NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-08-27

 Secretary of State John Kerry is accusing the Syrian government of using chemical weapons against rebel forces and destroying the evidence. Kerry's comments come as the Pentagon is drawing up plans to strike Syrian military targets. NPR's Tom Bowman has the latest.

Kerry called the use of chemical weapons a moral of sanity¹ and said the US is working with its allies about how to respond.

“All people and all nations, who believe in the cause of our common humanity, must stand up to assure that there is accountability for the use of chemical weapons so that it never happens again.”

Meanwhile, the US is preparing military options against Syria. The most likely option Pentagon officials say: cruise missiles fired from US Navy ships in the eastern Mediterranean². The targets could include military headquarters, command centers, as well as missile and rocket launch sites the US says were tied to the chemical munitions³. Tom Bowman, NPR News, Washington.

Meanwhile, Russia's trying to wave off Western powers from the possibility of military action against their Syrian ally. Today Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that no one has concrete proof that Syria's military was responsible for a chemical weapons attack.

Burst of gunfire in the area during a Palestinian funeral procession in the West Bank today, people were mourning the deaths of three Palestinians who they say were killed by Israeli soldiers during clashes following an arrest raid at a refugee camp. This occurred hours before negotiators were scheduled to hold another round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Today President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to an American soldier who survived a deadly firefight in Afghanistan. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports Staff Sgt. Ty Carter is the fifth living Iraq or Afghanistan veteran to receive this award.

Four years ago at a remote US outpost in Afghanistan, more than 300 Taliban fighters attacked a small group of US soldiers. Staff Sgt. Ty Carter charged through the gunfire to drag foreign friends to safety. President Obama spoke⁴ at the White House.

“It was chaos⁵ -- a blizzard⁶ of bullets and steel into which Ty ran not once or twice, or even a few times, but perhaps ten time, and in doing so, he displayed the essence of true heroism⁷.”

Eight Americans were killed in the attack. Twenty-five were injured. Carter is the second soldier from this fight to receive the Medal of Honor. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, the White House.

San Francisco is racing⁸ to fill area reservoirs now that its water supply's threatened by wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National Park. Officials worried about ash from the 234-square-mile blaze. The Rim⁹ Fire is reported to be about 15% contained.

Before the closing bell, Dow was down 64 points at 14,947. This is NPR News.

Orders for durable¹⁰ goods, big-ticket items fell last month. NPR's Jeanine Herbst reports businesses pulled back on spending.

After three months of increases, the Commerce Department says durable goods fell 7.3% in July mostly because of a big drop in orders of commercial airplanes and military goods. But economist¹¹ Scott Brown says ‘take the report with a grain of salt.’

“You tend to get a lot of volatility¹² in orders. They tend to bunch up, particularly in the transportation sector¹³. We saw very strong order results from Boeing in both May and June. So all we’re really seeing here is a pullback from that strength.”

Brown says it doesn’t necessarily indicate things got weaker in July because durable goods are by nature volatile¹⁴ since businesses don't need to buy big-ticket items every month. Jeanine Herbst, NPR News, Washington.

A military jury has been hearing testimony¹⁵ today from family members and survivors¹⁶ of the 2009 Fort Hood¹⁷ shooting that claimed 13 lives and wounded more than 30 people. In the sentencing phase of Major Nidal Hasan's trial in Texas, one soldier testified that after suffering multiple gunshot wounds, his cognitive¹⁸ level is about that of a tenth- or eleventh-grader. Hasan could get the death penalty.

One of Indonesia's most influential¹⁹ Islamic groups wants the government to cancel the Miss World pageant²⁰ scheduled next month. It's protesting the exposure of women’s skin during the competition, which it says violates Muslim teachings. However, organizers say they've already made adjustments such as eliminating the pageant’s bikini competition.

US stocks were mixed, before the close, with the Dow down 65 points, NASDAQ up slightly and the S&P 500 down slightly. This is NPR.

1 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

2 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

3 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

7 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

8 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。

9 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

10 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

14 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

15 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

16 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

17 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。

18 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

19 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

20 pageant   

n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧

参考例句：

• Our pageant represented scenes from history.我们的露天历史剧上演一幕幕的历史事件。
• The inauguration ceremony of the new President was a splendid pageant.新主席的就职典礼的开始是极其壮观的。