NPR 2011-09-04

 Forecasters are spending another weekend keeping a watch on tropical weather. Tropical storm Lee has stalled along the Gulf¹ Coast. And while the sun has been shining for some of today, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu says it’s not shining now. He says there’s evidence residents are not out of the woods yet.

 

“We’re expecting 15 to 20 inches of rain in the New Orleans region as a result of the tropical storm as all of us who’ve been through this know it’s not how much we get, but it’s how much we get in a short period of the time.”        

 

The storm’s slow pace could strain New Orleans levee system. It’s capable of processing just one inch of rain in an hour. There’re scattered² reports of water in low-lying homes and businesses. NPR’s Jeff Brady reports the storms have shut down some of the oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. 

 

Federal regulators say about half of the oil production in the Gulf has been halted because of the storm and a third of the natural gas production. Shell Oil Company says it evacuated³ 858 people from the Gulf of Mexico and will start sending crews back out once it is safe to do so. Hercules Offshore⁴ operates primarily in the shallow waters of the Gulf, the company says it evacuated nearly all its rigs and plans to fly over affected⁵ infrastructure⁶ within the next day. A Hercules official says it could take two days to get crews back out to some of their facilities. Jeff Brady, NPR News.

 

President Obama is preparing to make a major jobs speech to a Joint⁷ Session of Congress in the coming week. He’s expected to push for bipartisan action on tax credits and infrastructure spending to pull the economy out of its doldrums. A new jobs report from the Labor⁹ Department shows the unemployment rates staying stubbornly at 9.1%. As NPR’s Chris Arnold reports that some economists¹¹ are calling for more stimulus¹² from Washington.

 

Over the past six months, the economy’s been gaining fewer and fewer new jobs.

 

“But we don’t really understand it.”

 

Martin Barnes is the chief economist¹⁰ of BCA Research. He says at the heart of the problem, is a lack of confidence by businesses.

 

“We’re trapped in this catch-22 where companies are nervous so they don’t hire, so that guarantees consumer spending stays as weakened as companies see. Why don’t they even hire? Look at what a weak economy it is, it just grows in this ghastly loop, we’re going to break over that as some hope.”

 

 

 

Barnes says he’s increasing talk by some policymakers and prominent economists of some form of additional short-term government stimulus coupled with a longer term of deficit¹³ reduction plan. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

 

The head of Libya’s National Transitional Council is giving Libyan city still in control by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, one week to surrender. Reuters is reporting the interim¹⁴ oil ministers have been told one of those cities may have already changed control. The oil minister also announced oil production will start about 10 days. Libyans are hoping its oil reserves can make them rich.

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz has been in a letter writing mood lately and that’s earned him lots of supporters to his political cause. A few weeks ago, Schultz called on fellow CEOs to join him in freezing campaign contributions to politicians until they end what he calls their “hyper-partisan⁸” behavior. Now he wants to talk to the rest of America. From member station, KPLU, Vanessa Romo has more.

 

Schultz is calling on all concerned Americans to put down coffee and pick up phone. As part of his highly publicized blitz to end partisan gridlock, Schultz will participate in a “Conversation with America”, a telephone town hall meeting on Tuesday, September 6th. In a full page ad in the New York Times and USA Today, Schultz said America is at a fragile and critical moment in its history. He argues political leaders have created the crisis of confidence and wreaked¹⁵ havoc¹⁶ on the economy, putting ideology¹⁷ above the needs of people. The teleconference is an opportunity for alienated¹⁸ Americans to express their desire for a more effective government. The forum¹⁹ will be hosted by nonpartisan group No Labels. For NPR News, I’m Vanessa Romo in Seattle.

 

A fast-moving wildfire in the main interstate between South California and Las Vegas is slowing down. Now the weather condition is calm. The fire began yesterday on the center divider of the Interstate 15 and quickly grew to more than 1,100 acres. And evacuation of 1,500 homes was ordered when the flames came close to large ranch²⁰ homes. Many of those residents are now being told it’s safe to go back. 

 

Dangerous weather conditions are interfering²¹ with plans for those planning to go to Californian beaches this weekend. The National Weather Service is extending High Surf Advisory²² through Sunday, warning that waves could be as high as 10 feet in some spots. 

 

I’m Nancy Lyons, NPR News.

1 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。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 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。

4 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

5 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。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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》

12 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

13 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。

14 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

15 wreaked   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• They have wreaked dreadful havoc among the wildlife by shooting and trapping. 他们射杀和诱捕野生动物，造成了严重的破坏。

16 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

17 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

18 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

20 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

21 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

22 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。