NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-02-23

　　From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

 

　　The US is pledging the strengthening ties with Japan on various matters including global economic growth. Following a meeting today, the prime minister Shinzo Abe, the president said that whether sequester¹ or broad spending cuts will affect the US government. It wouldn't threaten the world financial system.

 

　　Sequester going into effect, will not threaten, world financial system. It's not like the equivalent of US deporting² on its obligations. What it does mean was that the US is growing slower then other countries growing slow.

 

　　But negotiations³ seem to have stalled to avert⁴ mandatory⁵ budget cuts in less than two weeks in the US. Budget battles in this country and other nations have raised concerns among NATO ministers in Brussels about defence spending cuts and the impact that could have on global security.

 

　　Air traveller should prepare for delays of the nation's busiest airports if the across the board spending cuts, known as sequestration take effect. NPR's Brian Naylor reports the Obama administration is warning some controlled tours at smaller airports could be closed all together.

 

　　Transportation secretary  Ray LaHood says the FAA will have to furlough the west majority of the employees including air controllers for at least one day a pay period. That will mean fewer controllers directing flights and LaHood says delays for travellers.

 

　　Flights to major cities, like New York, Chicago and San Francisco and others, could experience delays of up to 90 minutes during peak hours, because we have fewer controllers on staff. Delays in these major airports will replay across the country.

 

　　LaHood says he expected airlines will begin to cancel some flights once they say the potential impact of the fluloughs. Brian Naylor NPR News, Washington.

 

　　The US now has about 100 troops in the African country of Niger. Details from NPR's Ari Shapiro.

 

　　The letter says these troops quota⁶ will provide support for intelligence collection and also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali. Mali is next to Niger. It was the scene of the major French offensive last month. French troops drove Islamist militants⁷ out of Malian cities. But the militants are still of large and there are fears that they could pop in Niger. According to the president's letter, the US troops in Niger have weapons but they are quota for the purposes of providing their own force protection on security. Ari Shapiro NPR News, Washington.

 

　　Fame Olympian Oscar Pistorius is out on bail⁸ to away trial in the recent death of his gril friend Reeva Steenkamp. The athlete's family including his uncle, Arnold Pistorius, expressed mixed motions today. Now he was charged with premeditated murdering, stain comes shooting death valentine's day.

 

　　Dow is up 100 points. THis is NPR News.

 

　　As the planes in middle west take out of one of the worst winter storms in years, the northeast is bracing⁹ for more of the scene. Meteorologist Andrew Orsanxx says New England may get significant amounts of snow soon.

 

　　There would be the potential for some areas this eve, an excess of a foot of snow, what the premier¹⁰ impacted areas being Massachusetts, for more of NewShampire, and importance of southern main.

 

　　In Kansas, many drivers were stranded¹¹ on snow pack roads. Businesses and schools were shut down in multiple states and hundreds of flights were cancelled. The storm is blamed in at least two deaths.

 

　　Scientists have discovered a new secret in the lives of bees. NPR's AdamCorexx, reports bumble bees can use electric feels to remember where to find nectar rich flowers.

 

　　Flowers will do anything to attract the bee's attention. They need pollenate to help them reproduce so they use bright colors or trifoliate pattens and sweets mouth. Now researchers at the university of Bristolxx, have discovered a new way flowers are communicated with bees, electric feels. Flowers naturally have a slight negative charge. Bees, on the other hand, develop a slight positive charge just by flying through the air. As a bee gets to close to a flower, there is an electric interaction, and the bee can feel that. It learns to associated distinct electric feels with nectar. But discovery appears in this week's Science magazine. AdamCorexxx, NPR News.

 

　　At last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 98 points, at 13,979; NASDAQ gaining 23 at 3,154; S&P 500 up 10 at 1,512. This is NPR.

1 sequester   

vt.使退隐，使隔绝

参考例句：

• Everything he owned was sequestered.他的所有财产都被扣押了。
• This jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months.预计这个陪审团将至少被隔离两个月。

2 deporting   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的现在分词 )；举止

参考例句：

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 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。

5 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

6 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

9 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

10 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

11 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。