美国国家电台 NPR 2012-11-10

 President Obama has invited congressional leaders to the White House next week to discuss possible solutions to the so-called fiscal¹ cliff. As NPR's Brian Naylor tells us, the President made his first public appearance since winning reelection on Tuesday. 

 

Speaking at the White House, Mr. Obama said he was open to compromise, but he said any agreement to reduce the deficit² must include raising taxes on wealthy Americans along with spending cuts. He said it was a central question of the election. 

 

It was debated over and over again and on Tuesday night we found out that the majority of Americans agree with my approach, and that includes Democrats³ independents and a lot of Republicans across the country.

 

Moments after the President spoke⁴, White House spokesman Jay Carney reiterated⁵ the administration's threat to veto any measure that extends the tax cuts for wealthy Americans. Republican leaders in Congress remain adamantly⁶ opposed to raising tax rates. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Washington.

 

Speaker of the House John Boehner is telling reporters he rejects any fiscal cliff solution that involves higher taxes for upper income Americans. At the same time, he says he is ready to work with the President.

 

We both understand that trying to find a way to avert⁷ the fiscal cliff is important for our country, and I'm hopeful that productive conversations can begin soon so that we can forge an agreement that can pass the Congress. 

 

President Obama plans to visit New York next week to look on post Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts. In New York City and on Long Island, drivers turned out early for gasoline rations⁸. Power outages and supply interruptions have left only 1/4 of New York's gas stations open. As of this morning, there are almost 1/4 of 1 million people without power in New York City, about the same in New Jersey⁹. 

 

Eleven thousand Syrians are reported to have fled the civil war in their country. Senior U.N. officials say most of them crossed into Turkey in just the last 24 hours. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports some Syrian military defectors are among those who've fled. 

 

Turkish officials are quoted describing an influx¹⁰ of several thousand Syrians crossing into Turkey as clashes continued to rage in northern Syria. State-run media also report the arrival of a group of 71 Syrians, all military families, including two generals, 11 colonels and several other defecting officers. Earlier this week, seven other Syrian generals defected. Turkish residents of the border area of Ceylanpinar hunkered down for a second day as heavy fighting continued on the Syrian side of border. Turkish media reported stray bullets crossing into Turkey wounding at least three civilians¹¹ and Turkish armored vehicles are moving closer to the border. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Istanbul.  

 

On Wall Street at this hour, the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 15 points; the NASDAQ up 16. 

 

This is NPR.

 

The White House says the Treasury¹² Secretary Tim Geithner will stay on with the Obama administration through early next year to assist with the resolution of the nation's fiscal stalemate without a resolution in less than two months, more than $0.5 trillion tax hikes and spending cuts will launch automatically.

 

Thousands of ultraconservative Muslims thronged¹³ Cairo's Tahrir Square demanding the implementation¹⁴ of Islamic law. Leila Fadel reports Coptic Christians¹⁶ are concerned. 

 

The demonstrators chant with our soul, with our blood, we will sacrifice for you, Islam. The protest comes amidst the debate over what the role of religion in Egypt's new constitution should be. The draft currently calls for principles of Islamic law to be the primary source of legislation. Ultraconservative Muslims say the wording is not strong enough. The new leader of Egypt's minority Coptic Christian¹⁵ Community Pope Tawadros said he has concerned about the demands. Already, Coptic Christians have dealt with the tax on its churches and communities by ultraconservative Muslims known as Salafis. But he said he is optimistic about the future. Leila Fadel, NPR News, Cairo.

 

The Associated Press is reporting that CIA director David Petraeus is resigning from his post because of an extramarital affair. 

 

More than 900,000 older-model Jeep SUVs are being recalled by Chrysler. It issued the possibility airbags could inflate¹⁷ while people are driving. The recall affects Jeep Grand Cherokees from the 2002 to 2004 model.

1 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

2 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

3 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》

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

6 adamantly   

adv.坚决地，坚定不移地，坚强不屈地

参考例句：

• "Come over here,"he told her adamantly. “到这边来，”他对她坚定地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His family were adamantly opposed to the marriage. 他的家人坚决反对这门亲事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

8 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

12 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

13 thronged   

v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mourners thronged to the funeral. 吊唁者蜂拥着前来参加葬礼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The department store was thronged with people. 百货商店挤满了人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

15 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

16 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

17 inflate   

vt.使膨胀，使骄傲，抬高（物价）

参考例句：

• The buyers bid against each other and often inflate the prices they pay.买主们竞相投标，往往人为地提高价钱。
• Stuart jumped into the sea and inflated the liferaft.斯图尔特跳到海里给救生艇充气。