NPR 2011-03-04

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Pam Coulter.

President Obama wants to reduce drug violence in the neighborhood. After a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon at the White House, Mr. Obama said US efforts are producing some success.

"The United States accepts our shared responsibility for the drug violence. So to combat the southbound flow of guns and money, we are screening all southbound rail cargo¹, seizing many more guns bound for Mexico, and we are putting more gun runners behind bars."

Three weeks ago, a US customs agent was shot and killed in northern Mexico with a gun smuggled² in from the US. The two leaders also announced a deal to allow Mexican trucks in the US if they meet US safety standards.

There was more political turmoil³ in post-Mubarak Egypt. The prime minister was resigned and has been replaced by a former minister from ousted⁴ President Hosni Mubarak's administration. In Cairo, NPR's Jason Beaubien says the reshuffling comes as demonstrators call for even more changes in the government.

The military council that's ruling Egypt announced Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq's resignation in a brief statement on the Internet. The army said he'll be replaced by Essam Sharaf, who served as transportation minister for Mubarak. Shafiq was a controversial figure. He'd been appointed after the pro-democracy demonstration⁵ started as a gesture by Mubarak that he was delegating power away from himself. Protesters and opposition⁶ leaders, however, view Shafiq as a remnant of the Mubarak regime and have been calling for Shafiq to be fired. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Cairo.

Remember that big oil spill in the Gulf⁷ of Mexico last year? Well, oil giant BP is withholding⁸ bonuses for two deported⁹ executives who were in charge of operations there. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports BP claims it's now a changed company.

It's BP's first annual report since the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing¹⁰ 11 rig workers and unleashing¹¹ the worst offshore¹² oil spill in US history. In a video introduction to the document, CEO Bob Dudley says the tragedy shocked and saddened the company.

"2010 stands as an inflection point for BP and our industry. We understand that a return to business as usual is not an option."

Dudley is not taking a bonus for 2010, and the two officers who left in the wake of the oil disaster, CEO Tony Hayward and head of exploration and production Andy Inglis, won't be getting bonuses either. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

A Salt Lake City jury is deliberating the case against an environmental activist¹³ who admits to purposely disrupting a 2008 federal oil-and-gas auction¹⁴. Tim DeChristopher says he was taking a stand against climate change.

Stocks are a lot higher this afternoon. On Wall Street, the Dow is up 214 points, NASDAQ ahead 53, and the S&P up 23.

This is NPR.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and members of his inner circle are already facing sanctions by the international community. And now, they're facing possible prosecution¹⁵ in The Hague. The prosecutor¹⁶ of the International Criminal Court says he'll investigate Gaddafi, some of his sons and closest associates for possible crimes against humanity in the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.

At least three people have been killed, and a score injured at a governing party rally in Nigeria. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports the latest violence comes a month before a key presidential election in a charged political climate.

Witnesses say an explosive device was thrown from a car near the capital Abuja. It appears the target was an election rally held by the president's People's Democratic Party in the nearby town of Suleja. The police say the device landed close to where market women were trading. This is the latest apparent act of political violence in Nigeria, which has been blighted¹⁷ by sporadic¹⁸ bomb attacks since deadly explosions disrupted 50th independence anniversary celebrations last October. Election campaign period is often fraught¹⁹ with disturbances²⁰ in Nigeria, Africa's leading crude oil exporter and the continent's most populous²¹ nation. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Accra.

A Northwestern University psychology²² professor is in some hot water. The school's president says Professor John Michael Bailey showed poor judgment²³ in allowing a couple to engage in a sex act in front of dozens of students. President Morton Schapiro ordered an investigation²⁴ of the incident that occurred in Bailey's human sexuality class.

Pam Coulter, NPR News, Washington.

1 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

2 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

3 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 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。

8 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

9 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 unleashing   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Company logos: making people's life better by unleashing Cummins power. 公司理念：以康明斯动力建设更美好的生活！ 来自互联网
• Sooner or later the dam will burst, unleashing catastrophic destruction. 否则堤坝将崩溃，酿成灾难。 来自互联网

12 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

13 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。

14 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

15 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。

16 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。

17 blighted   

adj.枯萎的，摧毁的

参考例句：

• Blighted stems often canker.有病的茎往往溃烂。
• She threw away a blighted rose.她把枯萎的玫瑰花扔掉了。

18 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

19 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

20 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

21 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

22 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

23 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

24 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。