NPR 2011-10-11

 Markets rally today on signs that European Union leaders are making progress in addressing the debt crisis. On Wall Street the Dow was up 304 points, the NASDAQ up 79. A European Union summits scheduled for next Monday has been delayed to give leaders more time to work on the Greek debt crisis. Teri Schultz reports the EU wants to review the latest assessment¹ of the Greek economy.

 

EU President Herman van Rompuy says he wants to give the bloc² an extra week to examine a new International Monetary³ Fund report on Greece's budget-cutting process, before deciding whether to approve the next loan payment of almost $11 billion. The IMF’s audit⁴ on Athens is due Tuesday. And Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is expected to make a trip to Brussels this week, saying he expects the new date to help finalize⁶ a comprehensive strategy on the eurozone crisis. Van Rompuy notes that rules governing the re-capitalization of banks and boosting the EU bailout fund are also issues that will be on the table when leaders do convene⁷ October 23rd. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz.

 

In Libya, the town of Sirte, anti-Gaddafi forces say they've made significant inroads in the battle for control of the ex-dictator's hometown. Revolutionary forces say they have loyalist forces surrounded after days of fierce battles with tank, rocket and machinegun fire echoing through the streets around the convention center there.

 

A new UN report says prisoners at some detention⁸ centers in Afghanistan are often tortured. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports that NATO has stopped transferring detainees to those prisons.

 

The UN report details cases of torture, especially prisons run by Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the NDS. Almost half of the NDS prisoners interviewed reported abuse. Victims complained of beatings, the use of electric shocks, and being suspended by their wrists for a long period of time. Some detainees reported sexual assault was used as torture. A NATO spokesman said a process has been set up with the Afghan government to stop torture during interrogations. He said battlefield operations have not been affected⁹ by the change in policy. The UN said Afghan authorities were cooperating to address the problem. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Kabul.

 

It's against the law now in California to openly carry handguns in public. Governor Jerry Brown has signed that ban into law amid heavy opposition¹⁰ from gun enthusiasts¹¹. The measure makes it a misdemeanor to carry an exposed and unloaded gun in pubic or in vehicles, with violators facing up to a year in prison or a potential fine of $1000 when that law takes effect on January 1st. 

 

Pre-orders of its iPhone 4S have topped one million according to Apple, breaking the record set by last year's model. 

 

Wall Street, the Dow up 304 at 11,407. NASDAQ up 79. This is NPR.

 

Goodbye, Qwikster! The new website announced by Netflix to separate its DVD and video streaming services is no more. The earlier move met with such hostility¹² that as NPR's Ted⁵ Robbins says it has been reversed in less than one month.

 

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings summed up both reaction to the separate website and the action to end it when he posted this on his blog. It is clear that for many of our members, two websites would make things more difficult, then this means no change: one website, one account, one password, in other words, no Qwikster. The ill-received idea came after Netflix separated streaming video from its DVD-by-mail service and began charging separately for both. The new charges remain but there'll be bills through a customer's single Netflix account. When the cost went up, Netflix lost customers and its stock price got pummeled. Ted Robbins, NPR News.

 

Netflix stock down five points today.

 

Two Americans sharing the Nobel Prize for Economics, Thomas Sargent of New York University and Christopher Sims of Princeton have been honored for their work on how economies respond to intervention¹³ by central banks and government institutions.

 

The Sunday Telegraph of London is citing engineers' documentation that Big Ben, the British parliament's clock tower is listing slightly. The tower has been off slightly since the 19th century. But documents drawn¹⁴ up by engineers noted¹⁵ it underwent a new and so far unexplained shift in 2003. One official responsible for the tower says it's very, very minor¹⁶.

1 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？

2 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

3 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

5 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

7 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

8 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

9 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。

10 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。

11 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

12 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

13 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。