NPR 2012-01-29

 In the race for the Republican presidential nomination¹, Mitt² Romney is campaigning in Florida's Panhandle today. NPR's Greg Allen reports the former Massachusetts governor made a pitch to the many veterans who live in the area.

 

Pensacola is home to a naval³ air station and England Air Force Base. Romney recognized the many veterans in the crowd and took aim at President Obama for proposing to cut the Pentagon budget. Since World War II, Romney said, the US has had the military capacity to fight two wars at once.

 

"This president has changed that. What he announced with his military policy just a week ago was he's gonna reduce our military capability⁴ so we can't do that any more, and as part of that he's reducing our troops by 100,000."

 

Polls in Florida show Romney with a solid lead over Newt Gingrich. Even so, the Romney campaign has released a new TV ad, slamming Gingrich for his ethics⁵ violations⁶ 15 years ago, when he was House speaker. Greg Allen, NPR News, Panama City, Florida.

 

Gingrich is also campaigning in Florida today. Ron Raul is in Maine, and Rick Santorum holds a fundraiser in Washington DC.

 

California air regulators have approved a new plan to limit auto⁷ emissions⁸ and mandate⁹ the sale of electric or zero-emission cars. NPR's Richard Gonzales reports.

 

The California Air Resources Board unanimously approved new rules requiring 15% or one in seven new cars and small trucks sold in California to run on clean technologies by 2025. That would include vehicles powered by batteries, hydrogen fuel cells or other means of achieving zero-emissions. The goal is to reduce smog by 34% and greenhouse gas emissions by 75% in that period. Automakers are generally supportive of the new standards in the hope of establishing a national standard for limiting emissions. But auto dealers¹⁰ say the new rules will drive up the cost of a car or truck, and that is not clear that consumers will buy clean air cars. Richard Gonzales, NPR News.

 

Violence in Syria is rising sharply as the government continues its crackdown on unarmed protesters. NPR's Kelly McEvers reports Arab League observers have decided¹¹ to halt their mission.

 

The deputy secretary-general of the Arab League has announced it will cease its mission, and observers will remain in their hotel in Syria's capital Damascus until further notice. Arab League observers were in Syria to monitor whether the country was complying with a peace plan. At least 80 people have been killed in the past three days alone. The deaths mainly come in the flashpoint cities of Homes, Hama and Idlib as Syrian security forces launch attacks on anti-government protesters. But the deaths also have been the result of gun fights between pro- and anti-government forces. The UN Security Council is considering a calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to eventually transition from power. But Russia has so far indicated it does not support such a measure. Kelly McEvers, NPR News, Beirut.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Germany is floating a proposal that Greece temporarily give up its right to make its own tax and spending decisions as a condition of more bailouts. A German government official who would not talk for attribution told reporters a eurozone budget commissioner¹² should have brought authority to make sure that Greece will take the steps necessary to repay its debt as scheduled. The European Union Commission quickly rejected that idea, saying that such decisions should remain the responsibility of the Greek government, which is accountable to its citizens.

 

The Netherlands may soon become the third European country to ban the burka. France and Belgium already outlaws¹³ them. Teri Schultz reports that restrictions¹⁴ on Islamic dress are politically popular.

 

The Dutch cabinet has moved in an anti-burka bill to its parliament for approval. That means the Netherlands may soon impose fines for wearing full-face coverings in public, although it's estimated only a few hundred women at most cover themselves completely in the burka. The current conservative government was elected on a platform that included passing the ban. France and Belgium both criminalized wearing the Islamic outfit¹⁵ last year. The infamously¹⁶ anti-Islam Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, who's been put on trial for inflaming¹⁷ religious hatred¹⁸, tweeted that the movement of the bill is fantastic news. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.

 

St. Louis is throwing a party today for veterans of the Iraq War. Since the remaining troops left the country last month, there hasn't been a big welcome home parade. Two friends in St. Louis decided to change that. They met with the mayor, launched a Facebook page and raised 35,000 dollars in donations to pay for entertainment and a parade. Thousands are expected to attend.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

3 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

4 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

5 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

6 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

7 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

8 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

9 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

10 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

13 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

14 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

15 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

16 infamously   

不名誉地

参考例句：

• They will not have much cause of triumph when they see how infamously I act. 当他们看到我演得那么糟糕时，他们就不会有多少理由感到胜利了。

17 inflaming   

v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• And, by inflaming the liver, hepatitis can adversely affect dozens of life processes. 而肝脏的炎症又会对数十种生命过程产生有害影响。 来自辞典例句
• Your throat are inflaming. 你的喉部发炎了。 来自互联网

18 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。