NPR 2011-09-17

 The rebel government in Libya is being given a seat in the UN General Assembly. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports Washington's applauding the news as another big step forward for Libya's so-called Transitional National Council.

 

The General Assembly voted 114 to 17 in favor of giving the Transitional National Council the credentials¹ to represent Libya in the UN. Fifteen countries abstained² from the vote. The US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice calls it a “historic step” and says she is looking forward to working with Libya's new representative to help the transition towards democracy and rule of law. President Obama is to meet with the chairman of the Transitional National Council on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly debate next week. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

 

Western oil companies with operations in North Africa are being warned of a potential threat from al-Qaeda. The State Department says the US embassy in Algeria has new information indicating terrorists may have acquired weapons during the Libyan conflict. In Sirte and Bani Walid, more resistance. Amateur video captured sound of gunfire today in two of the last strongholds. Former rebels in Libya are fighting to wrest³ from Gaddafi loyalists. Syrians tracking developments in Libya are also risking more violence and rallying for an end to the Assad regime. Syrian crowds in the streets of Homs where activists⁴ later report troops firing on the crowd in that city and elsewhere killing⁵ at least 15 people.

 

President Obama has signed into law an overhaul⁶ of the country's patent system, the first major change in decades.

 

"Over the last decade, patent applications have nearly tripled, and because the patent office doesn't have the resources to deal with all of them, right now there are about 700,000 applications that haven't even been opened yet."

 

The president signed the American Invents Act after touring Thomas Jefferson  High School for Science and Technology in northern Virginia.

 

Consumers are apparently⁷ more optimistic about the economy but not by much. Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton sheds some light on the latest University of Michigan Reuters Survey.

 

Consumer sentiment increased two points to 50.8. That's after falling a full 25% this summer. Chris Christopher is an economist⁸ with IHS Global Insight. He says there's really no reason for consumers to feel optimistic.

 

"Since there's been turmoil⁹ in the equity¹⁰ markets, and real estate is going nowhere, household assets have fallen in the second quarter."

 

Christopher expects only a slight increase in consumer confidence through the end of the year. For NPR News, I'm Tracy Samilton in Ann Arbor¹¹.

 

The European Union is signing off on tougher budget rules that make it easier to punish overspending member states, and Wall Street's reacting. At last check, the Dow was up 76 points before the close at 11,509.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Former International Monetary¹² Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has admitted to police that he did try to kiss a young French author who has brought rape¹³ charges against him. But he says she rebuffed him, and it ended there. Eleanor Beardsley reports that Strauss-Kahn made a statement to French police just a few days ago.

 

Strauss-Kahn was questioned by French police almost immediately after his return from New York, where sexual assault charges against him were dropped. Author Tristane Banon brought charges against Strauss-Kahn this summer, saying he tried to rape her in 2003 when she went to his apartment for an interview. Investigating judges must decide if the evidence warrants a court trial. The statute¹⁴ of limitations for rape in France is ten years. Strauss-Kahn's answer to police Monday is a far cry from his initial response to Banon's charges, which was that her account was pure fantasy. Strauss-Kahn will appear on television Sunday night in a highly anticipated interview, where he is expected to explain to the French people what happened in New York. For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

 

Citibank customers will have to pay a higher monthly fee for a basic checking account. The bank's raising the charge from eight to 10 dollars. People can avoid that fee though if they maintain a balance of at least 1,500 dollars or set up direct deposit and online bill pay, and you could forget about reward points on debit¹⁵ card transaction. Citybank’s doing away with that program. In lieu of another, that rewards people for having (a口误) savings¹⁶. The changes are due to take effect in December.

 

Before the close on Wall Street, the down was up 76 points, more than 0.5%, at 11,509, and the NASDAQ was up more than 0.5% at 2,622.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

2 abstained   

v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• Ten people voted in favour, five against and two abstained. 十人投票赞成，五人反对，两人弃权。
• They collectively abstained (from voting) in the elections for local councilors. 他们在地方议会议员选举中集体弃权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 wrest   

n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲

参考例句：

• The officer managed to wrest the gun from his grasp.警官最终把枪从他手中夺走了。
• You wrest my words out of their real meaning.你曲解了我话里的真正含义。

4 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》

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 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。

9 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

10 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

11 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

12 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。

13 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

14 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

15 debit   

n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项

参考例句：

• To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方？
• We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱，只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。

16 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。