NPR 2009-06-15

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for the first time given his endorsement¹ to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, a change the White House is calling an important step forward. But Netanyahu says Israel’s willingness to accept a Palestinian state as a neighbor comes with conditions. The BBC’s Tim Franks reports from Jerusalem.

Until now the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to endorse² Palestinian statehood. Now he said that if two preconditions were met, he can envisage³ a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The first precondition was that the Palestinians recognize Israel as, in the Prime Minister’s words, “the nation state of the Jewish people”. The second precondition was that the future Palestinian state be completely demilitarized. Mr. Netanyahu said that were these criteria⁴ met, the prize of a comprehensive peace across the Middle East was within reach. The BBC’s Tim Franks reporting from Jerusalem.

The Palestinian officials wasted no time in rejecting the conditions, especially Netanyahu’s opposition⁵ to any right of return for Palestinian refugees to their former homes in Israel and to any division of the city of Jerusalem.

Protesters clashed with police in Tehran today in the second day of unrest following Iran’s disputed presidential election. And the main opposition candidate called for nullifying the vote count which he claims was rife⁶ with fraud.

Vice⁷ President Joe Biden says he has doubts about the legitimacy⁸ of the election, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner by a landslide⁹. NPR’s Brian Naylor has the story.

Biden says the Obama administration has to accept Ahmadinejad’s claim of victory over Mir-Hossein Moussavi for the time being. But speaking on NBC’s Meet The Press, the vice-president says there are an awful lot of questions.

“We don’t have all the details, it sure looks like the way they are suppressing speech, the way they are suppressing crowds, the way in which people are being treated that there is some real doubt about that. I don’t think we are in a position to say.”

Biden said he was surprised by Iran’s assertion that Ahmadinejad won more than 60% of the vote. The Obama administration had hoped to open a dialogue with Iran. Biden was cautious, and said the US doesn’t yet have enough facts to determine the legitimacy of the election. Brian Naylor, NPR News. Washington.

A ship from the Netherlands is slowly towing a hi-tech US Navy listening device through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to find the pinging sound emitted by the black boxes from the Air France jetliner that crashed a couple of weeks ago off Brazil’s northeastern coast. But the search area includes some of the Atlantic’s deepest waters, and within the next two weeks, the signals given off by the boxes will begin to fade. Investigators¹⁰ say finding the boxes will be crucial to determining what caused the jet to plunge¹¹ into the sea, killing¹² all people aboard. This is NPR.

Canada could be facing a national election this summer. And as Dan Karpenchuk reports, it all comes down to whether the country’s liberal party will support the government this week in a crucial vote in parliament.

Michael Ignatieff, the leader of the Liberal Party says he will announce on Monday whether to support Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s latest economic update. The two smaller parties, the Separatist Bloc¹³ Quebecois and the New Democrats¹⁴ have already vowed¹⁵ not to support Harper’s minority government. Late in the week, the Prime Minister delivered his update on the economy. He said 80% of the government’s multi-billion dollars stimulus¹⁶ package was being implemented¹⁷ and that 3,000 new infrastructure¹⁸ projects have already been started. But some critics say that view is overly optimistic that very few jobs have been created. The economic update will be put to a confidence vote on Friday. If the liberals don’t support it, the government will fall, and that means Canadians could go to the polls this summer, but Ignatieff says it’s a question of timing¹⁹ and whether an election now is in the best interests of Canadians. For NPR News I’m Dan Karpenchuk, in Toronto.

Gasoline prices are on the rise again, up 17 cents a gallon over the past two weeks. The national average now for self-service regular is $2.66 a gallon. Industry analyst²⁰ Trilby Lundberg says the main reason for the increase in prices at the pump was a jump in crude oil costs. Lundberg says gas though is still cheaper than it was last summer. “It’s the highest price since late October of last year. It remains²¹ $1.34 below its one year ago level. But that won’t feel very consoling to the many unemployed²² motorists. Lundberg says the highest gasoline prices in the most recent survey were found in San Francisco, the lowest gas prices were in Tusa, Arizona.

1 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

2 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

3 envisage   

v.想象，设想，展望，正视

参考例句：

• Nobody can envisage the consequences of total nuclear war.没有人能够想像全面核战争的后果。
• When do you envisage being able to pay me back?你看你什么时候能还我钱？

4 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

9 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

10 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》

11 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

13 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

14 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

16 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

17 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

18 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

19 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

20 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。

21 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。

22 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。