NPR 2010-12-16

The US government is suing BP as well as eight other companies and subsidiaries over the unprecedented¹ oil spill in the Gulf² of Mexico earlier this year. Attorney General Eric Holder³ says the suit is just the first step in holding BP and others accountable for violating environmental laws.

"We intend to prove that these violations⁴ caused or contributed to the massive oil spill, and that the defendants⁵ are therefore responsible under the Oil Pollution Act for government removal costs, economic losses, as well as environmental damages."

The other defendants include Transocean and Anadarko Petroleum⁶, but the lawsuit⁷ did not mention Halliburton, which came under scrutiny⁸ in recent months for the role it might have played in the spill. Halliburton did the cementing of the Macondo well, where April's explosion killed 11 workers.

The cold weather blanketing much of the United States is causing new problems in the Deep South. Brett Tannehill of member station WLRH reports the weather generated dangerous road conditions.

As light rain fell across Alabama this morning, it left behind a light glaze⁹ of ice that coated roadways, caused numerous accidents and road closures. National Weather Service forecaster Tara Golden says there isn't enough ice to bring down trees, but it's still been a big problem.

"Basically, we just want what people know that if you don't have to be out on the roadway, please don't get out there."

The weather system comes on the heels of unseasonably cold temperatures that grip the South. Some areas have not warned about freezing this week. Conditions should improve as warmer air moves in and the sleet¹⁰ turns to rain. The cold weather has caused more than two dozen deaths across the US over the past couple of days. For NPR News, I'm Brett Tannehill in Huntsville, Alabama.

Legislation to extend all Bush-era tax cuts by two years has the Senate's endorsement¹¹. Lawmakers voted 81-19 to pass the measure. It heads next to the US House.

Well, that's under way. NPR's David Welna tells us the Senate will turn its attention to a long list of unfinished business the Democrats¹² want to take up in the dwindling¹³ days of the lame-duck session.

Before leaving, Senate Majority Leader Harry¹⁴ Reid wants to take up and ratify¹⁵ the so-called New START nuclear arms treaty with Russia, pass a repeal¹⁶ of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", the policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military, and approve a 1,900-page omnibus spending bill.

"Christmas is a week from Saturday. I understand that. But I hope the Republicans understand it also, because we are going to complete our work, no matter how long it takes, in this Congress."

But Senate Republican leaders insist that Congress only needs to do two things before adjourning¹⁷: extend all the expiring Bush-era tax cuts and pass a measure to keep the government running until early next year. David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.

Dow's down 20 points. This is NPR.

Europe's leading human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, charges the Kosovo Liberation Army killed Serbs and other minority civilians¹⁸ to harvest their organs and sell them illegally. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports it identified Kosovo's US-backed prime minister as the leader of a crime gang that operated the racket.

Dick Marty, a Swiss senator, headed a team of investigators¹⁹ in Kosovo and Albania for two years. His report sheds new light on the KLA, which with US-backing spearheaded Kosovo's independence from Serbia. Marty found detention²⁰ facilities where captive Serbs and KLA opponents were allegedly killed before being operated on to remove their organs. Tha?i's government brands the report slanderous²¹. It comes as a Kosovo court opened a trial on organ harvesting. A European Union prosecutor²² said the seven defendants including a former Kosovo Health Ministry²³ official offered poor people from Moldova, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey up to $20,000. The money was never paid. While recipients²⁴ from Canada, Germany, Poland and Israel allegedly paid up to $137,000 for the organs. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News.

Wikileaks founder²⁵ Julian Assange is staying behind bars for at least another day. Tomorrow, a British court will hear Sweden's legal challenge to a judge's ruling to grant Assange bail²⁶. Sweden wants Assange extradited for questioning in a sex crimes investigation²⁷. The 39-year-old Australian denies he did anything wrong. The scandal surfaced after Wikileaks published huge amounts of secret war and diplomatic documents without US authorization²⁸. The issue raised new questions in weighing national security against the public's right to know.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 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。

3 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

6 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

7 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

8 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

9 glaze   

v.因疲倦、疲劳等指眼睛变得呆滞，毫无表情

参考例句：

• Brush the glaze over the top and sides of the hot cake.在热蛋糕的顶上和周围刷上一层蛋浆。
• Tang three-color glaze horses are famous for their perfect design and realism.唐三彩上釉马以其造型精美和形态生动而著名。

10 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

11 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

12 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

14 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

15 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

16 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

17 adjourning   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Before adjourning, councillors must stop procrastinating and revisit this controversial issue. 在休会之前，参议员必须停止拖延，重新讨论这个引起争议的问题。
• They decided upon adjourning the session. 他们决定休会。

18 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。

19 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》

20 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

21 slanderous   

adj.诽谤的，中伤的

参考例句：

• A man of moral integrity does not fear any slanderous attack.人正不怕影子斜。
• No one believes your slanderous talk anyway!不管你怎么说，也没有人听信你这谗言！

22 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。

23 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

24 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

25 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

26 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

27 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

28 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。