NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-04-10

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

 

　　The Lone¹ Star Community College campus in Cypress², Texas is a crime scene this hour, following a stabbing attack that left 14 people, two of them critically. Sheriff Adrian Garcia recounts the 911 call that sent various law enforcement officials racing³ to the Houston area school this morning.

 

　　At 11:12 am, we received a call at our 911 call center. The call was described as male on the loose stabbing people.

 

　　The suspect in custody⁴ is described as a white male student about 21 years old, Lone Star's Cy-Fair Campus is expected to resume normal operations tomorrow. The attack came three months after a shooting on another Lone Star campus where two people were wounded.

 

　　The fight for tighter gun control continues with vice⁵ President Joe Biden's meeting with a group of law enforcement officers at the White House today. NPR's Scott Horsley reports Biden urged the group to lobby reluctant lawmakers.

 

　　Vice President Biden says it's time for lawmakers to vote yea or nay⁶ on a series of gun control bills, including one that would require background checks for all future gun purchases. Some Republican senators are promising⁷ to block such a vote. Biden says he wishes those senators could have listened in when he met the families of children killed at Sandy Hook elementary school.

 

　　People say what I am going to say to NRA, I got some questions for it. What are you going to say to those parents? Look them in the eye and tell them you concluded there's nothing you can do?

 

　　Biden who led the administration's gun violence task force, insisted the proposed laws would not compromise second amendment⁸ rights. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 

　　Alluding⁹ to possible military action on the peninsula North Korea is warning foreign companies and tourists to evacuate¹⁰ South Korea. But analysts¹¹ say Pyongyang has issued similar threats in previous years, believing that the more North Korea's fear, the less likely it will be attacked.

 

　　The Syrian government is rejecting a UN probe into allegations of chemical weapons used in Syria. NPR's Susannah George reports the investigation¹² was drafted after both the Syrian government and opposition¹³ forced treated blame for an alleged¹⁴ chemical weapons attack last month.

 

　　The UN team poised¹⁵ to enter Syria this week, is now standing¹⁶ down, waiting in nearby Cyprus for word of the next move. The Syrian Foreign Ministry¹⁷ quoted by pro-government state TV, says it called off the probe after the UN asked for additional investigations¹⁸ and that constitutes a violation¹⁹ of Syrian sovereignty. There have been three alleged chemical weapons attacks in Aleppo, Damascus and Homs. The Syrian government only requested UN investigation into the Aleppo attack. Susannah George, NPR News, Beirut.

 

　　Before the closing bell, Dow was up 60 points.

 

　　You are listening to NPR News.

 

　　A new study says much of the money the federal government gives to needy²⁰ college students through Pell grants is wasted. NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports an expert panel wants to overhaul²¹ the program.

 

　　A blue-ribbon panel convened²² by the college board wants the 48-year-old Pell Grant program to focus on students who actually stay in school and graduate, because right now, too many drop out. A new analysis shows that of the 9.4 million students who rely on Pell Grants averaging about $3,700 per award, only a fraction earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Too many aren't ready for college or they drop out because they have to work. Among all the recipients²³, 25 years and older, only 3% earn a degree. This age group now makes up nearly half of all Pell Grant recipients, most have been laid off. They get little or no guidance about what to study and they tend to enroll²⁴ in schools with high dropout²⁵ rates. Experts say this is wasteful²⁶. Claudio Sanchez, NPR News.

 

　　U.S. authorities are trying to get back two Florida boys a 4-year-old and 2-year-old, who were illegally wasted away to Cuba by their parents. Even though, they'd lost custody of the kids. The boys' maternal²⁷ grandparents were granted permanent custody last week. The U.S. and Cuba have no extradition²⁸ agreement. Washington is looking to Cuba for cooperation in a case drawing parallels to Elian Gonzalez case over a decade ago that thrust a 5-year-old into an international custody battle.

 

　　Consumer demand appears to be stronger than wholesalers had anticipated. The Commerce Department says in February, wholesalers scaled back their stockpile 0.3%, while sales surged 1.7%.

 

　　This is NPR News.

1 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

2 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

3 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

4 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

7 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

8 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

9 alluding   

提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He didn't mention your name but I was sure he was alluding to you. 他没提你的名字，但是我确信他是暗指你的。
• But in fact I was alluding to my physical deficiencies. 可我实在是为自己的容貌寒心。

10 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

11 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。

12 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。

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 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

15 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

16 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。

17 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

18 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

19 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

20 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

21 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。

22 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

23 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

24 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

25 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。

26 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

27 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

28 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。