NPR 2010-05-06

Pakistani officials are assuring the US government they'll do everything in their power to help investigate the case of the American accused of parking a car bomb in New York City. Faisal Shahzad became an American citizen last year. He's originally from Pakistan. And investigators¹ say he claims he learned how to use explosives there. The Pakistani government is reportedly urging the United States to create a joint² investigation³ team.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City Police Commissioner⁴ Raymond Kelly have testified before a Senate hearing today on terrorism legislation. They're backing a bill that would stop any person on the terrorism watch list from buying a gun or getting a permit to buy explosive material. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

Speaking before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Commissioner Kelly said there had been 11 attempted terrorist attacks on New York City since 9/11, each defeated by close cooperation between the NYPD and federal and state partners. Kelly said that Faisal Shahzad had bought a semi-automatic assault weapon back in March and had taken it with him when he drove to the airport to board a flight to Dubai.

"The more we can do to deny would-be terrorists access to these weapons, the safer we will all be."

Mayor Bloomberg said denying guns to those on the terrorist watch list was just common sense, no different from police randomly⁵ checking bags in the subway or making passengers boarding airplanes pass through metal detectors⁶. Margot Adler, NPR News.

Senate lawmakers say they've reached a deal to strip a provision from the financial reform bill. It would set up a 50-billion-dollar fund for failed Wall Street firms. NPR's Audie Cornish reports the fund took a lot of criticism even though it was supposed to be paid for by banks and not taxpayers⁸.

The new proposal hatched by Senators Chris Dodd and Richard Shelby would have the FDIC borrow taxpayer⁷ dollars from the Treasury⁹ to cover the costs of dissolving a failing firm. Senator Dodd says the money would be paid back after.

"We agreed to have it a post-payment responsibility, a fund that would be borne by creditors¹⁰ or the industry itself, based on whether or not there were enough assets in the failed institution to pick up the costs of winding¹¹ down that firm that was failing."

The new agreement would also require creditors who benefit from a liquidation¹² to pay back the government. And it would try to ban the fire management from working in the financial sector¹³ after. Audie Cornish, NPR News, the Capitol.

Greece's prime minister is calling the deaths of three people in a fire today in Athens murder. Tens of thousands of marchers filled the downtown part of the Greek capital, furious over the Greece government's plans to slash¹⁴ spending. Some protesters threw gas bombs into a bank office and Greek officials say the victims appeared to have died from smoke inhalation.

On Wall Street just before the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 61 points. It was at 10,865.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

The Kansas State Senate today held a vote to override¹⁵ a veto of a bill restricting certain abortions¹⁷. NPR's Kathy Lohr reports the override effort did not garner¹⁸ enough votes.

Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson vetoed the bill that would have required doctors to provide a medical diagnosis¹⁹ for late abortions. It also would have allowed patients to sue providers if they had evidence that a late abortion¹⁶ was performed illegally. Earlier this week, the Kansas House voted to override the governor's veto. But today, the Senate fell one vote short of the 2/3 majority needed to overturn it. No late abortions have been performed in Kansas since the murder of Doctor George Tiller in Wichita last year. But some anti-abortion activists²⁰ fear other doctors will resume the practice. Nebraska lawmakers also passed a bill aimed at late abortions. That law bans abortions after 20 weeks, based on the assumption that fetuses²¹ feel pain. The Nebraska law is seen as a direct challenge to the US Supreme²² Court decision that legalized abortion. Kathy Lohr, NPR News.

Energy company BP says it has sealed one of three leaks on an oil well deep in the Gulf²³ of Mexico. It's spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into the water. This is washing toward beaches in four states and threatening fishing and other industries. The federal government says oil is still gushing²⁴ from two other pipe leaks.

Tennessee authorities say another person has died in flooding in the central part of the state. At least 18 people have now perished in the past few days while heavy storms pound Tennessee and surrounding states and dumped more than a foot of rain. Tornadoes²⁵, hail and swollen²⁶ rivers have forced thousands of people to evacuate²⁷.
 

1 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》

2 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。

3 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。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

6 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

7 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

8 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

9 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

10 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

12 liquidation   

n.清算，停止营业

参考例句：

• The bankrupt company went into liquidation.这家破产公司停业清盘。
• He lost all he possessed when his company was put into liquidation.当公司被清算结业时他失去了拥有的一切。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

14 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。

15 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

16 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。

17 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

18 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

19 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

20 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 fetuses   

n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。 来自互联网
• Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。 来自互联网

22 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。

23 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。

24 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

26 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

27 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。