NPR 2012-03-17

 A former Rutgers University student is found guilty of hate crimes for using a webcam to spy on his roommates intimate encounter with another man. NPR's Joel Rose reports a jury in New Jersey¹ found Dharun Ravi guilty on all 15 counts.

 

The jury deliberated for two days before finding Dharun Ravi guilty of invasion of privacy and bias² intimidation³. Ravi's college roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide in 2010 several days after Ravi used his webcam to spy on Clementi kissing another man in the freshmen⁴ dorm room they shared. Ravi's lawyer described the incident as a stupid prank⁵ gone wrong and denied his behavior was motivated by Clementi's sexual orientation⁶. But in the end, the jury convicted Ravi on most of the charges. Dharun Ravi faces several years in prison, and he could be deported⁷ to his native India, even though he has lived legally in the US since he was a young boy. Joel Rose, NPR News, New York.

 

The US Army sergeant⁸ accused of slaughtering⁹ Afghan villagers last weekend is headed back to the US, and he is expected to be held at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. The soldier's attorney is raising concerns about his client's multiple tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan while refuting claims that the soldier was dealing¹⁰ with marital¹¹ problems. We have more details from NPR's Martin Kaste. 

 

The soldier's civilian¹² attorney, John Henry Browne, calls the reports of family strife¹³ nonsense. He also says there is no evidence alcohol was a factor. But he does acknowledge his client may have been under stress. The 38-year-old had already served three tours of duty in Iraq, and Browne says the deployment¹⁴ to Afghanistan was a blow.

 

“He and the family were told that his tours in the Middle East were over, and then, literally¹⁵ overnight, that changed.”

 

Browne also says on the day before the massacre¹⁶, his client witnessed a fellow soldier suffer a grievous injury to his leg. Martin Kaste, NPR News, Seattle.

 

Warning that he is at the end of the rope over civilian deaths and injuries in his country, Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused the US of not sharing information about how the American soldier allegedly carried out that attack. Karzai has demanded that all NATO troops pull out of rural villages. White House says President Obama telephoned Karzai, and that both leaders agreed to talk further about the Afghan leader's demand.

 

A Syrian revolt is reportedly brewing¹⁷ outside the capital for the first time in weeks as activists¹⁸ gather for yet another funeral. A group of men gathering¹⁹ in Idlib, one of the cities targeted in the military's crackdown. The UN estimates thousands of people have been killed since the start of the uprising in Syria a year ago. 

 

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was down 20 points at 13,233; NASDAQ down one at 3,055; S&P 500 up two.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Belgium is observing a national day of mourning. Bells chimed in unison²⁰ this morning as millions of people observed a moment of silence for the 28 people killed in a tunnel bus crash Tuesday in Switzerland. Most of the victims were children.

 

It was like a scene out of one of George Clooney's movies, handcuffed and hauled away. But today it was the really deal. He and others trespass²¹ on Sudanese embassy property in full glare of the media to protest the region's ongoing²² violence and the African government's blockade on relief.

 

“Immediately, we need humanitarian²³ aid to be allowed into the Sudan before it becomes the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.”

 

Clooney was also on Capital Hill this weekend, met with President Obama about stepping up international help.

 

Final approval from the International Monetary²⁴ Fund or the IMF means Greece is now assured of getting its second bailout from international lenders. Teri Schultz reports though they are warning Athens it must do more to get back on its feet.

 

Greece's second rescue worth 170 billion dollars will let it escape bankruptcy²⁵ for now. But monitors from the European Union, the IMF and the European Central Bank, known as the Troika, have just released their quarterly report. It indicates that even if Greece follows through on the reform pledges made to obtain this lifeline, the government probably won't be able to support itself once the money runs out in 2015. Troika spokesman Matthias Mors says further austerity measures will be needed regardless of the population's vigorous opposition²⁶.

 

“There’s no alternative to it. It is not possible to continue with an uncompetitive economy.”

 

The Troika report says in particular, Athens needs to work on ending tax evasion²⁷ and cutting bureaucracy for businesses. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.

1 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。

2 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

3 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

4 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

5 prank   

n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己

参考例句：

• It was thought that the fire alarm had been set off as a prank.人们认为火警报警器响是个恶作剧。
• The dean was ranking the boys for pulling the prank.系主任正在惩罚那些恶作剧的男学生。

6 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

7 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》

8 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

9 slaughtering   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The Revolutionary Tribunal went to work, and a steady slaughtering began. 革命法庭投入工作，持续不断的大屠杀开始了。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• \"Isn't it terrific slaughtering pigs? “宰猪的！ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

12 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。

13 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

14 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

15 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

16 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

17 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

18 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》

19 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

20 unison   

n.步调一致，行动一致

参考例句：

• The governments acted in unison to combat terrorism.这些国家的政府一致行动对付恐怖主义。
• My feelings are in unison with yours.我的感情与你的感情是一致的。

21 trespass   

n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地

参考例句：

• The fishing boat was seized for its trespass into restricted waters.渔船因非法侵入受限制水域而被扣押。
• The court sentenced him to a fine for trespass.法庭以侵害罪对他判以罚款。

22 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

23 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

24 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

25 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

26 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。

27 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。