NPR 2012-01-04

 The Republican presidential candidates are making one last push for votes in Iowa, where GOP voters will caucus¹ today night in the nation's first presidential contest. NPR’s David Schaper is traveling with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's campaign. He reports Gingrich is trying to bounce back after being hammered in Iowa by negative ads.

 

 

 

In a coffee shop overlooking the Mississippi River in downtown Muscatine, Gingrich told an appreciative² crowd that if they are drowning in negative attack ads, they haven't come for him. He is there only positive ads.

 

 

 

“You have an opportunity, Iowans have an opportunity tonight to send a signal to Washington and to the political system that the age of negative consultants³ and 30-second attack ads is over. And I have to do it to decide not to vote for anybody who ran attack ads.”

 

 

 

And in his closing argument to voters, Gingrich says he’s the only GOP candidate with the experience of having actually changed Washington. The others, he says, would just be amateurs who would not know what they’re doing if they want. David Schaper, NPR News in Muscatine, Iowa.

 

 

 

The White House is dismissing Iran's latest verbal threats as an attempt to divert attention from its internal troubles. Spokesman Jay Carney: 

 

 

 

“I think one measure of that is a post—a story that was in the Washington Post this morning about the dramatic decline in the Iranian currency as a result of some of the latest sanctions.”

 

 

 

Washington responded hours after Iran's army chief warned US aircraft carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf⁵. The tougher rhetoric⁶ came as the Iranian military was ending a 10-day navy drill at the mouth of the gulf. Tensions have been escalating⁷ between the US and Iran over new sanctions that have triggered a jump in oil crisis.

 

 

 

Police in New York say they’re questioning a person of interest in the firebombing of a prominent Islamic center in Queens Sunday night. NPR's Margot Adler reports that earlier authorities released a sketch⁸ of a suspect taken from a surveillance camera. 

 

 

 

At a news conference in Queens this morning, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke⁴ briefly⁹, saying discrimination against anybody is discrimination against everyone. 

 

 

 

“Whether it was senseless violence or a hate crime will be determined¹⁰ down the road. But in either case, we’re just not going to tolerate it in this city.” 

 

 

 

Adding to confusion besides the Islamic center there were several targets, including a home belonging to a hindu, a corner bodega run by a Muslim and another house. At least four firebombs were thrown; no one was injured. One of the Islamic center’s imams, Maan Al-Sahlani, met yesterday with a dozen clerics from the city Muslim’s community. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

 

 

 

A British jury has found two white men guilty of murdering a black teenager in 1993. Gary Dobson and David Norris were convicted today of killing¹¹ Stephen Lawrence. London’s Metropolitan¹² Police Department was heavily criticized for its handling of the case. Investigators¹³ later found the department to be “institutionally racist¹⁴.”

 

 

 

This is NPR News.

 

 

 

Thousands of Nigerians are protesting across the country against the scrapping¹⁵ of government fuel subsidies¹⁶. NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports anger and pressure are mounting against the government, which has more than doubled the price of gas since Sunday.

 

 

 

Crowds of demonstrators chanting anti-government slogans are lighting¹⁷ bonfires in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos. They’re blocking major highways and preventing gas station[s] from selling fuel. The unrest is spreading with other from neighboring states descending¹⁸ on Lagos to join the protest. The pump price for gas has gone up dramatically in Nigeria with wholesale¹⁹ increases for other products and services expected to follow. Despite being Africa’s top crude oil exporter, Nigeria has to import refined petroleum²⁰ for sale cheaply until now. The government says the monetary²¹ subsidies will be put in trust for poverty alleviation²² and other priorities. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Accra.

 

 

 

The price of food is expected to remain volatile²³ through 2012. The new head of the UN food agency Brazil’s José Graziano da Silva says a recession anticipated in Europe this year could slow global efforts to end world hunger as countries back up their annual dues to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

 

 

 

Well, today world markets are buoyed²⁴ by news of increased manufacturing in the US and surveys signaling faster growth in China and India. European stocks ended the day on a five-month high, and in the US the Dow was up 210 points or 1.7% at 12,427. NASDAQ up 1.7% as well. S&P 500 up 1.6% 1,279.

1 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

2 appreciative   

adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的

参考例句：

• She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
• We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。

3 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 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。

6 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

7 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

8 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

9 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 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。

12 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

13 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

15 scrapping   

刮，切除坯体余泥

参考例句：

• He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
• These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。

16 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

18 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

19 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

20 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

21 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。

22 alleviation   

n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物

参考例句：

• These were the circumstances and the hopes which gradually brought alleviation to Sir Thomas's pain. 这些情况及其希望逐渐缓解了托马斯爵士的痛苦。
• The cost reduction achieved in this way will benefit patients and the society in burden alleviation. 集中招标采购降低的采购成本要让利于患者，减轻社会负担。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

23 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

24 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》