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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
From NPR News in Washington, I’m Barbara Klein.
President Obama is in Singapore for a series of meetings with leaders from Asia, including the military government of Myanmar, which the US has long tried to isolate1. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports.
President Obama won’t take part in formal diplomatic talks with Myanmar’s Prime Minister Thein Sein, but they’ll both be attending a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Administration officials say they didn’t want to boycott2 the meeting just because Myanmar or Burma would be represented there. And, anyway, President Obama says US efforts to ignore the Burmese ruler have not worked.
”Despite years of good intentions, neither sanctions by the United States nor engagement by others succeeded in improving the lives of the Burmese people. So we are now communicating directly with the leadership to make it clear that existing sanctions will remain until there are concrete steps toward democratic reform.”
Mr. Obama will also be holding private talks with the leaders in Singapore, Russia and Indonesia, the country where he spent part of his youth. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Singapore.
In his weekly pre-recorded address today, President Obama called on Congress to postpone3 investigations4 into the shootings at Fort Hood5 in Texas in order to allow federal law enforcement and military authorities to complete their probes first.
The Pakistani city of Peshawar was hit again today by a suspected suicide bomber6. At least ten people were killed. Yesterday a massive truck bomb killed at least ten.
Google’s controversial plans to establish a digital book library have been revised because of concerns that it would create a monopoly. NPR’s Wendy Kaufman has details.
In 2005, authors and publishers sued Google for scanning their books and making them searchable online. Three years later, Google, the authors and publishers proposed a settlement. Google could include the scanned books in its search engine and sell access to them; in exchange, the company would pay 125 million dollars and share some of the revenue with authors and publishers. That deal was sharply criticized by many countries along with Amazon and Microsoft and other members of the Open Book Alliance, who said it was overly broad and anti-competitive. Late Friday night, Google, authors and publishers submitted a scaled-back plan to the court overseeing the matter. The Open Book Alliance immediately blasted it as a mere7 sleight8 of hand. Whether the revised plan will be approved by the court remains9 unclear. Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.
The European Union reports the recession in the 16-nation Euro zone is officially over with 0.4% growth in the third quarter of the year. That’s up from a 0.2% decline in the previous quarter. Analysts10 attribute the growth to French and German exports and billions of euros spent in government stimulus11 money. But the weak dollar could cut exports in the final three months of the year.
This is NPR News.
The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization is on a hunger strike for 24 hours to show solidarity12 with the world’s one billion hungry people. Meanwhile, the World Food Program launched a campaign today to raise money for the hungry from individuals rather than just governments.
Some of financial conman Bernard Madoff’s belongings13 are being auctioned14 off today in Manhattan as the disgraced financier sits in a North Carolina prison, serving a 150-year prison sentence. His sentence also forced Madoff to forfeit15 many of his belongings. Some 200 items are on the block today including dishes, pens and furs. Authorities hoped to get at least a half million dollars for Madoff’s defrauded16 investors17 who lost tens of billions of dollars in his huge Ponzi scheme.
With the country’s newspaper industry facing a combination of recessionary pressures and declining subscriptions18 and also advertising19 revenue, the state of New Hampshire is stepping in to help a struggling local newspaper secure financing. New Hampshire Public Radio’s Josh Rogers has the story.
The state’s guarantee of a 250,000-dollar line of credit for the Eagle Times of Claremont is still in controversy20 in New Hampshire. Critics say the deal compromises the paper’s independence. But Devert Pigment21 Tali is state official who sat on the panel that okayed the transaction says the only goal was to save jobs.
”Over 90 people have been laid off and the state has not given the newspaper any money.”
The Eagle Times, which has a circulation of 7,000 closed abruptly22 in July. Two months later the 175-year-old paper was bought out of bankruptcy23 by the Pennsylvania-based Sample News Group. For NPR News, I’m Josh Rogers in Concord24, New Hampshire.
And I’m Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.
![收听单词发音](/images/play.gif)
1
isolate
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vt.使孤立,隔离 | |
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2
boycott
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n./v.(联合)抵制,拒绝参与 | |
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postpone
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v.延期,推迟 | |
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investigations
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(正式的)调查( investigation的名词复数 ); 侦查; 科学研究; 学术研究 | |
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hood
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n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖 | |
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6
bomber
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n.轰炸机,投弹手,投掷炸弹者 | |
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7
mere
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adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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sleight
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n.技巧,花招 | |
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9
remains
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n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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10
analysts
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分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 ) | |
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11
stimulus
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n.刺激,刺激物,促进因素,引起兴奋的事物 | |
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12
solidarity
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n.团结;休戚相关 | |
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belongings
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n.私人物品,私人财物 | |
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14
auctioned
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v.拍卖( auction的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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forfeit
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vt.丧失;n.罚金,罚款,没收物 | |
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16
defrauded
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v.诈取,骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
investors
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n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 ) | |
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18
subscriptions
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n.(报刊等的)订阅费( subscription的名词复数 );捐款;(俱乐部的)会员费;捐助 | |
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advertising
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n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的 | |
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20
controversy
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n.争论,辩论,争吵 | |
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21
pigment
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n.天然色素,干粉颜料 | |
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22
abruptly
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adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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23
bankruptcy
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n.破产;无偿付能力 | |
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24
concord
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n.和谐;协调 | |
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