NPR 2008-06-11

A Sudan Airways¹ plane burst into flames while landing in Khartoum today. There are reports that as many as 100 people died. There are more than 200 people on board.

The major presidential hopeful spent some time talking about the economy today. Republican John McCain told small business owners in Washington DC his ideas will be better for them. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

The economy will be a key battleground between John McCain and his Democratic rival Barack Obama between now and the November election. Obama has launched a two-week road trip to highlight his economic proposals. McCain told a small business summit in Washington he is looking forward to their debate. “On tax policy, healthcare reform, trade, government spending, a long list of other issues, we offer very different choices to the American people.” The heart of McCain's economic plan is making the Bush tax cuts permanent and lowering the tax rate on corporations. Obama would raise taxes on dividends² and capital gains while granting a tax credit of up to 500 dollars for every worker. Scott Horsley, NPR News.

Obama told reporters in St. Louis that his plan would cut taxes for 95% of US workers. He was also interviewed today by NPR. He said a tax break would help most Americans cope with the rising price of gasoline. But he said there's not much else the government can do in the short term. “We are not going to be able to immediately lower gas prices in any realistic scenario³, because demand(s) in China and India keep on going up.” He said the US can lower gas prices in the long term by investing in alternative fuels.

New York state officials have forged an agreement with Verizon, Sprint⁴ and Time Warner Cable to block access to child pornography found and created on tens of thousands of newsgroups and user groups. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says that in the past, user groups on the Internet have been hard to police: there are so many of them and because of privacy concerns. He says all three companies have agreed to eliminate child porn from their servers. The companies will also pay more than a million dollars to help fund efforts to remove child porn from the net. There's been a continuing undercover investigation⁵ of child porn newsgroups which will continue. Last year, Cuomo announced an agreement with Facebook and MySpace to crack down on sexual predators⁶. Combined, Verizon and Time Warner provide Internet service to about 16 million subscribers. Sprint is one of the nation's largest wireless⁷ companies. None of these companies are accused of wrongdoing only acting⁸ as a portal, and all said they'd taken steps to shut down the newsgroups when concerns were reported. Margot Alder⁹, NPR News, New York.

On Wall Street today, the market was mixed. The Dow gained nine points. The NASDAQ lost ten points. And the S&P fell three. This is NPR News from Washington.

The Commerce Department reported today that the trade deficit¹⁰ grew by 7.8 percent in April to 60.9 billion dollars. That's the largest imbalance in more than a year. The US did export more, but those gains were outpaced by crude oil imports which jumped to a record 29.3 billion dollars.

Zimbabwe's main opposition¹¹ leader charged again today that his country is being run by a military junta¹². He said 66 of his followers¹³ have been killed in state-sponsored violence since disputed presidential elections in March. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports.

Morgan Tsvangirai warned that Zimbabwe had suffered, what he described as, a "de facto coup¹⁴ d'etat" . It's not the first time he is making such assertions. The opposition leader said since a military plan was uncovered in April, violence continued unabated, with Zimbabweans exposed to brutality¹⁵ at the hands of President Robert Mugabe's security agents. Tvsangirai said 3,000 people were in hospital and 25,000 displaced. Despite what he called “government-sponsored violence” in Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai said his opposition Movement for Democratic Change was destined¹⁶ for victory in the presidential run-off on June 27th, and that they remained firmly focused on that goal. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Johannesburg.

 The US and the European Union agreed today to impose new economic sanctions on Iran if that country does not verify that it's no longer seeking nuclear weapons. At a summit in Slovenia, President Bush said the leaders of Iran can either face isolation¹⁷ or better relations with the US and the EU. He said the prospect¹⁸ of a nuclear-armed Iran threatens world peace.

1 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

2 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

3 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

4 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 alder   

n.赤杨树

参考例句：

• He gave john some alder bark.他给了约翰一些桤木树皮。
• Several coppice plantations have been seeded with poplar,willow,and alder.好几个灌木林场都种上了白杨、柳树和赤杨。

10 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

11 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。

12 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

13 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

14 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

15 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

16 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

17 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

18 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。