美国有线新闻 CNN 2013-09-30

 Fridays are awesome¹. And this Friday we are starting with the pair of articles that are driving up the tension between the United States and Russia.

 

Last week Russian president Vladimir Putin wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times. He was critical of the US government for threatening a military strike against Syria. This week, long time US secretary John M responded. M has been a big supporter of US military action in Syria. But his opinion piece for the Russian web site P was more focused on Russia’s president. It was titled: Russians deserve better than Putin. He accused the Russian government of imprisoning² opponents, rigging elections and controlling the country’s media. Yesterday president Putin said he was not aware of the article. But Russia did have some criticism for United Nation’s report about chemical weapons in Syria. Russian officials called the report biased³, distorted, and built on insufficient⁴ information. Russia says the inspectors⁵ need to go back to Syria to finish their investigation⁶. UN representatives say the reports stands for itself.

 

Back in the United States, there is a deadline looming⁷ in the nation’s capital and the possibility of part of the US government going dark. President Obama remembers the congress until the end of this month to work out a deal on the Federal Reserve budget. If they cannot reach an agreement over the next ten days, the government shutdown will kick in on October 1st. There are several issues involved here, like the country’s debt limit, and president Obama’s health care reform loan. We will look more closely at those as the story develops.

 

If the government shuts down, it won’t shut down completely. For example, functions that are considered as essential will still run. Things like air traffic control and disaster assistance. But many government offices likely close, museums and parks stop operating. Thousands of Federal employees could be sent home and not paid. It has happened before. There were two governments shut down in the mid⁸ 1990s. The longest one lasted 21 days. Is the US government heading for another? The clock is ticking.

1 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

2 imprisoning   

v.下狱，监禁( imprison的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr Afwerki may disgust his compatriots by torturing and imprisoning his critics. Afwerki总统拷打和监禁他的反对者已经使的国人生厌。 来自互联网
• Proud and intelligent, it takes great pleasure and imprisoning enemies through psionic exploitation. 它骄傲并狡猾，非常喜欢囚禁敌人并剥夺他们的智力。 来自互联网

3 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

4 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

5 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

8 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。