rudy asked Roeder to describe the types of abortion procedures he knew about and that led to strong objections from the prosecution⁵.

”Partial birth abortion, forceps, where they go in and tear the baby limb from limb.”
“Objection, Your Honors!”
"Hold on, and the jury is admonished⁶ to disregard that answer."

Roeder said he believes abortion is murder. The judge’s allowing testimony⁷ about Roeder's anti-abortion beliefs. Defense attorneys say Roeder had an unreasonable⁸ but honest belief that what he did was justified⁹. Kathy Lohr, NPR News, Wichita.

Congress is a step closer to increasing the country's debt limit by nearly two trillion dollars to over 14 trillion. The Senate passed the bill today and now it's on to the House.

The State of Oklahoma is under a winter storm watch, as officials and residents prepare for a major snow and ice system to move through. From Member Station KOSU, Michael Cross has more.

Meteorologists are predicting as much as an inch of a freezing rain to move through Oklahoma throughout the day and eventually change to snow. The National Weather Service says up to 12 inches of snow is possible in western and northern Oklahoma. Government offices and schools across the state are closed. The governor has declared a state of emergency for all 77 counties as officials get ready for the ice to cause dangerous road conditions and power outages. Oklahoma's two major airports, Will Rogers in Oklahoma City and Tulsa International, are canceling flights. For NPR News, I'm Michael Cross in Oklahoma City.

Dow's down more than a hundred. This is NPR.

J.D. Salinger, author of the literary classic "The Catcher in the Rye" has died. His son says Salinger passed away yesterday at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire. He was 91 years old.

Howard Zinn, radical¹⁰ historian and political activist¹¹, has died at the age of 87. His 1980 book "A People's History of the United States" sold more than a million copies and was an alternative to mainstream¹² historical text. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

Howard Zinn lectured widely and was heavily involved in US civil rights and anti-war movements. His book "A People's History of the United States" told the story of the nation through the voices of working-class people, women and minorities. The book came out during the Reagan years and was celebrated¹³ by the left. Published with very little promotion¹⁴, only 5,000 copies at first, by 2003, in word of mouth, it had sold more than a million copies. Many companion editions were published including a graphic¹⁵ novel. Zinn was Professor Emeritus¹⁶ in the Political Science Department at Boston University where he taught from 1964 to 1988. He was close friends with Linguist¹⁷ and political activist Noam Chomsky, who said that Zinn's work changed the way millions of people saw the past. Howard Zinn died of a heart attack. Margot Adler, NPR News.

The auto¹⁸ industry is credited with a latest gain reported among big-ticket items. According to the Commerce Department, US factories posted again a 0.3% after an upswing in orders for vehicles. But overall, the recession cost manufacturers big in 2009. Orders for durable¹⁹ goods plunged²⁰ by more than 20% for the year, the largest drop in nearly two decades.

Last check on Wall Street. Dow was down 99 points at 10,137.

This is NPR.

 

1 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。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

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 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 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。

6 admonished   

v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责

参考例句：

• She was admonished for chewing gum in class. 她在课堂上嚼口香糖，受到了告诫。
• The teacher admonished the child for coming late to school. 那个孩子迟到，老师批评了他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

8 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

9 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

10 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

11 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。

12 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

13 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。

14 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

15 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。

16 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

17 linguist   

n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者

参考例句：

• I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.过去我是个语言学家，后来成了作家。
• Professor Cui has a high reputation as a linguist.崔教授作为语言学家名声很高。

18 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。

19 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

20 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。