NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-05-31

 Fifa’s incumbent¹ president Sepp Blatter has won another four-year term in office despite major corruption² investigations³ being open into potential illegalities committed under his rule. Teri Schultz reports it remains⁴ to be seen if the European soccer federation⁵ will take protest actions as threatened in the case of a Blatter victory. 

Blatter remains at Fifa’s helm despite being plagued for a year and especially for the last three days by allegations that he’s complicit in decades of deep corruption in soccer’s world governing body. 

“I thank you. Together we go. Let’s go, Fifa. Let’s go, Fifa.”

Blatter’s challenger, Jordanian Prince Ali bin⁶ Al-Hussein, withdrew rather than face a second vote required after an inconclusive first round. 

“I want to thank in particular all of those of you who are brave enough to support me.”

Much of Prince Ali’s support came from the European soccer federation Uefa, whose leader Michel Platini tried to convince Blatter to resign. It’s unclear whether Platini will really withdraw the group from Fifa as he threatened to do if Blatter won. For NPR News, I’m Teri Schultz in Brussels. 

 

New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and NBC are all reporting former House speaker Dennis Hastert was paying a man to not say publically the Republican sexually abused him decades ago. NPR has not independently confirmed details of the reports. According to the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago, Hastert has not been arrested following yesterday’s indictment⁸ linked to allegations he agreed to pay $3.5m to a long-time acquaintance. The indictment notes Hastert was a former high school teacher from 1965 to 1981 and a wrestling coach. 

 

U.S. economy slipped backwards⁹ during the first quarter of the year. That’s according to government data out today. NPR’s John Ydstie reports bad weather and a strong dollar were part to blame, but there are also questions about the accuracy of the government’s data. 

The government initially¹⁰ reported a small increase in the economy’s output during the first three months of the year, but edited information shows it actually contracted at an annual rate of 0.7%. A downward revision in U.S. exports was a big reason. The recent strength of the dollar has made U.S. exports more expensive abroad. Decline in business investment also dragged the economy down, and consumers’ spending was weak partly because bad weather kept people at home. But recent research also points to problems in the seasonal¹¹ adjustment of first-quarter growth data that consistently make the economy look weaker than it really is in January, February and March. Economists¹² are working on a fix. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

 

U.S. consumers were less upbeat this month. The University of Michigan survey shows the group’s consumer sentiment index declined by just over 5% to its lowest level since November. According to the survey, consumers were less upbeat about both current and future economic conditions.   

 

A down ended the week for Wall Street. The Dow dropped 115 points to settle at 18,010. The Nasdaq fell 27 points. The Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 13 points today. 

 

You are listening to NPR News in Washington. 

 

Rivers in Texas again burst their banks today as historic storms continue to palm the state. So far severe weather there is to blame for at least 22 deaths and damaged thousands of structures. At least four others have died in Oklahoma. Between last night and today, upwards¹³ of seven inches of rain fell in Dallas, causing hundreds of vehicles to be trapped on a suburban¹⁴ freeway. The National Weather Service today issued flash flood warnings from central Texas to Kansas. 

 

Flights are being diverted and residents are being evacuated¹⁵ as an active volcano continues to erupt in remote southwestern Japan. From Tokyo, John Matthews reports there have been no injuries or damage so far.

A ship is the only way to get to the small volcanic¹⁶ island of Kuchinoerabu-jima, which around 130 residents call home. Emergency respondents are being dispatched to the area after a major explosion at 10:00 a.m. local time sent super-heated power pyroclastic flows into the ocean, triggered and ordered for a complete evacuation. This isn’t the first time the islanders have seen an eruption¹⁷ though. Some areas are still off limits after a volcanic activity last August, which an academic observer says was somewhat less severe than today’s. The observer says there’s no conclusive⁷ evidence whether this morning’s eruption will continue or not, pressing the need for ongoing¹⁸ caution to those in the area. For NPR News, I’m John Matthews in Tokyo. 

 

Another Democratic presidential hopeful is apparently¹⁹ preparing to announce. Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee is expected to announce next week his plans for the presidential nomination²⁰. According to Chafee’s spokesperson, the former governor will deliver a speech in Arlington, Virginia. Chafee, who surprised many when he formed an exploratory committee, has been critical of frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Chafee, a former Republican, voted against the invasion of Iraq in 2003. 

 

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 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。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

6 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

7 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

8 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

9 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

12 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

14 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

15 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

16 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

17 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

18 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

19 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

20 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。