NPR 2012-02-09

 From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

 

The House speaker says Congress will make sure religiously-affiliated groups are not required to provide birth-control coverage¹ for employees. John Boehner, who is Catholic, says the Obama administration is engaging in an attack on religion.

 

"In imposing² this requirement, the federal government has drifted dangerously beyond its constitutional boundaries, encroaching on religious freedom in a manner that affects millions of Americans and harms some of our nation's most vital institutions."

 

But President Obama has said the requirement is aimed at allowing access to all employees, including those who are not members of a religious group for whom they work.

 

Newt Gingrich has been stumping³ for votes in the battleground state of Ohio as he tries to regain⁴ the momentum⁵ as a frontrunner with Mitt⁶ Romney. But after Rick Santorum's trifecta in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, the GOP presidential landscape remains⁷ uncertain. Santorum's victories delivered a setback⁸ to Mitt Romney who had been trying to build on his big win in Florida.

 

In Egypt, judges investigating American non-governmental organizations accuse the groups of working there for political purposes. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports from Cairo that officials are revealing for the first time the evidence they have collected.

 

Judge Sameh Abu Zeid said at a news conference broadcast on Egyptian state TV that the groups violated numerous Egyptian laws. He said they worked here on tourist visas and without permits for years and received foreign funds here illegally, plus they failed to pay Egyptian taxes, he said. Abu Zeid claimed they have substantial evidence as well as several confessions⁹. At least 16 Americans are among the 43 people referred to trial so far, including the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. At least half of the Americans charged are longer in Egypt. A second judge said those referred to trial face up to five years in prison if convicted of operating illegally in Egypt. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Cairo.

 

Still no letup in the Syrian violence where anti-government activists¹⁰ are accusing troops of firing on civilian¹¹ neighborhoods and killing¹² dozens of people today alone, but that information can not be independently verified with members of the foreign media barred from covering developments inside Syria. The UN estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed since the uprising began there ten months ago.

 

Presidential campaigning in Senegal is swept up in violence ahead of this month's election. An opposition¹³ official says police fired tear gas in one of the towns as the country's president was attempting to hold a rally. The incumbent¹⁴ is seeking a third term in Senegal.

 

At last check on Wall Street, US stocks were mixed with the Dow down 18 points at 12,860, NASDAQ Composite Index up two points at 2,906, S&P 500 down slightly, it's at 1,347.

 

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The estimated cost of building the new World Trade Center has jumped by four billion dollars in the last four years. That's the finding of auditors¹⁵ who say the agency in charge has let cost run rampant¹⁶. Details from NPR's Joel Rose.

 

Auditors describe the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey¹⁷ as "dysfunctional". They say it allowed the estimated cost of the World Trade Center project to balloon to at least 14.8 billion dollars up from 11 billion just four years ago. Much of that difference is due to the rush to open the National September 11th Memorial in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks. The Port Authority expects to be reimbursed¹⁸ for roughly half of the reconstruction¹⁹ by the federal government and insurance payouts. But the agency could still be on the hook for more than seven billion dollars. The Port Authority's director says he takes the auditors' recommendations seriously and plans to overhaul²⁰ the agency's structure. Joel Rose, NPR News, New York.

 

The University of North Dakota is standing²¹ by its nickname Fighting Sioux despite the NCAA's threats. University President Robert Kelley says the school has decided²² to resume using the native American Indian name and logo, while the state reviews petitions calling for the issue to be put to a state-wide vote. However, the NCAA has said that the university risks sanctions if it continues using the nickname and logo.

 

Indiana is citing a stage builder for "playing indifference²³" in the State Fair collapse²⁴ that killed seven people last August. Commissioner²⁵ Lori Torres says Mid-America Sound Corporation committed three major safety violations²⁶. The state's Labor²⁷ Department has issued a 63,000-dollar fine.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

3 stumping   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• She's tired of stumping up for school fees, books and uniform. 她讨厌为学费、课本和校服掏腰包。
• But Democrats and Republicans are still dumping stumping for the young. 但是民主党和共和党依然向年轻人发表演说以争取他们的支持。

4 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

5 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

6 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。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

9 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 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》

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

12 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。

13 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。

14 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

15 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

16 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

17 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

18 reimbursed   

v.偿还，付还( reimburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on the firm's business will be reimbursed. 由公司业务产生的开销都可以报销。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Employees are reimbursed for any legal fees incurred when they relocate. 员工调往异地工作时，他们可以报销由此产生的所有法律服务费用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

20 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

21 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

22 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

23 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

24 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

25 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。

26 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

27 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。