NPR 2010-04-13

President Obama is set to give an official welcome to open an nuclear summit in Washington. The focus of the gathering¹: to get participating nations to secure enriched uranium and plutonium stockpiles, to keep the potential bomb-making material out of the hands of terrorists. Prior to the start of the gathering, the White House is saying Ukraine has pledged to get rid of its supply of enriched uranium within the next two years. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports nearly four dozen world leaders are in Washington for the summit.

 

Mr. Obama’s also taking the opportunity to hold one-on-one meetings with many of the leaders over here, including Chinese President Hu Jintao. Hu’s participation² is seen as a sign of warming relations between the U.S. and China. The Obama administration needs China’s cooperation to impose sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. U.S. officials also hope China will allow its currency to appreciate. That could help reduce America’s big trade deficit³. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

 

Search crews are back in a West Virginia coal mine looking for the remaining nine bodies of the 29 men who were killed by an explosion there last week. High levels of methane⁴ gas in the mine forced to halt the search efforts yesterday. A team of federal investigators⁵ has arrived at the mine to look into what caused the explosion.

 

The Vatican, in a new online guide for lay people, says bishops⁷ and other church officials should report any allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests to police, if required by law. NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli says the Vatican insists this has long been the church’s policy.

 

Vatican spokesman Father Ciro Benedettini said the rule has been in effect since 2003. But at a press conference in Rome in February, a group of Irish bishops said there had always been confusion on exactly what they should do in cases of sexual abuse by priests. And in 2002, Cardinal⁸ Tarcisio Bertone, second-in-command at the department dealing⁹ with the issue, said in an interview there’s no bases for demanding a bishop⁶ report a confessed priest pedophile to civil authorities. The guidelines do not clarify at which stage of a church investigation¹⁰ the bishop in charge should contact the police. Abused victims are not likely to be satisfied with the guidelines. They’re demanding more accountability. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News.

 

President Obama is set to be considering about ten people as potential nominees¹² to replace Supreme¹³ Court Justice John Paul Stevens who’s retiring this summer. The White House is not saying who is on the list, but Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says one person who is not is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

 

“I think the president has identified in Secretary Clinton a capacity in which she’s doing a wonderful job and the president is gonna keep her as his secretary of state.”

 

Gibbs was asked about Clinton after GOP Senator Orrin Hatch said he’d heard her name floated as a possible nominee¹¹.

 

Stocks are holding on to some modest gains just before the closing bell on Wall Street. The Dow currently up ten points at 11,007. The NASDAQ is up four.

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

Investigators looking into the plane crash that killed Poland’s president and other top leaders of that country appear to be focusing on why the pilot tried to land in bad weather after air traffic controllers advised he wave off. Poland’s Ambassador to the U.S., Robert Kupiecki, says as tragic¹⁴ as the accident was, it does not pose a threat to Poland’s stability.

 

“There is no danger whatsoever¹⁵ to democracy and stability for our political system in Poland. Poland is a mature democracy, a solid member of international community, and a great ally of the United States.”

 

Relatives of victims of the crash are arriving in Russia to try to identify remainings recovered from the crash site.

 

A new study finds that people who eat more fish and less fat have less risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. NPR’s Jon Hamilton says the research is in the online edition of the Archives of Neurology.

 

The finding comes from researchers at Colombia University who followed more than 2000 people aged¹⁶ 65 and older for an average of four years. They found that people were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s, if they reported having a diet that included more salad dressing¹⁷, nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry¹⁸, fruit, and vegetables. People were more likely to get Alzheimer's, if they ate a lot of high-fat dairy products: red meat, organ meat, and butter. The researchers say nuts contain a lot of vitamin E which may protect against Alzheimer's because it is a powerful antioxidant. Fatty foods, on the other hand, may make the brain more vulnerable by contributing to clogged¹⁹ arteries²⁰. Jon Hamilton, NPR News.

 

Former ‘Tonight Show’ host Conan O’Brien is going to be hosting a late-night talk show on cable network TBS. The program could debut²¹ in November. O’Brien’s negotiations²² with the FOX network reportedly hit a snag.

 

1 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。

2 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

5 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》

6 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。

7 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。

8 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 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。

11 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

12 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

13 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

14 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

15 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

16 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

17 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

18 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?

19 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

20 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

22 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。