NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-09-05

 Top members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have reportedly reached agreement on a draft resolution authorizing¹ President Obama to use military force against Syria but barring American troops from taking part in any ground actions. The measure’s setting a time limit of 30 days, which the president could extend for further 30 days if needed. NPR's Larry Abramson reports the secretary of state made the case for US action earlier today on Capitol Hill.

In a hearing before the committee, Secretary of State John Kerry admitted there are risks that an attack on Syria could have unintended consequences, but he insisted the risks of inaction are much greater.

“Are you going to be comfortable if Assad, as a result of the United States not doing anything, then gasses his people yet again, and the world says why didn't the United States act?”

The House takes up the debate with a hearing on Wednesday. Larry Abramson, NPR News.

Israel today announced a successful joint² US-Israel missile test over the Mediterranean³. As NPR's Emily Harris explains, the routine test drew attention because of heightened tensions in the region.

Israel was testing a dummy⁴ version of a modified missile to ensure it followed the right arc, one step in evaluating Israel's missile defense⁵ system. But Russia picked up on the launch of what it called “an unknown ballistic object,” raising questions of what happened at this time when the US is considering launching strikes against Syria. The US regularly offers technical advice and support to develop Israel's missile defense technology under a program that costs close to 100 million dollars a year. Routine Israeli missile tests like this one are usually made known to American technicians a week or so before. US defense officials say Israel set the timetable for Tuesday's test, and the US could have voiced objections. Emily Harris, NPR News, Jerusalem.

Manufacturing sector⁶ grew last month. The Institute for Supply Management, a key purchasing managers group, says its manufacturing index in August expanded at its fastest clip since June of 2011, rising more than a full point. Brad Holcomb is the group’s business survey chair and says the figure bodes⁷ well for the final part of the year.

“It would suggest a strong second half relative to the first half of the year. So we can be hopeful for that. I don't see any reason within the data that we can't have a continuation of a good second half of the year.”

Fifty-five point seven, the index is now well into positive territory. Any reading over 50 indicates growth in manufacturing, while the reading below that level indicates contraction⁸.

The nation's builders were be busier in July. The Commerce Department says an increased number of housing and non-residential building projects boosted construction spending in July by 0.6%. Total construction reached a seasonally⁹ adjusted rate of just under 901 billion dollars.

Modest gains on Wall Street today: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 23 points to end the session at 14,833; the NASDAQ was up 22 points. This is NPR.

Lawyers representing accused Colorado movie theater shooter suspect James Holmes now said he filed half a dozen new constitutional challenges in the case, including a challenge to the death penalty, which they say amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Holmes is accused of shooting and killing¹⁰ 12 people and wounding 70 others in a crowded movie theater near Denvor in July of last year. Hormes was pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity¹¹ to charges of murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors¹² are seeking the death penalty in the case.

News research suggests your baby may be able to learn just as much from a  shrieking lemur as the child can from you. NPR's Geoff Brumfiel reports the research found three-month-old babies can use lemur calls to help them make sense of the world.

Psychologists at Northwestern University in Illinois wanted to know what kinds of sounds helped new-born babies learn. So they tried two different noises--a lemur call and human speech run backwards¹³. To their surprise, the backward speech didn't help babies learn at all, but the lemur calls did. The results are published in the Proceedings¹⁴ of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists think it may show that young babies are pre-wired to pay attention to both human and near-human sounds. Geoff Brumfiel, NPR News.

Kodak has emerged from its trip to bankruptcy¹⁵, the legacy¹⁶ film and photography company officially exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. Kodak says it’s reinvented itself as a commercial imaging company serving business markets including packaging and graphics¹⁷. The company's old stock is now canceled with creditors¹⁸ getting shares of reorganized company. The new company will be known as Kodak Alaris. The reorganized company will have more than 4,700 employees in 30 countries.

1 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

4 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

5 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。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 bodes   

v.预示，预告，预言( bode的第三人称单数 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待

参考例句：

• This bodes ill for the failure of the programme. 这是那项计划有凶兆。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This bodes him no good. 这对他是不祥之兆。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

9 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

12 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

13 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

14 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

15 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。

16 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。

17 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

18 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》