NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-02-24

 US and Mexican authorities have captured a major drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán is a head of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports he was taken into custody¹ earlier today. 

He looks skinny; his hair was dead judblock, and he had a black mustache too. He was escorted by a huge amount of federal officials. 2 army soldiers had him one by each arm and one had bend the neck as he was taken to a helicopter where he would be transported to federal offices there in Mexico City. And it's the first time that Mexicans have seen "El Chapo” Guzmán in several years. 

Guzmán is facing multiple indictments² in the United States. 

 

Anti-government protestors in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev are welcoming moves by parliament to dissolve the government of Viktor Yanukovych. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports, lawmakers have set a day for new election and voted to dismiss president Yanukovych. 

After this vote is taken, cheers are erupted and people start to singing the national anthem³. The deals are down, it was the deputy speaker of parliament said as the votes was taken. And along with that vote, there was another vote to pose new presidential election in May which, of courses, much earlier than the deal that struck between European Minister and Yanukovych and also opposition⁴ leaders just 24 hours earlier. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is accusing Ukraine opposition of failing to fill its side of that peace deal. He says today's action is a threat to Ukraine sovereignty. 

 

The UN Security Council today voted unanimously to demand Syria widen  access for humanitarian⁵ aid workers to reach war-shattered civilians⁶. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports the UN estimates that more than 9 million Syrian are in need. 

Scores of civilians are largely cut off in besieged⁷ cities include Homs. The security council resolution calls for immediate⁸ and wider cross-board aid access everywhere in Syria. the resolution also condemned⁹ rights abuses by both Syrian government and opposition armed groups. That clause help to get back from Russia and China who were previously¹⁰ blocked to Security Council efforts on Syria. This is not clear what if any impact the resolution will have on the ground. Its threats on specified¹¹ further steps if Syria failed to comply within 30 days. China and Russia unlikely to support further steps in this conflict that did killed more than 130,000 Syrians. Eric Westervelt, NPR News. 

 

Mass protests continue today in Venezuela's capital, Caracas. The country jailed opposition leader urged the supporters to protest peacefully to discontent over high crime and food shortages. The country has marred¹² by violence in recent days. 

 

This is NPR News. 

 

At Vatican, Pope Francis has named the newest members of the colleagues of Cardinals¹⁴ which divides the Pope and chooses his successor. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports, Francis has selected old friends and a few Vatican bureaucrats¹⁵.

Many of Francis' 19 picks for Cardinals red hats come from the peripheries¹⁶ of the world. The globe South where 2/3 of the world 1.2 billion Catholics live. 

2 hail from Africa, 2 from Asian and 6 from Francis native Latin America. One of the most surprising choices is Chibly Langlois, who now becomes the first Cardinal¹³ of Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world. Another is Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, archbishop of Seoul, South Korea, whose grandparents were executed in an  anti-Christian persecution¹⁷, and one of the Pope's most like-minded picks burkina faso's Philippe Nakellentuba Ouedraogo, who has denounced the inequality, injustice¹⁸, poverty and misery¹⁹ of today's society. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News. Rome. 

 

President Obama is repeating calls for a hike of minimum wage. 

"Right now, there’s a bill before Congress that would boost America’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. That’s easy to remember – “ten-ten.” That bill would lift wages for more than 16 million Americans without requiring a single dollar in new taxes or spending."

Speaking in his weekly address, Obama says 6 states have already raised their minimum wage and he is taking action for federal contractors²⁰. He says Congress should finish the job. 

In the Republican address, Congressman²¹ Tom Cotton of Arkansas said the president's policies are hurting Americans. 

1 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。

2 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

3 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

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 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 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。

11 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

12 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

13 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

14 cardinals   

红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数

参考例句：

• cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
• A conclave of cardinals was held to elect the new Pope. 红衣主教团举行了秘密会议来选举新教皇。

15 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

16 peripheries   

n.外围( periphery的名词复数 )；边缘；周围

参考例句：

• The peripheries are lined by respiratory epithelium. 表面是线性排列的呼吸道上皮。 来自互联网

17 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

18 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

19 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

20 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。