NPR 2010-02-16

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

 

Democratic Senator Evan Bayh says he will not run for a third term in office. Bayh says he loves representing the people of Indiana, but he does not love Congress. “For some time, I’ve had a growing conviction that Congress is not operating as it should. There is much too much partisanship¹ and not enough progress –– too much narrow ideology² and not enough practical problem-solving.” Speaking at a news conference in Indianapolis, Bayh said he was confident he could have been reelected. He’d already raised 13 million dollars for his campaign, but he says it’s time for him to contribute to society in a different way, such as by leading a college or university or a charitable group. Bayh’s decision not to run leaves Democrats³ at risk of losing his Senate seat. Former GOP Senator Dan Coats is running for the position.

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Iran’s military is tightening⁴ its grip on that country which, she says, is moving toward a dictatorship. As NPR’s Paul Brown reports, Clinton is saying the US wants to work more closely, with other countries worrying about Iran’s ambitions and its actions.

 

Secretary Clinton is visiting the Middle East. She tells Arab students at Carnegie Mellon University's Doha campus that Iran's elite⁵ Revolutionary Guards Corps⁶ is effectively supplanting⁷ the government. “Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship.” Iran says it won't abandon its nuclear programs and it’s been cracking down further on dissidents. Clinton says Iran still has the option to engage with the US, but she adds the US wants international support for sanctions as needed. “It is important for us to work with like-minded countries here in the Gulf⁸, in the broader region and around the world who share our concerns.” She reiterates⁹ the US is not planning military action against Iran. Paul Brown, NPR News, Washington.

 

More information is surfacing today about the University of Alabama Huntsville biology professor who’s accused of killing¹⁰ three colleagues and wounding three others when she opened fire during a faculty¹¹ meeting there last week. Bobby Milk of member station WRLH reports Amy Bishop¹² has been charged with one count of capital murder and three counts of attempted murder.

 

Authorities are looking into new information that surfaced over the weekend involving Amy Bishop. In 1993, a pipe bomb was delivered to one of Harvard professors, Dr. Paul Rosenberg. No evidence was found connecting Bishop to the bomb. But according to newspaper reports then, officials said Bishop worried over Rosenberg's evaluation¹³ of her doctor at work. This is in addition to earlier news that surfaced that Bishop accidentally shot her brother at their Massachusetts home in 1986. Bishop’s husband denies his wife’s guilt¹⁴ for the shooting death of her brother and continues to deny any connection between his wife and the attempted mail bombing. He says he is mystified by the university shootings last Friday. Bishop is currently being held without bond at the Madison County jail in Huntsville, Alabama. For NPR News, I’m Bobby Milk in Huntsville.

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

NATO says an air strike has killed five civilians¹⁵ in southern Afghanistan. A joint¹⁶ NATO-Afghan patrol saw people digging along a path in Kandahar province and mistakenly concluded they were burying an explosive device. And NPR’s Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports, two Afghan children were killed and about half dozen civilians were wounded during the ongoing¹⁷ offensive in Helmand province today.

 

There’s no trading on Wall Street today. The market’s closed for the President’s Day holiday. NPR’s Dave Mattingly reports investors¹⁸ will have more economic data to look at this week when trading resumes.

 

A couple of economic reports will be getting close attention this week. One on housing stocks in the US for January, the other, industrial production. Analysts¹⁹ are expecting a rise in housing construction but also forecasting an uptick in industrial output for the month when the Federal Reserve reports the numbers. Also this week, the nation’s largest retailer²⁰ Wal-Mart reports its latest quarterly earnings²¹. Quarterly reports are also due from retailers²² J.C. Penney and Abercrombie & Fitch. Stocks are looking to continue last week’s gains. For the week, the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 added nearly 1%; the NASDAQ gained 2%. Dave Mattingly, NPR News, Washington.

 

Another blast of wintery weather is causing travel problems in the South. Snow and ice have been coating highways in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama today.

 

Pope Benedict has begun a series of individual meetings with Irish bishops²³ to discuss the sex abuse scandal involving Roman Catholic clergy²⁴ in Ireland. The meetings are in response to a report last fall accusing Irish church leaders and police of covering up decades of sexual abuse of children.

 

I’m Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.

 

1 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

2 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

3 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》

4 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

5 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

6 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 supplanting   

把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的现在分词 )

参考例句：

8 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。

9 reiterates   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Chinese government reiterates that the question of Taiwan is China's internal affair. 中国政府重申，台湾问题是中国的内政。 来自汉英非文学 - 汉英文件
• Wang Jianzhou reiterates a fact and a viewpoint in Davos. 王建宙在达沃斯重申一个事实和一个观点。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

12 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

13 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

14 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

15 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。

16 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

17 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

18 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

19 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

20 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

21 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

22 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

23 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

24 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。