NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-07-25

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

 

　　President Obama says the ongoing¹ partisanship² in gridlock in Washington are undermining the economic recovery. Speaking at a college in Illinois, Mr. Obama acknowledged that the recovery remains³ fragile. NPR's Craig Windham reports Republican leaders say Mr. Obama should be working with them rather than giving speeches.

 

　　The president says the main focus of his second term will be bolstering⁴ the economy and helping⁵ middle class Americans who have not yet benefited from the recovery.

 

　　If Washington will just shake off its complacencies and set aside the kind of slash-and-burn partisanship that we've just seen for way too long. We just make some common sense decisions. Our economy will be stronger a year from now.

 

　　But House Speaker John Boehner dismissed Mr. Obama's speech as a waste of time.

 

　　It's a hollow shell, it's an Easter egg no candy in it.

 

　　Boehner said Americans are not asking where are the speeches, they are asking where are the jobs. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　In Russia today, there was another flowery of excitement over the fate of former U.S. intelligence contract worker Edward Snowden. NPR's Corey Flintoff reports the 30-year-old fugitive⁶ remained stuck in a Moscow airport.

 

　　Some Russian media began reporting that Snowden would receive documents that would allow him to officially enter Russia. But within hours, Snowden's Russian advisor⁷ Anatoly Kucherena told reporters that it would take a little longer.

 

　　Kucherena said the paperwork is not yet ready and that Snowden will remain in the no-man's-land of the airport transit⁸ area for the time-being. Snowden has applied⁹ for temporary asylum¹⁰ in Russia. He's wanted by the United States for revealing secrets about U.S. surveillance programs. President Vladimir Putin's decision not to extradite Snowden has aggravated¹¹ tensions between Russia and the United States. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Moscow.

 

　　Nearly two weeks after a neighborhood watch volunteer was acquitted¹² in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The teen's father, Tracy Martin is appealing to lawmakers to intensify¹³ their efforts challenging racial profile and other challenges confronting black men and boys.

 

　　To have your son's life taken away from you when you molded him to become an outstanding citizen of this country. It's heart-wrenching, that's something that you can never get over.

 

　　Martin is speaking this hour before congressional forum¹⁴ convened¹⁵ by African-American lawmakers.

 

　　A federal judge is blocking Detroit city workers and retirees from pursuing existing lawsuits¹⁶ to file a new one's challenging Detroit's unprecedented¹⁷ bankruptcy¹⁸ plan. The group sued in Michigan State Courts to shill their pensions.  They argued that under state constitution their pension benefits are guaranteed in full. But Detroit's emergency manager says those guarantees no longer exist in federal bankruptcy court. Before the closing bell, Dow was off 26 points.

 

　　This is NPR News.

 

　　The head of Egypt's military's calling on fellow Egyptians to show their support for the army and police through rallies across the country. General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi said in a speech to graduating military cadets today that mass demonstrations¹⁹ this Friday would give him a mandate²⁰ and order to do what's necessary as he put it to stop the violence in Egypt. The country has been deeply divided since the military ousted²¹ President Mohamed Morsi a few weeks ago and set up an interim²² government.

 

　　A senior United Nations teams in Syria investigated about a dozen reports that chemical weapons had been used in the civil war. So far, though the investigators²³ were only allowed access to one site, the northern village of Khan al-Assal. Both troops and rebels accused the others of using chemical weapons in that region. In June, the U.S. said it had conclusive²⁴ evidence that Assad's forces used the weapons and as a result might begin arming Syria's rebels.

 

　　You may call Britain's new-born prince George. NPR's Philip Reeves say the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced their baby's name earlier today.

 

　　Kings in Britain tend to be called George. Of the last 300 years, six of nine kings have had that name including the royal baby's great great grandfather George VI. Although his first name was actually Albert. The British public will likely be pleased with the royal couple's choice. George led the field in the flary of betting of names before their son was born. His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge as the boy's now officially known has two middle names. They are Alexander Louis, the latter a lot perhaps to Lord Louis Mountbatten. Prince Charles is great-uncle and mentor²⁵ who was killed by Irish Republican militants²⁶ in 1979. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.

 

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

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

7 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

8 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

9 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

10 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

11 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

12 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

13 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

14 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

15 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

16 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

17 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

18 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

19 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

20 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

21 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

22 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

23 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

25 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

26 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。