NPR 2011-09-25

 Finance ministers from around the world are meeting in Washington this weekend to discuss ways to keep the European debt crisis from spiraling out of control. Treasury¹ Secretary Timothy Geithner is representing the US. NPR's Allison Keyes reports Geithner says it's time the European Central Bank plays a larger role. 

 

Speaking at the International Monetary² Fund meeting in Washington, Geithner called the European debt crisis the most serious threat now confronting the world economy. He says decisions on how to address the region's problems cannot wait until the crisis gets more severe. Geithner says European governments should work alongside the European Central Bank. The Central Bank for the nation using the euro as their currency to ensure that European governments with sound fiscal³ policies have affordable⁴ financing, and that European banks have the capital they need to operate. Several other finance leaders including those from China and Canada also called for forceful action. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

 

Republicans and Democrats⁵ on Capitol Hill are fighting over money again. The Democratic-controlled Senate has blocked the bill passed by the Republican-controlled House that would provide enough money to pay for government programs once the new fiscal year begins next weekend. The temporary legislation also includes money to help people recover from natural disasters. The Democrats object to a provision in the bill that calls for cutting spending by 1.6 billion dollars to pay for the disaster relief.

 

In Libya, hundreds of fighters are pushing their way into the city of Sirte, attempting to rout⁶ troops still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. Those troops responded with mortar⁷ shells and rocket-propelled grenades.

 

It's now been more than a month since the rebels swept into Tripoli, forcing Gaddafi to go into hiding. They're still trying to take control of Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown and two other regime strongholds. Gaddafi claims he's still in Libya. He occasionally issues audio statements, urging his followers⁸ to keep fighting. Under the cover of the war in Libya, Larry Miller⁹ reports that US officials warned a significant hall of Libyan arms and advanced missiles may have found a way to al-Qaeda in Iran.

 

White House counterterrorism adviser¹⁰ John Brennan says there are urgent efforts to retrieve¹¹ looted Libyan weapons. Brennan told London's Daily Telegraph machine guns and surface-to-air missiles are missing, and he fears they could end up with al-Qaeda's North African branch that's closely linked to branches in Yemen and Pakistan. Friday, the telegraph reported Iranian Revolutionary Guards stole Stinger like Russian missiles and smuggled¹² them to their bases in Sudan, where they train Islamic terrorists. Citing intelligence officers, the paper reports the missiles can shoot down aircraft flying at 11,000 feet. Sudan and Iran have a defense¹³ pact¹⁴. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

Vladimir Putin announced today he'll run for president next year. The current President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday proposed Putin for his job. Putin has served as president from 2000 to 2008 and was barred by the constitution from running for a third consecutive¹⁵ term. Opinion polls suggest Putin will be elected in March for a six-year term. 

 

Prison guards in British Columbia say tough new laws on marijuana proposed by the federal government in Ottawa could swamp the province's prison system. Dan Karpenchuck reports the guards union says jails in the province are already as much as 200% over capacity.

 

The union that represents prison guards says with B.C. jails already bursting, some inmates¹⁶ have been forced to bunk¹⁷ in tents. The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union says the minimum sentences proposed by the Harper government's tough-on-crime law will only make the situation worse. If passed, the laws could result in a minimum six-month sentence for anyone convicted of growing between six and 200 marijuana plants, and trafficking convictions would begin with a one-year sentence. The union says responsibility of housing inmates sentenced to less than two years falls on the province, and that means more overcrowding. Critics say the tough laws will only affect small-scale growers and not deter¹⁸ larger criminal organizations. But with the Harper government now holding a majority in parliament, opposition¹⁹ parties can only delay, not stop the new legislation. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuck in Toronto.

 

A six-ton satellite fell to Earth early this morning. NASA doesn't know exactly where but thinks it entered the Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. Officials say most of it probably burned in the reentry, and they haven't received any reports of injuries. The satellite had run out of fuel in 2005.

 

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

1 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

2 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。

3 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

7 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

8 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

11 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

12 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

13 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。

14 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

15 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

16 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

18 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

19 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。