NPR 2011-09-03

 The US market is getting jolted¹ by today's weakest jobs report in the year with major indexes sliding more than 2%. Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was down 251 points at 11,242; NASDAQ was off 66 points or 2.5% at 2,480; and the S&P 500 down 30 or 2.5% at 1,174.

 

The Labor² Department finds that the nation's unemployment rate unchanged at 9.1%. NPR's Sonari Glinton says there were no new jobs added to the economy last month. The first time that's happened in more than 16 years.

 

The sectors³ that added workers were education and health care. The list of places where hiring fell is longer. Construction, retail⁴, transportation, even manufacturing took a hit the first time since last October. Beth Ann Bovino is senior economist⁵ with Standard & Poor's. She says one of the places we have and will continue to seek job cuts: government.

 

"And the government is certainly pulling back sharply. They've been doing that for several months, and given state local governments are trying to clean up their balance sheets, and we certainly know what's happening with the federal government, a lot of job losses there as well."

 

Bovino says one of the main things holding back job growth: consumer confidence. Sonari Glinton, NPR News.

 

Rain is beginning to drench⁶ New Orleans as tropical storm Lee swirls⁷ in the Gulf⁸ of Mexico. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is urging residents not to ignore weather alerts.

 

"This is a holiday weekend. I know there are football games. I know people are paying attention to a lot of different things over this weekend. It's very important for folks to pay attention to the weather in their area."

 

Eileen Fleming of member station WWNO reports up to 20 inches of rain could fall throughout the Labor Day weekend.

 

Voluntary evacuations are underway for some coastal⁹ areas in southeast Louisiana. Governor Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency to be in effect until sometime next week. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has declared a state of emergency for counties expected to be slammed by the storm. New Orleans officials are telling residents to stay home if possible, especially those living near more than 30 traffic intersections¹⁰ that have significant flooding in stormy weather. A few oil platforms in the Gulf have been evacuated¹¹. Tropical storm warnings are in effect from Mississippi to Texas. For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.

 

A federal judge is rejecting Roger Clemens' request to throw out the perjury¹² charges against him. Judge Reggie Walton has set mid-April for the retrial of baseball's former star pitcher¹³, but Walton says he's still concerned that the prosecution¹⁴ violated his orders not to show jurors certain evidence, a move that prompted a mistrial. Clemens is accused of lying to Congress when he said he had never taken performance-enhancing drugs during his career.

 

You're listening to NPR News.

 

After 9/11, people who were exposed to the dust, smoke and fumes¹⁵ that engulfed¹⁶ Lower Manhattan have had significant health problems, but they have not been more likely to die. NPR's Nancy Shute reports on the surprising results of the first study of deaths in a decade since the terrorist attacks.  

 

There were no more deaths in rescue and recovery workers who worked at the Ground Zero site than in their colleagues. And that's also true for people who were exposed to the toxic¹⁷ dust and smoke because they lived in Lower Manhattan or were working there when the towers fell. Two other studies found that emergency workers at the site did have higher rates of cancer, depression and PTSD. Researchers say the death rates may be lower than expected because the illnesses that have affected¹⁸ 9/11 survivors¹⁹ the most like respiratory problems and PTSD can take years to cause death if they do at all. The studies were published in the Lancet. Nancy Shute, NPR News, Washington.

 

The European Union is banning oil imports from Syria in a move to pressure President Bashar al-Assad's regime to end its crackdown on dissent²⁰. The latest sanction is expected to cost the Syrian government millions of dollars each day. The announcement comes the same day that anti-Assad activists²¹ were reporting more deadly violence by Syrian troops.

 

Firefighters heading into the Labor Day weekend battling a number of fires in central and eastern Oregon, and they are expecting weather conditions to be brutal²²: hot, dry and windy. Crews are rushing to get lines established before the weather gets worse. Fire spokeswoman Jeree Mills is warning travelers to check websites and call ahead to find out if certain roads and campgrounds are open for the holiday weekend.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 jolted   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• She was jolted out of her reverie as the door opened. 门一开就把她从幻想中惊醒。

2 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。

3 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

5 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

6 drench   

v.使淋透，使湿透

参考例句：

• He met a drench of rain.他遇上一场倾盆大雨。
• They turned fire hoses on the people and drenched them.他们将消防水管对着人们，把他们浇了个透。

7 swirls   

n.旋转( swirl的名词复数 )；卷状物；漩涡；尘旋v.旋转，打旋( swirl的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Swirls of smoke rose through the trees. 树林中升起盘旋的青烟。 来自辞典例句
• On reaching the southeast corner of Himalaya-Tibet, It'swirls cyclonically across the Yunnan Plateau. 在到达喜马拉雅--西藏高原东南角处，它作气旋性转向越过云南高原。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

10 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

11 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

12 perjury   

n.伪证；伪证罪

参考例句：

• You'll be punished if you procure the witness to commit perjury.如果你诱使证人作伪证，你要受罚的。
• She appeared in court on a perjury charge.她因被指控做了伪证而出庭受审。

13 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

14 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

15 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

16 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

18 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。

19 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

20 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

21 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。