NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-01-24

 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is saying no one underestimated the difficulties in terms of the Syria peace conference is getting underway in Montreux, Switzerland as respective signs got down to business today that quickly became apparent. The BBC’s Bridget Kendal has more.

 

Syria’s opposition¹ told the conference nothing is more important than getting rid of President al-Assad but for the Syrian government that is non-negotiable. At one point the Syrian Information Minister declared that al-Assad would never go. Both sides traded accusations² that the other was to blame for torture, rape³ and executions in Syria’s civil war. But despite the acrimony both delegations⁴ said they will not prepare to start more detail negotiations⁵ that in itself is progress.

 

UN mediator⁶ will meet with the opposing negotiator separately tomorrow to see face-to-face talks can be held on Friday.

 

Speaking to the members of its council on women and girls at the White House, the president said sexual assault in the US is an affront⁷ to basic human decency⁸. President Obama’s remark comes on the day in the new White House report has been released that looked at assault including assaults on college campuses. Mr. Obama told members of the group that sexual assault is not just crime against individuals but tears apart families and communities. 

 

This is not an abstract problem that goes on in other families or other communities. Even now, it is not always talked about enough. It can still go on in the shadows. But it affects every one of us.  It is about all of us, our moms, our wives, our sisters, our daughters, our sons.

 

Obama noticed his administration has already taken steps to crack down on sexual abuse including sexual abuse in military.

 

Activist⁹ investor¹⁰ Carl Icahn has begun buying up shares of the online marketplace company EBay. NPR’s James Rolly reports the move could touch off battle for control of one of company’s most profitable units.

 

EBay made the revelation in its fourth quarter earning’s report. It said Icahn had purchased less than 1% of the company and has been pressing for two of his employees to sit on the board. Icahn wants EBay to sell off PayPal, the online payment service it purchased more than a decade ago. PayPal is responsible for a good part of EBay’s profits. Some analysts¹¹ believe it would make even more money as a separate company because other online retailers¹² would be more likely to use it. But EBay said it believes PayPal should remain a part of company. Icahn had no immediate¹³ comment about this disclosure. James Rolly, NPR News, New York.

 

Ford¹⁴ says its plan to join a couple of top universities to work toward developing cars that drive themselves. Automaker today announces it will join with Stanford University in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on NNNN automated¹⁵ vehicles

 

Close on Wall Street today, the Dow was down 41 points at 16,373. The NASDAQ was up 17 points.

 

This is NPR.

 

Discount airline JetBlue says it is forming a partnership¹⁶ with National Airline of United Arab Emirates, Etihad airlines to fly passengers on routes operated by both carriers. So-called codeshare agreement at least initially¹⁷ will involve 40 JetBlue routes in the US but the number could increase as Etihad airway¹⁸ begins daily Los Angeles in June. Etihad already has daily non-stop flights from Abu Dhabi to New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago.

 

The Obama administration has not decided¹⁹ whether to move forward with the northern leg of controversial Keystone XL pipeline²⁰ but the southernmost section went to operation today. Joe Wertz from The member station KGOU reports the Keystone gulf²¹ pipeline will help alleviate²² bottleneck²³ has been built in the middle of the country.

 

Construction on the 2.3 billion-dollar pipeline started 18 months ago and today TransCanada started pumping crude oil from Oklahoma to customers in Texas. TransCanada’s Alex Pourbaix spokes²⁴ to reporters shortly after the southern section went into service.

 

The pipeline does provide a safe and direct connection between an important oil hub, probably the most important oil hub on this continent, in Cushing, Oklahoma, and with the world's most efficient refiners in the US Gulf Coast.

 

Relieving the Cushing oil glut²⁵ will likely help midcontinent producers receive better prices for their oil. But some analysts say the crude might create a new bottleneck in Texas because the Gulf Coast does not have enough refineries²⁶. For NPR News, I am Joe Wertz in Oklahoma City.

 

New tougher Regulations for child care seats officials with national highway traffic safety administration safe the first time ever say it will have to protect child from death injury in side-impact crashes.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

3 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

4 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

5 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。

6 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

7 affront   

n./v.侮辱，触怒

参考例句：

• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
• This remark caused affront to many people.这句话得罪了不少人。

8 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

9 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

10 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

11 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。

12 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。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

15 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

16 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

17 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

18 airway   

n.空中航线，通风口

参考例句：

• Lay them on their side and ensure the airway is unobstructed.让他们侧躺着，并确保呼吸道畅通。
• There is a purple airway in London Airport.伦敦机场里有一条皇家专用飞机跑道。

19 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

20 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

21 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

22 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

23 bottleneck   

n.瓶颈口，交通易阻的狭口；妨生产流程的一环

参考例句：

• The transportation bottleneck has blocked the movement of the cargo.运输的困难阻塞了货物的流通。
• China's strained railroads already become a bottleneck for the economy.中国紧张的铁路运输已经成为经济增长的瓶颈。

24 spokes   

n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动

参考例句：

• Her baby caught his fingers in the spokes of the pram wheel. 她宝宝的手指被婴儿车轮的辐条卡住了。 来自辞典例句
• The new edges are called the spokes of the wheel. 新的边称为轮的辐。 来自辞典例句

25 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

26 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。