NPR 2009-09-04

Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates meeting with reporters at the Pentagon today said he realizes there is growing impatience² with the war in Afghanistan. But he took exception to the idea the war, in his words, “is slipping through the administration's fingers”. And Gates told reporters he disagrees with those who say it's time for the US to withdraw.

"I absolutely do not think it is time to get out of Afghanistan and I think that the notion that you can conduct a purely³ counter-terrorist kind of campaign and do it from a distance simply does not accord with reality."

Earlier this week, the new US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, delivered a classified assessment⁴ on the war which has now been sent to the president for his review. The document is widely believed to be a lead into a request for more troops and more money for the now eight-year-old war in the weeks ahead.

A wildfire is still burning northeast of Los Angeles today. The station fire has burned more than 200 square miles of forest, and it’s 40% contained. There are three primary areas of concern, as Steve Julian of member station KPCC reports.

The first is Mount Wilson, the peak that houses dozens of radio and TV towers and a historic observatory⁵. It’s still under some threat though ground crews have kept the peak safe so far this week. A few miles to the west, a flare-up this morning forced about two dozen people to leave their homes in the Pacoima Canyon⁶. Crews there are confident they can cut this fire off and keep it from heading north into a very populated region of Los Angeles, the Santa Clarita Valley. The third location is in the wilderness⁷ in the southeastern portion of the station fire. This is rugged⁸ and steep terrain⁹ above several foothill communities where people have built homes against and, in some cases, into the forest. The attack planned today includes about 20 helicopters, eight air tankers¹⁰ and three larger airplanes that can drop thousands of gallons of water or gel at a time. For NPR News, I'm Steve Julian in Los Angeles.

The Labor¹¹ Department says new jobless claims fell slightly last week, but by less than had been expected. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

There were 4,000 fewer new unemployment claims last week than the week before. But that still meant a total of 570,000 new claims for jobless benefits last week. The largest increases were in California, Ohio and New Hampshire. There are growing signs that the economy is recovering, but a turnaround in the job market is lagging, an indication that companies are still reluctant to hire and that lay-offs in many industries continue. On Friday, the Labor Department will release unemployment figures for August and many economists¹² expect the jobless rate to rise from the 9.4% in July. Some predict the rate will hit 10% before the end of the year. Pam Fessler, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 63 points. The NASDAQ was up 16 points today.

This is NPR.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration have ordered the replacement¹³ of some speed sensors¹⁵ on Airbus jets. The decision to replace the speed sensors follows the crash of an Air France jet earlier this year in which all 228 people on board were killed. A faulty sensor¹⁴ on the plane is suspected of playing a role in the crash of the air plane which went down in the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. The FAA says its replacement notice covers A330 and A340 model jets. The order will affect two US airlines that use the Airbus planes Northwest, now part of Delta¹⁶ and US Airways¹⁷.

The Italian Journalists’ Federation¹⁸ backed by fellow European organizations is planning a major demonstration¹⁹ later this month to protest what it says Prime Minister and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi’s attempt to muzzle²⁰ the Italian and foreign press. Sylvia Poggioli reports.

Over the last week, Berlusconi has announced he is suing several Italian and European newspapers for what he claims as slander²¹. The main Italian target is the leftist-leaning La Repubblica which for several months has been posing ten questions to the Prime Minister, seeking clarifications about his relations with teenage girls and a self-professed prostitute. Berlusconi claims the questions in themselves are defamatory. The latest suit is against the leftist newspaper l'Unita for articles allegedly vilifying²² his personal life and sexual behavior. A brief, filed by the Prime Minister's lawyers, cites quotes taken from a TV comedian²³ insinuating²⁴ that Berlusconi takes Viagra, saying the jokes are "personally damaging" as they represent Berlusconi is affected²⁵ with erectile dysfunction which the brief claims “he is not”. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News.

Crude oil futures²⁶ closed down nine cents a barrel to end the day at $67.96.

I'm Jack²⁷ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

3 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

4 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

5 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

6 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

7 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

8 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

9 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

10 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

11 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。

12 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

14 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

15 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

16 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

17 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。

18 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

19 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

20 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

21 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

22 vilifying   

v.中伤，诽谤( vilify的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A: But he is vilifying you! You should fight back. 可他是在诋毁你啊！你应该还击。 来自互联网

23 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

24 insinuating   

adj.曲意巴结的，暗示的v.暗示( insinuate的现在分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入

参考例句：

• Are you insinuating that I' m telling a lie ? 你这是意味着我是在说谎吗？ 来自辞典例句
• He is extremely insinuating, but it's a vulgar nature. 他好奉承拍马，那是种庸俗的品格。 来自辞典例句

25 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

26 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

27 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。