美国国家电台 NPR 2012-10-03

 New developments in one of the most contentious¹ debates over voting rights in Pennsylvania. Voters will not be required to show a photo ID to cast a ballot² in this presidential election. Today a judge blocked most of the act from going into effect by the November vote as NPR's Pam Fessler explains.

 

Commonwealth³ Court Judge Robert Simpson says voters can still be asked to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls, but they cannot be prevented from voting if they do not have one. The judge questioned whether there's enough time before the election for every voter who needs one to get a valid⁴ photo ID. He noted⁵ that he was ordered by the state Supreme⁶ Court to block the law if he was not convinced that no voters would be disenfranchised. It's still possible the decision could be appealed to the state Supreme Court, but it was largely a victory for civil rights and other groups that have said the law would prevent thousands of voters from casting ballots⁷. Pam Fessler, NPR News.

 

Border patrol agents in Arizona are mourning the death of one of their own. Three of their colleagues were responding to an alarm near Naco, where they came under fire. One agent identified as 30-year-old Nicholas Ivie was killed; another was wounded. George McCubin, president of the National Border Patrol Council, says the three were assigned to a station named after the last Board Patrol agent killed in the line of duty.

 

"We were just there a couple of weeks ago to..., at the renaming of the Naco station to Agent Brian Terry Station. So obviously this is going to hit the Naco family pretty hard."

 

The border town of Naco is a corridor for human smuggling⁸ as well as drug trafficking.

 

Republicans on Capitol Hill say they have information that US diplomats⁹ in Libya had requested more security at the consulate¹⁰ in Benghazi before the assault that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans. Details from NPR's Michele Kelemen.

 

Republicans Darrell Issa and Jason Chaffetz wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying there was a clear pattern of security threats in Libya that should have led to stepped-up security for US diplomats. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland says Clinton will cooperate with their committee and with all members of Congress, providing documents and witnesses for an upcoming hearing.

 

"We want to get to the bottom of precisely¹¹ what happened and learn any lessons that we need to learn from it. We're taking this very, very seriously."

 

The House Oversight¹² Committee plans a hearing on October 10th. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

 

The Iranian government says it's surviving economic sanctions and what the president calls a "psychological war" against his nation after the rial plunged¹³ to a record low against the US dollar today. President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad said Iran's central bank had provided enough hard currency to finance imports. 

 

Dow off more than 30 points.

 

This is NPR.

 

Pope Benedict's one-time butler is admitting to copying and leaking sensitive papal documents. But he said in a Vatican courtroom today that he was not guilty of stealing. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports the defendant¹⁴ claimed he was subjected to harsh conditions after his arrest in May.

 

Paolo Gabriele told the court he's innocent of the charge of aggravated¹⁵ theft, but feels remorse¹⁶ for betraying the Pope's trust. He said he had no direct accomplices¹⁷, but was influenced by others and by a widespread malaise in the Vatican. The butler was arrested after investigators¹⁸ confiscated¹⁹ 82 boxes full of evidence in his apartment, including letters concerning alleged²⁰ improper²¹ business practices at the Holy See. Gabriele also claimed he was subjected to psychological pressure in his first 20 days in detention²². He was kept in a room so small he couldn't stretch his arms and the light was kept on 24 hours a day. "As a result," he said, "my eyesight was damaged." The court ordered an investigation²³. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News.

 

Police reportedly are taking down the yellow tape around the suburban²⁴ Detroit site where they thought Jimmy Hoffa might have been buried. The Associated Press is reporting that soil samples have come back negative on traces of human decomposition²⁵. The former Timsters boss went missing nearly 40 years ago.

 

Five of Bernie Madoff's former workers reportedly go on trial next year. Each has pleaded not guilty to a new indictment²⁶ expanding the charges against them. They are accused of conspiring²⁷ with the former financier in a Ponzi scheme to bilk investors²⁸ out of billions of dollars. Madoff is spending the rest of his life behind bars.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

2 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。

3 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

4 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 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。

7 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》

8 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

9 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

11 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

12 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

13 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

14 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

15 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

16 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

17 accomplices   

从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was given away by one of his accomplices. 他被一个同伙出卖了。
• The chief criminals shall be punished without fail, those who are accomplices under duress shall go unpunished and those who perform deeds of merIt'shall be rewarded. 首恶必办， 胁从不问，立功受奖。

18 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》

19 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

20 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

21 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

22 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

23 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。

24 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

25 decomposition   

n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃

参考例句：

• It is said that the magnetite was formed by a chemical process called thermal decomposition. 据说这枚陨星是在热分解的化学过程中形成的。
• The dehydration process leads to fairly extensive decomposition of the product. 脱水过程会导致产物相当程度的分解。

26 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

27 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

28 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