NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-06-07

 The Obama administration says hackers¹ apparently² got into government computers back in December—four months before they were detected. NPR’s Brian Naylor reports four million current and former federal employees will be notified on Monday that their data may have been compromised.

The Office of Personnel Management discovered the breach³ in April after it installed a security upgrade which detected the hackers who’d been lurking⁴ since late last year. It was the second time OPM’s computers had been breached⁵ in the past year. White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the government takes computer security seriously. 

“To say that our computer systems in the federal government are at risk is not news. We understand that there is this persistent⁶ risk out there. This is a risk, by the way, that is shared by the private sector⁷.” 

Experts say because of the personal data they contain, OPM’s computers are attacked at some 2.5 billion times each month. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Washington.

 

Authorities in Minnesota have filed criminal charges against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis—charges related to the Church’s handle of clergy⁸ sex abuse claims. According to prosecutors⁹ in Ramsay County, misdemeanor charges were filed today, naming the Archdiocese as a whole including six counts that the Archdiocese failed to protect children by not immediately reporting allegations of an abuse. A priest there later pleaded guilty to molesting¹⁰ two brothers and was sentenced to five years in prison. 

 

In a positive sign for the U.S. economy, the government today released a better-than-expected unemployment report. As NPR’s Chris Arnold explains, the country gained 280,000 jobs last month. 

As one expert put it this morning, economists¹¹ around the world are breathing a sigh of relief. That’s because the U.S. economy actually shrank in the first quarter and job growth was very weak in March. So another anemic number might have meant the U.S. economy was stumbling, which would not be good for the struggling economies of many other countries. But on top of this very strong job growth number in May, revisions to prior months added another 32,000 jobs. So all these suggest the economy is continuing to grow and recover. May also saw better wage growth, but it’ll take more than a one-month uptick to fix the problem of stagnant¹² wages for U.S. workers. So that’s an area that many people will be looking for continued improvement in the months to come. Chris Arnold, NPR News. 

 

Former BP executive accused of lying to regulators about the 2010 Gulf¹³ of Mexico oil spill has been found not guilty. David Rainey was accused by prosecutors of manipulating miscalculations to show just 5,000 barrels a day was leaking into the ocean. This year federal judge estimated upwards¹⁴ of 36,000 barrels a day, or a total 3.2 million barrels’ leak. Federal jurors apparently agreed with Rainey’s defense¹⁵ team, which claimed the miscalculation was done honestly. 

 

Mixed close on Wall Street to wind down the week. The Dow dropped 56 points to 17,849. The Nasdaq was up 9 points. 

 

This is NPR.

 

U.S. government regulators are acknowledging that one reason a problem with faulty ignition switches on some GM model vehicles was allowed to continue as long as it did was because they didn’t understand all the technology involved. The admission comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a series of reports and actions, deciding to make the agency more aggressive and ruling out safety violations¹⁶. Agency administrator¹⁷ Mark Rosekind says GM case has challenged the culture and did so. 

 

At the French Open today, an intense men’s semifinal was suspended because of bad weather. NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley reports No.1 and No.3 seeds were battling for the fourth set when they were forced to stop. 

A crowd booed when a referee¹⁸ came out to suspend the match because of an approaching thunderstorm. The play was intensely competitive as Murray turned up his game several notches¹⁹ after losing the first two sets to Djokovic. The men hammered each other with power shots and the crowd and announcers reveled as Murray took the third set 7:5. Djokovic and Murray were tied three all in the fourth set when the play was stopped. They’ll finish the match on Saturday. The winner will face eighth seeded Stan Wawrinka on Sunday. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. 

 

While socially they may both be somewhat questionable²⁰, in terms of the law in Minneapolis, Minnesota both lurking and spitting are now no longer viewed as criminal acts. Minnesota Public Radio reports the city council there today voted 12 to 1 to repeal²¹ ordinances²² banning both practices. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges called the ordinances antiquated²³. Critics had claimed the laws unfairly targeted minorities. Recent analyses have found many people arrested for those lower-level crimes were minorities. 

1 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

4 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

6 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

7 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。

8 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

9 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。

10 molesting   

v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• He was accused of sexually molesting a female colleague. 他被指控对一位女同事进行性骚扰。 来自辞典例句
• He was charged with molesting a woman. 他被指控调戏妇女。 来自辞典例句

11 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》

12 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

13 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

14 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。

15 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。

16 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

17 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

18 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

19 notches   

n.（边缘或表面上的）V型痕迹( notch的名词复数 )；刻痕；水平；等级

参考例句：

• The Indians cut notches on a stick to keep count of numbers. 印第安人在棒上刻V形凹痕用来计数。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They cut notches in the handle of their pistol for each man they shot. 他们每杀一个人就在枪托上刻下一个V形记号。 来自辞典例句

20 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

21 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

22 ordinances   

n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These points of view, however, had not been generally accepted in building ordinances. 然而，这些观点仍未普遍地为其他的建筑条例而接受。 来自辞典例句
• Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. 诗119:156耶和华阿、你的慈悲本为大．求你照你的典章将我救活。 来自互联网

23 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。