NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-08-08

 In a rare rebuke¹, President Obama's turning down Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to meet in Moscow next month, though he still plans to attend the G20 summit in St. Petersburg. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports the White House says Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum² to American Edward Snowden, the analyst³ accused of leaking state secrets, was the final straw.

The Snowden controversy⁴ was just the latest in a long string of disagreements between the US and Russia. The two countries have butted⁵ heads over Syria, arms control, missile defense⁶, gay rights and more. Ben Rhodes is deputy national security adviser⁷ for strategic communications.

揊rankly, we felt it was necessary to say we're going to continue this relationship, and we'll continue to work with Russia on areas where we can agree, but we抮e not going to go forward with this summit. That抯 not going to make progress, and we抮e not going to go forward with the summit against the backdrop of all these negative trends.?

Rhodes says the way to turn the relationship around is to find areas of common interest where the countries can work together -- whether that's investigating the Boston bombing or coordinating⁸ the drawdown in Afghanistan. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

The self-confessed gunman in the 2009 Fort Hood⁹ shooting is denying that he's trying to get the death penalty. But as NPR's Martin Kaste explains, Major Nidal Hasan抯 standby defense counsel says otherwise and now wants out.

揟hat he's been representing himself, but he has the option of going to these defense attorneys who used to represent him. He can still go to them for procedural help, filing (a) motion that sort of thing. They don't wanna be part of that any more. They don't wanna be his aids in that procedural staff. They basically say either he gets real defense help or they don抰 want to be part of that at all.?

NPR's Martin Kaste in Fort Hood, Texas. In his opening statement yesterday, Hasan did not deny that he was the shooter that killed 13 people and wounded more than 30. He was expected to focus his arguments on motive¹⁰.

There was also some mysterious back-and-forth in court today in Boston as jurors mulled the fate of reputed mobster James Whitey Bulger. Lawyers are under gag order and not talking. Earlier today jurors had questions. NPR's Tovia Smith reports they are considering dozens of counts against the 83-year-old who抯 accused of racketeering in everything from money laundering¹¹ to murder.

Jurors asked about statutes¹² of limitation some of the crimes go back decades. But the judge said that wasn't an issue. More notably¹³, says former prosecutor¹⁴ Josh Levy¹⁵, jurors also asked for clarification on aiding and abetting¹⁶ laws.

揥hat I would take from that is that they are focusing like a laser on the government抯 arguments that you don't need to decide who actually committed the physical act of murder, that Mr. Bulger was a participant. Under the law, he is guilty. Legally it does not make a difference.?

Bulger's attorneys contested only a few of the government's charges primarily whether Bulger strangled two women. But the defense conceded that Bulger was indeed making millions from criminal activities. Levy says it抯 making the jury's job somewhat easier. Tovia Smith NPR News, Boston.

Dow was off 48 points at 15,471. This is NPR News.

A new study shows that retirement¹⁷ savings¹⁸ have not recovered from the recent recession. NPR's Ina Jaffe reports that unemployed¹⁹ or underemployed workers had to dip into their retirement savings just to get by.

The survey is the latest annual report from the non-profit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. It shows that 62% of unemployed or underemployed workers have little or no competence²⁰ that they抣l be able to comfortably retire. More than half of unemployed workers who had a 401(k) at their previous job say they've withdrawn²¹ funds from the account. Median retirement savings for all workers who lost jobs during the recession is just 7,500 dollars. Workers in their 40s have the lowest median retirement savings -- just 1,900 dollars. In looking for work, the majority cites higher pay as being more important than retirement benefits. Ina Jaffe, NPR News.

Part of East Africa's largest aviation hub is a scene of charred²² debris²³. Kenya's main airport in Nairobi was engulfed²⁴ in flames today. Short of equipment, firefighters took hours to contain the blaze, and the incident severely²⁵ affected²⁶ the air travel in Africa.

It is really, really hot in China. So hot in fact.

揑t's like someone pointing a hair dryer²⁷ at your face.?

James Griffiths is living and sweating a lot more than usual in over 105-degree weather in Shanghai, where the heat wave is the worst it's been(sic) in at least 140 years. The blog editor says it's miserable²⁸.

揂 friend of mine points out in the middle of the day that he stand(sic) next to a bus. He can't feel the heat coming off the engine because it's the same temperatures as the air around did.?

The heat wave is blame for dozens of deaths in at least 40 cities and counties.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

2 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

5 butted   

对接的

参考例句：

• Two goats butted each other. 两只山羊用角顶架。
• He butted against a tree in the dark. 他黑暗中撞上了一棵树。

6 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。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

8 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

9 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

10 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

11 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

14 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

15 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

16 abetting   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的现在分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• On Earth, unknowingly abetting a criminal doesn't merit this kind of punishment. 在地球上，不知不觉地帮助罪犯并不构成这种惩罚。 来自电影对白
• "By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder." 援助和唆使谋杀的塔利班政权与杀人犯同罪。 来自互联网

17 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

18 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

19 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

20 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

21 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

22 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 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。

24 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

26 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

27 dryer   

n.干衣机，干燥剂

参考例句：

• He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。
• There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

28 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。