NPR 2012-06-27

 A major boost today for the Obama administration. A federal appeals court has endorsed¹ the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to rein² in greenhouse gases. NPR's Elizabeth Shogren reports the court's unanimous opinion could be seen as a victory for President Obama's environmental legacy³.

 

President Obama took office, pledging to work with Congress to control greenhouse gases. But in the meantime, his EPA got to work on its own strategy for eliminating pollution that causes climate change. It crafted rules to curb⁴ greenhouse gases from tailpipes of cars and exhaust stacks of new power plants and factories. These rules were based on the agency's finding that greenhouse gases endanger human health, for example, by increasing the number and severity of heat waves. More than a dozen states and industry groups challenged the EPA's authority. But the court unanimously ruled that the EPA was just doing its job. Elizabeth Shogren, NPR News, Washington.

 

The number of homes destroyed by Colorado's High Park fire is climbing. At least 257 are gone. Hundreds of people are still waiting to return home, weeks after a lightning struck and touched a fire that has burned through 136 square miles. It's about 55% contained. Fire lines are holding, but Colorado is enduring severe heat, much like other western states, where temperatures are topping 100 degrees. 

 

The European Union's top leaders will ask heads of state at the summit this week to give the EU executive expanded powers over national fiscal⁵ policy. Teri Schultz reports from Brussels the recommendations to be presented Thursday will be contentious⁶ since some governments have already announced they won't buy in.

 

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso says the debt-ridden EU has little choice but to accept a deeper integration⁷, and that the economy isn't the only thing at stake.

 

“This crisis is the biggest threat to all that we have achieved through European construction over the last 60 years. Standing⁸ still is not an option.”

 

Barroso and three other top policymakers drafted the plan. Proposals include the eventual⁹ creation of a eurozone treasury¹⁰ and euro bonds, a banking¹¹ union for all EU members and a national budget clearance¹² process by Brussels to keep debt in check. But some parts of the plan are being rejected in advance of its official presentation at the summit. Britain dismisses joining a banking union for example, and France's opposed to surrendering so much sovereignty. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.

 

Turkey's NATO ally is expressing solidarity¹³ today and condemning¹⁴ a Syrian military's attack on a Turkish jet. Damascus says its airspace was breached¹⁵. However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an says there were no warning signs that the plane was going to be shot down last Friday. The two pilots onboard are missing and feared dead. Turkey’s already at odds¹⁶ with its neighbor for assisting refugees from Syria's uprising.

 

This is NPR.

 

Republicans are going to polls in Utah to decide if longtime incumbent¹⁷ Senator Orrin Hatch will run for a seventh term. The state's longest-serving senator faces a tough challenge from young conservative, as Terry Gildea of member station KUER explains.

 

At age 78, Hatch says this would be his last term in the Senate if elected. His challenger is former state Senator Dan Liljenquist, a Tea Party conservative, who was only two years old when Hatch was first elected to the Senate in 1976. If Hatch is reelected, and Republicans gain a majority in the Senate, he could be selected to chair the Finance Committee. Liljenquist has played Hatch's 36 years in Washington as a weakness. He hopes to capitalize on a national wave of anti-incumbent sentiment that has driven out moderates like Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana. Hatch got a large percentage of the votes at the Republican state party convention in April. But he needs only a simple majority today to move forward. For NPR News, I'm Terry Gildea in Salt Lake City.

 

The Canadian military could be called in to help prevent an Ontario mall from completely collapsing¹⁸. One person has been trapped beneath the rubbles since part of the building caved in over the weekend. The search was suspended late yesterday. The mayor of Elliot Lake says emergency teams have been waiting to make sure the building is secure enough to go back in. At least one person was killed in the collapse¹⁹. 

 

Tropical Storm Debby’s been generating potentially destructive weather over Florida, though it was about 80 miles offshore²⁰. At last check, some places could see as much as two feet of rain by the time the storm's over. A lot of roads were washed out. Severe flooding’s forcing authorities to shut down sections of Interstate 10 that's the main highway across northern Florida. 

1 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

3 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

4 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

5 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。

6 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

7 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

10 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。

11 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

12 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

13 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

14 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

16 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

17 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

18 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

19 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

20 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。