NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-01-08

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

 

　　President Obama has nominated former GOP Senator Chuck Hagel to be secretary of defense¹ and CIA veteran John Brennan to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Both could face tough questioning during their Senate confirmation² hearings. NPR’s Craig Windham reports Mr. Obama says the nominations³ were based on who would do the best job of securing America.

 

　　The president says both men have the advantage of experience on the ground working with rank-and-file troops and intelligence officers.

 

　　“It will provide me the kinds of insights that I need in making very difficult decisions, but it will also mean that these folks are gonna be looking out for the people who work for them.”

 

　　Hagel says he has a deep connection with the nation’s military personnel.

 

　　“These are people who give so much to this nation every day with such dignity and selflessness.”

 

　　And Brennan has similar words for those in the intelligence community.

 

　　“They need and deserve the support of all of their fellow Americans, especially at a time of such tremendous national security challenges.”

 

　　Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　Regulators are hitting 10 mortgage-servicing companies with 8.5 billion dollars in penalties for widespread abuses involving mortgages and foreclosures. NPR’s John Ydstie tells us eligible⁴ borrowers will receive compensation ranging from a few hundred dollars up to 125,000 dollars.

 

　　The penalties include 3.3 billion dollars in direct payments to borrowers and 5.2 billion in other assistance, such as loan modifications⁵ and the forgiveness of deficiency judgments⁶. Regulators from the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said the agreement will end the Independent Foreclosure Review program, which involves case-by-case reviews of mortgage abuses, and replace it with a broad framework allowing eligible borrowers to get compensation more quickly. Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are among the 10 companies being penalized⁷ for abuses, such as mishandling paperwork and skipping steps in the foreclosure process. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　James Holmes, a former graduate student charged with last July’s mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora⁸, Colorado, was back in court today for preliminary hearing to determine whether he should stand trial. Megan Verlee of Colorado Public Radio tells us this was the first time the public including survivors⁹ got an extensive look at the evidence surrounding the rampage that killed 12 people and wounded dozens more.

 

　　Clear the prosecution¹⁰ wants to lay out how thoroughly¹¹ planned this attack was that Holmes was in body armor, that he had acquired a lot of weapons. So this was not a spontaneous event for the defense’ another chance to suggest Holmes’ mental state that night that he was suffering from some sort of mental illness.

 

　　This is NPR News.

 

　　Federal health officials are warning this flu season is turning out to be one of the worst they’ve seen in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Tom Skinner says in the last week of December flu was widespread.

 

　　“Pretty much the whole country or most of the country is either seeing moderate or severe flu activity at this point.”

 

　　The CDC says flu-related child deaths have increased to 18. Skinner says the vaccine¹² many people received for this year’s flu strains may not have been 100% effective but has helped reduce the severity of the illnesses.

 

　　A painting by the French master Henri Matisse has been recovered in Britain a quarter of century after it was stolen in Sweden. NPR’s Philip Reeves says it is valued at around one million dollars.

 

　　The painting is a small landscape called Le Jardin. It was snatched off the walls of the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm in 1987 by a burglar who broke in at night using a sledgehammer. The museum reportedly refused several early ransom¹³ demands, and since then the painting’s whereabouts have remained a mystery. Now it’s been recovered by an American, Christopher Marinello, from the London-based Art Loss Register, the world’s largest private database of stolen art. Marinello says his organization was contacted by a British dealer¹⁴ who was apparently¹⁵ considering buying it from a Polish collector but first wanted to check if it was stolen. For security reasons, Marinello is not saying how he got hold of the painting. But he is arranging for its return to Sweden. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.

 

　　A last check on Wall Street, Dow was off 54 points a 13,381, NASDAQ down seven at 3,095, S&P 500 off five at 1,461.

 

　　This is NPR.

1 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。

2 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

3 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

4 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

5 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

7 penalized   

对…予以惩罚( penalize的过去式和过去分词 )； 使处于不利地位

参考例句：

• You will be penalized for poor spelling. 你拼写不好将会受到处罚。
• Team members will be penalized for lateness. 队员迟到要受处罚。

8 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

10 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

11 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

12 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

13 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

14 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

15 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。