NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-03-12

 Russia says it's putting together counter proposals to US plan for a negotiated solution to the Ukraine crisis. It has been just two and a half weeks since scores of demonstrators were killed around Kiev's Independence Square, and Ukraine's former president was forced from office. NPR's Emily Harris is in Kiev. Russia reports Independent Square is still a center of action, and now reflection. 

Speakers and singers still come to the stage on Independence Square most of everyday. People are still laying flowers on the tire barricades¹, candles line the chart pavements.

I think people are just trying to understand what happened, trying to figure out this new situation, said *. It's hard to sort out these two weeks.

Another woman, there with her young daughter, was visiting the square for the first time since the protests began last year. She said she couldn't express how she felt. Emily Harris NPR News, Kiev.

 

 

The Senate has passed additional changes to the within military prosecute² sexual assault. NPR's * reports these latest changes would build upon a larger package Congress passed last December. 

The bill would eliminate the good soldier defense³ in sexual assault cases, meaning a defendant⁴ wouldn't be able to rely on a good service record to fend⁵ off a charge. The legislation also requires that a commander's record in handling sexual assault allegations against subordinates be taken into account in every evaluation⁶ for promotion⁷. Passage of this bill came just days after the Senate narrowly rejected a more far-reaching measure that would've prevented commanders from making the final call about which sexual assault cases to prosecute. Congress passed other reforms last December including requiring that all victims be provided with legal counsel. * NPR News, Washington.

 

 

Just weeks before Washington D.C. mayor Vincent Gray faces voters in a primary for re-election, a key ally has pleaded guilty to charges of funneling⁸ more than $3 m in illegal contributions to Gray, and more than two dozen other candidates. US attorney for the District of Columbia, Ronald Machen.

In 2010, D.C. voters went to the ballot⁹ box never knowing that one mayoral campaign was financing another. And that under-the-table deals conceal¹⁰ $650,000 in secret corporate¹¹ funding for mayoral candidate A's campaign.  

Federal prosecutors¹² identified Mayor Gray in court today as mayoral candidate A. Businessman Jeffrey Thompson has pleaded guilty to two conspiracy¹³ charges, one federal charge and one district charge.  

 

 

Dallas Hockey Star forward Rich Peverley collapsed¹⁴ tonight on the bench at a game against the Columbia Blue Jackets. The game has been called off. A public-address announcement says the 31-year-old Peverley was conscious when he was taken to the hospital.  

 

 

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 34 points ending at 16,418. The NASDAQ fell 1 point to 4,334. And the S&P fell a fraction ending at 1,877. 

 

 

This is NPR News. 

 

 

Officials are tightening¹⁵ security for this year's Boston marathon with increased surveillance and new restrictions¹⁶. NPR's Tovia Smith reports that the beefed up security comes a year after two home-made bombs planted near the finishing line killed three people and wounded hundreds.  

Officials allude¹⁷ to the challenge of securing a 26.2-mile course that runs through streets and 8 cities and towns, saying they are working to reduce risk even if it can't be eliminated. Police presence will be doubled, and plain-cloth officers and video surveillance beefed up. Bags and bag-packs are banned from the course. * emergency management director Kurt Schwartz says spectators will have to go through checkpoints at the most congested areas. 

These simple guidelines, if followed, will comfort people, and will help ensure the safety of the event. 

Unregistered runners known as bandits are also banned, with 9,000 extra official runners this year. Authority say the course is at capacity. Tovia Smith NPR News, Boston.

 

 

Snow-melt flooding in the upper midwest is stranding¹⁸ hundreds of rural mountains, Gov. Steve Bullock declared the emergency. In Wyoming, national guard troops are working to protect the residents of Manderson and Greybull from freezing floodwaters. 

 

 

Former NSA contractor¹⁹ Edward Snowden says technology companies need to do more to protect individual privacy for those surfing the web. Snowden addressed South by Southwest Interactive²⁰ Festival in Austin today via video conference.   

It was once the home of boxer²¹ Joe Louis, and members of the singing group, the Supremes. Detroit's Brewster projects are in the final phase of demolition²². The home was built in 1935. That's the city's first housing project for Africa-Americans. 

1 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

2 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

3 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。

4 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

5 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

6 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

7 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

8 funneling   

[医]成漏斗形：描述膀胱底及膀胱尿道交接区

参考例句：

9 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

10 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

13 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

15 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

16 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

17 allude   

v.提及，暗指

参考例句：

• Many passages in Scripture allude to this concept.圣经中有许多经文间接地提到这样的概念。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles.她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

18 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

19 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

20 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

21 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

22 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。