NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-07-14

　　From NPR News in Washington, I’m Windsor Johnston.

 

　　The Texas Senate has approved legislation to restrict abortion¹. Before last night’s vote state Senator Donna Campbell, who is also a doctor, said the bill will protect women.

 

　　“I strongly support the pro-life legislation and this legislation that helps promote the safety of women when they’re getting, when they choose an abortion. And I strongly urge the members to vote for this bill.”

 

　　The measure bans most abortions² after 20 weeks and imposes tougher standards on abortion clinics. Opponents say most of the clinics that currently offer the procedure will have to close. Republican Governor Rick Perry says he’ll sign the bill into law in the next few days.

 

　　Immigration officials in Russia say they have not received an asylum³ application from fugitive⁴ intelligence analyst⁵ Edward Snowden. NPR’s Corey Flintoff reports that a Russian asylum grant for Snowden could worsen relations with the United States.

 

　　Snowden told an invited group of human rights activists⁶ and pro-Kremlin officials yesterday that he wants a asylum in Russia while he’s exploring the possibility of moving on to the Latin America. He said that he was willing to meet the conditions set by President Vladimir Putin that he stop publishing material that’s damaging to the United States. But Snowden is wanted in the US for revealing secrets about NSA’s surveillance programs. President Obama is scheduled to visit St. Petersburg and Moscow for a G20 summit in September, and it’s not clear whether that plan could change if Russia gives refuge to Snowden. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, St. Petersburg.

 

　　There’s no indication what caused a fire yesterday on an empty Boeing Dreamliner parked for eight hours at London’s Heathrow Airport. Larry Miller⁷ reports that Boeing will be relieved at this time the plane’s batteries appear to be in the clear.

 

　　British Air Accident investigators⁸ say there’s no evidence at this stage to link a fire on an Ethiopian airway’s Dreamliner to the plane’s batteries, a problem that grounded Boeing’s fleet of 787s earlier this year. The Air Accidents Investigation⁹ Branch says it’s clear the fire damage at the back of the plane was far from where the batteries are located. The cause remains¹⁰ a mystery, and the plane’s been moved to a secure hangar at Heathrow while the investigation takes place. Boeing says it’s working with the British to fully¹¹ address and understand why the 787 caught fire. US authorities are also taking part in the investigation. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

 

　　Dozens of people are crowded outside of a Sanford, Florida courthouse, waiting for a jury to hand down the verdict in the murder trial of George Zimmerman. The former neighborhood watch volunteer is charged with second-degree murder after he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last year. The six-women jury resumed deliberations this morning after recessing¹² for the day yesterday.

 

　　This is NPR News in Washington.

 

　　Church bells tolled¹³ in a lakeside town of Quebec are remembering the 50 people believed killed in last week’s train derailment. The train crash in the middle of the town setting off a series of explosions that destroyed homes, businesses and a bar filled with people. The locomotive and 72 tankers¹⁵ carrying crude oil slammed into the community after rolling down a slope in gathering¹⁶ speed. The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train had been parked overnight a few miles away. Meanwhile, investigators in eastern Canada say it could take months to determine the exact cause of last weekend’s accident. North Country Public Radio’s Brian Mann reports the probe is being slowed by the massive destruction and by heavy contamination.

 

　　Wendy Tadros, head of Canada’s Transportation Safety Board, says her teams are working in an area still thick with oil and chemicals and can only reach about half of downtown Lac-Megantic.

 

　　“There is much we do not know. There are many questions we need to ask and answer. ”

 

　　Crews are still trying to pump tens of thousands of gallons of oil out of wrecked¹⁷ tanker¹⁴ cars, which lie jumbled¹⁸ in the heart of the village. For NPR News, I’m Brian Mann in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

 

　　Officials are planning to use a powerful crane to start lifting smashed train cars off the railway line after a commuter¹⁹ train derailed near Paris last night. Six people are dead and dozens of others were injured. Investigators believe equipment failures to blame. That’s after they found a detached piece of metal in the switching joint²⁰ on the tracks.

 

　　A third person is confirmed dead after last weekend’s crash landing of a jetliner in San Francisco. Officials say the girl, who was from China, had been listed in critical condition.

 

　　This is NPR News.

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

3 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

4 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 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。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 recessing   

v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的现在分词 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭

参考例句：

• Beds, recessing into walls, are to be serviced by machine from outside. 床能够缩进墙里，可以在外面用机器整理。 来自辞典例句
• Recessing the oxidizer tube improves stability. 氧化剂管的凹陷使稳定性增强。 来自辞典例句

13 tolled   

鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Bells were tolled all over the country at the King's death. 全国为国王之死而鸣钟。
• The church bell tolled the hour. 教堂的钟声报时。

14 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

15 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

16 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

17 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

18 jumbled   

adj.混乱的；杂乱的

参考例句：

• Books, shoes and clothes were jumbled together on the floor. 书、鞋子和衣服胡乱堆放在地板上。
• The details of the accident were all jumbled together in his mind. 他把事故细节记得颠三倒四。

19 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

20 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。