NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-12-28

 President Obama has signed a new defense¹ authorization² bill into law. But NPR’s Ari Shapiro reports the president is making clear the bill doesn’t go as far as he wanted toward closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay. 

President Obama released two page signed statement about Guantanamo as he signed this bill into law. At the passage, Obama accuses Congress of “unwarranted and burden some restriction³ on transferring detainees at the prison”. This law easies those restrictions⁴ a bit, making it easy to transport detainees to foreign countries. In a statement Obama called that a positive step, but the Congress still won’t let president Obama move the detainees to American soil, which makes it nearly impossible to close the prison. Obama calls these restrictions unwise and insists that the executive branches must have their authority to determine when and where to prosecute⁵ Guantanamo detainees. So far Congress has refused to grant Obama that authority. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington. 

 

The leaders of Ethiopia and Kenya are pushing political rivals in South Sudan to engaging talks to bring an end to the crisis there that brought the country to the brink⁶ of civil war. They met in South Sudan’s capital Juba today with president Salva Kiir. Mediation⁷ is due to continue tomorrow in Kenya. 

Meanwhile, the UN’s South Sudan mission chief, Hilde Johnson, says the rapidly deteriorating⁸ situation there is over stretching resources. 

“I don’t think any South Sudanese nor any of us in observers in country and outside expected it unraveling off the stability so quickly.”

 

In neighboring Central Africa of Republic, the situation is also deteriorating. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he is paused by reports today of dozens of bodies founded on the streets of the capital. And France is founding itself on its own as it tried to hold the sectarian violence. It’s an increasingly difficult mission, and NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley reports none of France’s European allies has responded to its calls to sending troops to help. 

When violence between warring Christian⁹ and Muslin militias¹⁰ began to escalate¹¹ earlier this month, France beefed up his troops presently in a former colony. Now, free with into the mission, analysts¹² say the French government appeared to be realized the maximum task in front of it. France’s trying to police these countries as largest as its own with only 1,600 troops. It’s waiting into sectarian urban warfare¹³ while trying to persuade residents that will be protected if they lay down their arms. President François Hollande has pleaded with France’s EU partners to help to offer @@ on the ground. Hollande says his country can’t shoulder alone their responsibility of maintaining peace and security in Africa. A handful of nations are offering only logistical help in this point. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. 

 

On Wall Street today, the Dow climbed 122 points; The S&P was up 8; The NASDAQ gained 11. 

 

This is NPR. 

 

The man accused of opening fire at Los Angeles International Airport November 1 and killing¹⁴ a TSA worker pleaded no guilty to all charges today. Paul Ciancia is facing 11 federal charges, including first grade murder and attempted murder. All of them could bring either the death sentence or life in prison. His trial is set for February 11th. 

 

Both UPS and FedEx are apologizing for Christmas gifs that didn’t arrive in time and they say they’ve hired extra workers to deliver the tardy¹⁵ passages. NPR’s Dan Bobkoff reports the companies say they were cut off guard by recorded last-minute rush online shopping. 

Online retail¹⁶ has got aggressive this year, pushing last-minute discounts and free shipping¹⁷. And consumers responded far more than expected, driving online sales up nearly 24% versus¹⁸ last year according to NPD Group. That’s a big reason the deliver companies like UPS couldn’t meet the demand. The company says the volume exceeded its capacity, leaving the children wondering what’s up be homes like Maria Britons mean: 

“One thing on their wish lists hadn’t actually showed up or they said I didn’t get it.”

Sucherida Moporus, a forest researcher, says mostly about 10-15% packages don’t make in time for Christmas. 

“Think what’s happening this year is that we probably, you know, a little bit of over promising¹⁹, and a lot of under delivering.”

Amazon and some other retailers²⁰ offered shipping refund²¹ and discounts. Dan Bobkoff, NPR News, New York. 

 

President Obama and first lady Mitchell are in Hawaii and today they send holiday wishes for those who celebrate Kwanzaa which begins today. They called attention to the 7 principles of Kwanzaa, including unity²², creativity, faith and self-determination which he said represents share values that draw Americans together. 

 

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

3 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

6 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

7 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

8 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

9 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。

10 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

11 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

14 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。

15 tardy   

adj.缓慢的，迟缓的

参考例句：

• It's impolite to make a tardy appearance.晚到是不礼貌的。
• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。

16 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

17 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

18 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

19 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

20 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

21 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

22 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。