NPR 2012-12-06

　　From NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.

 

　　In Egypt, supporters of President Mohamed Morsi are clashing with opposition¹ protesters who have set up camp outside the presidential palace in Cairo. At least one protester was killed. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports from Cairo that the Egyptian vice² president is demanding that opponents work on reaching a consensus³ with the government to help end the violence.

 

　　Vice President Mahmoud Mekky told reporters at a televised news conference that his government is eager to respond to public demands. But he urged opponents to put their concerns in writing rather than taking them to the streets. President Morsi's critics accuse him of rushing through a draft constitution that doesn't do enough to protect political and religious freedoms. Outside the presidential palace, Morsi's supporters clashed with his opponents, throwing stones and dismantling⁴ their tents as captured in this YouTube video. They also shouted words of encouragement for their president. The clashes were among the worst since Morsi gave himself near absolute powers in late November. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Cairo.

 

　　President Obama talked to a group of corporate⁵ CEOs today about the debt ceiling. NPR's Mara Liasson has more.

 

　　President Obama wants the issue of authorizing⁶ the US to borrow more money, raising the debt ceiling, to be separated from the "fiscal⁷ cliff" negotiations⁹ over the budget.

 

　　"If Congress in any way suggests that they're going to tie negotiations to debt ceiling votes and take us to the brink¹⁰ of default once again as part of a budget negotiation⁸, which, by the way, we have never done it in our history until we did it last year. I will not play that again."

 

　　The US almost defaulted last year when Republicans refused to raise the debt ceiling unless the president cut spending. Mara Liasson, NPR News, the White House.

 

　　In the effort to avoid next month's tax hikes and automatic spending cuts, Republican leaders say the White House hasn't offered a kind of balanced approach that has the chance of clearing either the House or the Senate. House Speaker John Boehner says cooperation is needed on both sides in order to reach an agreement.

 

　　"We can't sit here and negotiate with ourselves. Our targets and framework are things that we can all agree on, and it's exactly how we approached our discussions in the Biden group, my discussions at the White House a year and a half ago and, for that matter, in the Joint-Select Committee."

 

　　President Obama says Republican opposition to any increase in tax rates has slowed progress in negotiations. And that's partly the reason for him not meeting more often with House Speaker Boehner.

 

　　At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 112 points at 13,064.

 

　　This is NPR News.

 

　　Residents in Northern California are still enduring torrential rains. Forecasters say another storm system has moved in off the Pacific just days after three other storms dumped as much as 20 inches of rain in some parts of the region. The latest storm is not expected to be as severe as the others. But it could bring another six inches of rain in the coastal¹¹ mountains.

 

　　The death toll¹² from a powerful typhoon in the Philippines now tops 280. And officials fear more bodies will be found as rescuers reach hard-hit areas isolated¹³ by landslides¹⁴ and floods. NPR's Anthony Kuhn has more.

 

　　Typhoon Bopha triggered landslides and flash floods as it cut a swath of devastation¹⁵ east to west across the large southern island of Mindanao. The worst hit was Mindanao's Compostela Valley, where the typhoon leveled farming villages and left many villagers missing. Philippines soldiers struggled to reach villages cut off by the storm which destroyed military bases as well, hampering¹⁶ rescue operations. The storm is expected to cross over the island of Palua before blowing out of the South China Sea. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News Jakarta.

 

　　Dave Brubeck, a jazz musician who attained¹⁷ pop-star acclaim¹⁸ with recordings¹⁹ such as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk," has died a day short of his 92nd birthday. His longtime manager says he passed away from heart failure en route to regular treatment with his cardiologist. During his career, Brubeck was at the forefront of integration²⁰, playing at black jazz clubs through the Deep South in the 1950s.

 

　　I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

7 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。

8 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

11 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

12 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。

13 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

14 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

15 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。

17 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

18 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

19 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

20 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。