NPR 2012-01-13

 We are seeing US stocks mixed today with investors¹ seeing weaker-than-expected jobs data. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that first-time unemployment claims rose to their highest level in six weeks.

 

The government says 399,000 people applied² for unemployment compensation last week. Economists³ say the numbers probably rose in part because of the end of the holiday shopping season when a lot of temporary workers are let go. Though the government tries to adjust the numbers for seasonal⁴ variations, it doesn't always get it right. At the same time, the government said retail⁵ sales rose just 0.1% in December, less than expected. But for the year as a whole, retail sales were up by 8%. That's the biggest increase since 1999, and it means that consumers are still buying despite the weak economy. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

 

The Afghan president is decrying⁶ as completely inhuman⁷ a video that purportedly⁸ shows US Marines' mistreatment of Taliban corpses¹⁰. Hamid Karzai reacting to a YouTube video that shows what appeared to be four marines urinating on the bodies of Taliban fighters. Well, Defense¹¹ Secretary Leon Panetta is branding the video utterly¹² deplorable and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agrees.

 

"I know Secretary Panetta has ordered a complete investigation¹³ of this incident. Anyone, anyone found to have participated, or known about it, having engaged in such conduct, must be held fully¹⁴ accountable."

 

The Marine⁹ Corp says it is trying to verify the video's source and authenticity¹⁵. The case has been referred to the Navy's worldwide law enforcement organization.

 

The streets of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince are relatively¹⁶ quiet this day as the Caribbean nation marks the second anniversary of its devastating¹⁷ earthquake. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports today has been declared a national holiday.

 

Memorial services are being held across Haiti today to remember the lives lost in the 7.0 earthquake of 2010. Many churches are holding special services and President Michel Martelly plans to attend the large ceremony this afternoon at a mass grave on the outskirts¹⁸ of the capital. The quake destroyed much of Port-au-Prince, killed between 200,000 and 300,000 people and left roughly 2,000,000 people homeless. Two years later, hundreds of thousands of Haitians remain in squalid tent camps. But yesterday, President Martelly vowed¹⁹ that 2012 will be the year when Haiti really starts rebuilding as a country. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Port-au-Prince.

 

At last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average down two points at 12,447, NASDAQ up eight points at 2,719.

 

You are listening to NPR News.

 

Bill Janklow, who served as South Dakota's governor for 16 years, has died. He was 72 years old. His son says Janklow died today, months after announcing that he had brain cancer. Janklow was described as a flamboyant²⁰ politician who left a lasting²¹ mark on South Dakota politics. In addition to serving four terms as governor, he also was the state's congressman²², and he resigned from that post after causing a fatal traffic accident.

 

Tomorrow, a federal judge will decide if a Virginia electoral law is unconstitutional. NPR's Teresa Tomassoni tells us how this decision could affect the Republican presidential primary ballot²³ in Virginia.

 

A Virginia district judge has already temporarily blocked all printing and ordering of absentee ballots²⁴ in the state. Earlier this week, he said a provision of elections law may be unconstitutional. If he finds this, more GOP hopefuls could get on the Virginia primary ballot. If not, Virginia residents will have only two Republican candidates on the ballot, Mitt²⁵ Romney and Ron Paul. Rick Perry is suing the State Board of Elections. He didn't get enough qualified²⁶ signatures to get on the Virginia ballot and says the state's strict ballot access requirements violate his freedoms of speech and association. Candidates Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman have joined the lawsuit²⁷. Teresa Tomassoni, NPR News.

 

Heavy campaigning's underway in South Carolina where the Republican primary will be held a week from Saturday. The candidates who did not do well in the New Hampshire contest this week are hoping for stronger support from South Carolina's more conservative and religious voters.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.

1 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

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

3 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

5 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

6 decrying   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Soon Chinese Internet users, including government agencies, were decrying the' poisonous panda. 不久，中国网民以及政府机构纷纷谴责“影响极坏的熊猫烧香”。 来自互联网
• Democratic leaders are decrying President Bush's plan to indefinitely halt troop withdrawals from Iraq after July. 民主党领导公开谴责布什总统七月后无限停止从伊拉克撤兵的举动。 来自互联网

7 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

8 purportedly   

adv.据称

参考例句：

• This is purportedly the oldest tree in the world. 据称这是世界上最古老的一棵树。 来自互联网
• Mayor Oh Se-Hoon launched the campaign last year, purportedly to improve efficiency. 据悉，首尔市市长吴世勋于去年提出了这项旨在提高工作效率的计划。 来自互联网

9 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• 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。

10 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

13 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。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

16 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

17 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

18 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

19 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

20 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

21 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

22 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

23 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

24 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

26 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

27 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。