NPR 2012-04-13

 Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman made his first appearance before a Florida court this afternoon. He is facing second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman's exchanged with Judge Mark Herr with brief.

 

“You are appearing here for your first appearances, first appearance at this time for a charge of murder in the second degree, and you are represented by Mr. O'Mara. Is that true?” 

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

NPR's Greg Allen reports today's hearing was short and did not get into the question of bail¹ for Zimmerman.

 

The hearing today was very brief. It's what they called his first court appearance, and just so he could hear the charges against him. He won't be formally arraigned² until the end of May. That's more than a month away. So he’ll be in the Seminole County Jail for much of that time. Between now and then, Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara says he will ask for a bail hearing and will see what happens at that point. That will happen in a couple of weeks, probably. It's not clear yet whether the prosecutors³ will oppose bail or not. They wouldn't say today. They said they’ll cross that bridge when they get there.

 

Earlier today, Tryavon Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton told NBC that she believes the shooting of her son was an accident after things got out of hand.

 

Saying it is time for a fundamental change of course, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on the Syrian government and opposition⁴ forces to observe a ceasefire and adhere to a six-point plan to bring peace to the country.

 

“The world is watching, however, with skeptical⁵ eyes, since many promises previously⁶ made by the government had not been kept.”

 

With the exception of only scattered⁷ violence, Ban says Syria does appear to be calm today since the ceasefire took place. 

 

More homes in the US are entering the foreclosure process. NPR's Chris Arnold reports the jump in foreclosure activity follows a recent settlement between banks and state and federal regulators.

 

Until this 25-billion-dollar settlement back in February, banks and other lenders were sitting on a growing mountain of delinquent⁸ mortgages. Now that the deal’s been struck, banks have once again been pushing ahead with foreclosures. At least that's what the latest data from the firm Realty Trac would suggest. The number of homes that received first-time foreclosure notices rose 7% in March. Many economists⁹ expect that several million more homes will come on the market through foreclosures or other distressed¹⁰ sales. That gluts¹¹ the housing market with too many homes, and it can push down prices, though lately it has been pushed by some investors¹² to buy up thousands of these properties in bulk and convert them into rental¹³ homes. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

 

After weeks of steady declines, applications for jobless benefits jumped last week. The Labor¹⁴ Department says unemployment claims increased 13,000 to a seasonally¹⁵ adjusted average of 380,000.

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 178 points today at 12,978. Three billion shares have been traded. The NASDAQ Composite Index is up 40 points at 3,056, and the S&P 500 is also up today and trading 18 points at 1,387.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Natural gas prices are now at their lowest levels in more than ten years, and analysts¹⁶ say supply is growing so fast that underground storage facilities could be full by the end of the year. New technologies are allowing producers to tap untapped gas reserves. 

 

The Coast Guard is investigating reports of an oil sheen in the Gulf¹⁷ of Mexico. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports a patch of surface oil is near wells operated by Shell.

 

The Coast Guard is sending a helicopter to the site, some 130 miles southeast of New Orleans. Petty Officer Bill Colclough says a pollution officer will examine what's been reported as a “light sheen” on the Gulf.

 

“It is a rainbow sheen in dimensions over approximately one mile by ten miles in length.”

 

Shell Oil has also dispatched a skimmer vessel¹⁸ to the scene for cleanup and to investigate the source of the oil. The company says there’s no indication the sheen originated from its wells. But it's sending a response ship as a precaution. The sheen is about 50 miles from the site of the Deepwater Horizon explosion two years ago, which killed 11 rig workers and spewed some 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

 

Jury selection is underway in the trial of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. He’s accused of using campaign funds to hide an affair. The North Carolina judge in the case says the question is whether Edwards violated campaign finance laws, not whether he was a good husband. 

 

New York City officials say in the end it was only a toy grenade. But for about an hour and a half today, its discovery in a package prompted the evacuation of Two World Trade Center. That building was heavily damaged by falling debris¹⁹ during the 2001 terrorist attacks.

 

I'm Jim Howard, NPR News in Washington.

1 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

2 arraigned   

v.告发( arraign的过去式和过去分词 )；控告；传讯；指责

参考例句：

• He was arraigned for murder. 他因谋杀罪而被提讯。
• She was arraigned for high treason. 她被控叛国罪。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 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。

5 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

8 delinquent   

adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者

参考例句：

• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds.多数少年犯都有未受教育的背景。
• He is delinquent in paying his rent.他拖欠房租。

9 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》

10 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

11 gluts   

n.供过于求( glut的名词复数 )；过量供应；放纵；尽量v.吃得过多( glut的第三人称单数 )；（对胃口、欲望等）纵情满足；使厌腻；塞满

参考例句：

• As a result there are localised gluts. 因此出现了供过于求的现象。 来自互联网
• Asia is a land of saving gluts flip side to US and European deficits. 亚洲是一个储蓄过剩之地，与美国和欧洲的储蓄不足刚好相反。 来自互联网

12 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

13 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

14 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。

15 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 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。

18 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

19 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。