美国国家电台 NPR 2012-11-12

 President Obama honored veterans today at Arlington National Cemetery¹. After laying a wreath at the tomb of unknowns, the President said America will never forget the sacrifices made by veterans and their families. The President also noted² a special significance this year. 

 

This is the first Veterans Day in a decade, in which there are no American troops fighting and dying in Iraq.

 

Mr. Obama said as the war in Afghanistan is winding³ down, more than a million service members will be making the transition to civilian⁴ life. 

 

Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee say they want to know if national security was compromised by David Petraeus, who resigned last week as CIA director, after admitting to an extramarital affair. And Republican Saxby Chambliss says Petraeus may still have to testify about the attacks on the U.S. consulate⁵ in Benghazi, Libya, the attack that killed the ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. 

 

At the end of the day, I would not rule out General Petraeus being called to testify. That still could happen at some point in time.  

 

Chambliss was interviewed this morning on FOX News Sunday.

 

Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast, there are still more than 185,000 without electrical service, mainly in New York and New Jersey⁶. NPR's Quil Lawrence has been talking to people in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. He says they are getting frustrated⁷. 

 

They say they have been hearing from the city that it will be today, it will be tomorrow, but they have been hearing that for weeks. There are now rumours⁸ going around that it might be into next year before this places have power again. And people are starting to look towards longer term solutions. NPR's Quil Lawrence reporting from the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, New York.

 

Damage from the storm is now estimated at $50 billion, making it the second most expensive storm in the U.S. behind Hurricane Katrina.

 

Israel fired a missile into Syria today as a warning to keep its civil conflict from spilling over the border, after a Syrian mortar⁹ round fell in the Golan Heights. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Jerusalem that no casualties have been reported. 

 

Israel's military says on its website that a stray Syrian army mortar round apparently¹⁰ fired at Syrian rebels hid in Israeli military outpost in the Golan Heights. Israel also filed a complaint to U.N. peacekeeping forces stationed on the Golan Heights since the end of 1973 Yom Kippur War. Israel said that any firing over the border from Syria would not be tolerated and would be met with a severe response. Last week, three Syrian army tanks crossed into the demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights in pursuit of rebel forces. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Jerusalem. 

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

An earthquake struck Myanmar today, local meteorologists put its magnitude at 6.8. It struck in the central part of the country, also known as Burma, near Mandalay, the second largest city. Officials say at least six people died. They fear the death toll¹¹ may rise because several people are still missing. They were working on a bridge under construction that fell into a river. 

 

The Greek Parliament is expected to approve a 2013 budget tonight that includes tax increases and spending cuts. Joanna Kakissis reports from Athens. 

 

Unions have called for a demonstration¹² outside parliament today to protest the budget vote. They say austerity has deepened the recession and spiked¹³ the unemployment rate to more than 25%. Anti-austerity protest turned violent last week before parliament voted for new cuts to pensions, health care spending and public sector¹⁴ wages and jobs. But Prime Minister Antonis Samaras says these cuts and reforms are needed for Greece to avoid insolvency¹⁵ and a eurozone exit. He's hoping tonight's budget vote will convince eurozone leaders to give Greece its latest installment¹⁶ of about $ 40 billion in bailout loans before the country runs out of cash later this month. Eurozone finance ministers will discuss Greece at a meeting on Monday. For NPR News, I'm Joanna Kakissis, in Athens.

 

Today is Singles Day in China, a holiday begun by college students in the 1990s, it's sort of Valentine's Day for people without partners. Unattached young people exchange gifts or treat each other to dinner. Companies see it as a selling opportunity and offer Singles Day sales. It's held every year on November 11th or 11 11 for single ones. 

1 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

7 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

9 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。

10 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。

11 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

12 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

13 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

14 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

15 insolvency   

n.无力偿付，破产

参考例句：

• The company is on the verge of insolvency.该公司快要破产了。
• Normal insolvency procedures should not be applied to banks.通常的破产程序不应当适用于银行。

16 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。