NPR 美国国家电台 2014-09-02

 The Israeli government has declared nearly 1,000 acres in the West Bank as state land and available for Israeli development. NPR's Emily Harris reports an Israeli peace group opposing the move says it's the largest reclassification of land since 1980s.

 

Declaring in that area Israeli state land clears the way for increased Jewish settlement on territory Palestinians claim for any future state. These acres are near the area where three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed in June, one key development in the run-up to this summer's war in Gaza. Leaders of West Bank settlement told Israeli media that building more Jewish homes in the area is an appropriate answer to the fear the June kidnapping has brought. But Peace Now, an Israeli group that opposes the settlement, says this will "stab in the back" moderate Palestinian political forces. A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said this will only inflame¹ tensions after the Gaza war. Emily Harris, NPR News, Jerusalem.

 

Congress is continuing to pressure President Obama to take action against the Sunni extreme group, Islamic State. On Fox News Sunday, Democrat² Dianne Feinstein and Republican Mike Rogers called for a comprehensive strategy to crush the militants³. Rogers also says he's worried about the hundreds of Americans who join the military group.

 

"I will tell you I'm very concerned because we don't know every single person that has an American passport that has gone and trained and learned to fight."

 

Islamic State militants have taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria, and have threatened the US and parts of Europe.

 

If you're one of the 30 million or so drivers hitting the road this holiday weekend, you will see some welcoming numbers at the gas pump. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports this year's Labor⁴ Day weekend gas prices are at a four-year low.

 

This weekend's national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is around $3.40. That's the lowest for a Labor Day weekend since 2010 according to Gasbody.com. It thanks in large part to drops in crude oil prices that are fueled by the shale⁵ oil boom in Texas, North Dakota and Canada. The US is one of the world's top oil producers along with Saudi Arabia and Russia. Drivers in South Carolina are paying the lowest average for a gallon for gasoline at around $3.14; the nation's highest gas prices are in the Pacific states with Hawaii topping the list at around $4.30. Hansi Lo Wang, NPR News.

 

The Electric Zoo musical festival in New York City has been shut down after severe thunderstorms roll through the area tonight. The cancellation⁶ came on the three-day electronic musical fest final day. It's the second time in two years the event has been cancelled midstream. Last year, the third day was called off after two people died of drug overdoses.

 

This is NPR News in Washington.

 

At US Open, Caroline Wozniacki beat Maria Sharapova to win in three sets and returned to a grand slam quarter-final for the first time in more than two years. She said she took a goal for broke approach in the third set. 

 

"When I lose, I'm gonna go for my shots, and I'm gonna go third, and, you know, then, this is the only chance I have to win. And if I'm gonna lose, at least I'm gonna do it with dignity."

 

With Sharapova's loss, number 1 seat, Serena Williams, is the only woman left of the top six.

 

A team of scientists from the US and Singapore has developed a new way to detect the malaria⁷ parasite⁸ in a patient's blood. NPR's Joe Palca reports the technique may reduce errors in diagnosing the illness.

 

Right now, detecting of malaria parasite involves taking a drop of a patient's blood, smearing⁹ it on a glass slide, adding a chemical that reveals the parasite and examining the slide under a microscope. As they report in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers say the new technique should be simpler to perform. It doesn't require chemicals or microscopes. Instead, it uses the magnets like those found in an MRI scanner to measure a waste product the parasite makes. Right now the magnets require a desktop-size device to work, but the researchers from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology think they can reduce that to the size of a computer tablet. Joe Palca, NPR News.

 

The World Health Organization says it's treating Senegal's first confirmed Ebola case as a top priority emergency. The UN agency says it will quickly respond to the country's urgent need for support and supplies including personal protective equipment for health workers. 

 

This is NPR News in Washington.

 

1 inflame   

v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎

参考例句：

• Our lack of response seemed to inflame the colonel.由于我们没有反应,好象惹恼了那个上校。
• Chemical agents manufactured by our immune system inflame our cells and tissues,causing our nose to run and our throat to swell.我们的免疫系统产生的化学物质导致我们的细胞和组织发炎，导致我们流鼻水和我们的喉咙膨胀。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 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。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 shale   

n.页岩，泥板岩

参考例句：

• We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
• Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。

6 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

7 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

8 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

9 smearing   

污点，拖尾效应

参考例句：

• The small boy spoilt the picture by smearing it with ink. 那孩子往画上抹墨水把画给毁了。
• Remove the screen carefully so as to avoid smearing the paste print. 小心的移开丝网，以避免它弄脏膏印。