NPR 2012-02-16

 It's not a done deal yet but a payroll¹ tax cut extension is on track to pass in the GOP-led House. Today, House Speaker John Boehner said the measure that also extends unemployment insurance will be brought to a vote this week.

 

"We were not gonna allow the Democrats³ to continue to play political games and raise taxes on working Americans."

 

But President Obama says it's the Republican leadership that's been dragging its feet. On Capitol Hill, NPR's Sonari Glinton says details of the plan are still sketchy⁴.

 

At this stance, the tentative deal would mean adding the cost of the payroll tax cut to the deficit⁵, though an extension of unemployment insurance benefits would be paid for with some combination of cuts and fees. So far, those are all the details most lawmakers know for sure. Representative John Larson, the Democrat² from Connecticut, says he's optimistic, but he still has to wait and see.

 

"As the Irish say, it's a long way to Tipperary. Things have had the ability to change around here rather rapidly when it appears that a deal has been struck."

 

So far, both sides have to sign off on a plan in a conference, though Republican leaders say they want to get a vote before week's end. Sonari Glinton, NPR News, the Capitol.

 

President Obama stumping⁶ for in-sourcing support in Wisconsin this hour. He's visiting a Milwaukee plant set up as an example of how  companies can bring jobs back to the US and build up the country's crucial manufacturing sector⁷. The president was greeted at the airport earlier today by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker who faces a Democratic recall effort for attempting to stem union rights.

 

Syrian activists⁸ are capturing images of an inferno⁹ in Homs, Syria where troops have struck oil and gas pipelines¹⁰ in its campaign against rebels. The city has been entrenched¹¹ in battles for nearly two weeks. The Syrian president is offering to hold a referendum on a new constitution that allows for parties other than his ruling Baath party. The White House dismissed it as "laughable". And as Jessica Gallaher reports from Moscow, Russia's foreign minister says he will hold talks on reworking a UN Security Council resolution on Syria.

 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says he'll meet with his French counterpart in Austria on Thursday. Lavrov says he will discuss the reworked resolution by France's foreign minister intended to overcome Russia's resistance to an Arab and Western-backed Security Council resolution that called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to cede¹² power. Russia and China vetoed the resolution. Moscow has consistently maintained that dialogue with both the opposition¹³ and the Syrian government is necessary to end the violence there. For NPR News, I'm Jessica Gallaher in Moscow.

 

At last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 65 points at 12,814; NASDAQ gaining five points, it's at 2,937; and the S&P 500 down slightly at 1,349.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Iran reportedly striking back against the European oil embargo¹⁴ that protests Tehran's nuclear program. State media say the Islamic republic is choking off supplies to France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands, further underscoring Tehran's defiance¹⁵ against the West's embargo. The country's reporting progress in its nuclear development. A local news agency says Iran has begun using new advanced centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment site. The US and its allies believe Iran wants to make nuclear weapons.

 

The Mormon church has issued a second apology for a member's posthumous¹⁶ baptism of the parents of the late Simon Wiesenthal, an advocate for victims of the Holocaust¹⁷. NPR's Howard Berkes reports that the controversy¹⁸ has now touched the presidential campaign of Mitt¹⁹ Romney.

 

The new statement from the Mormon church adds to the apology with an explanation of a second incident involving Holocaust survivor²⁰ and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel and his father and grandfather. Their names were discovered in Mormon genealogical records used to select the dead for posthumous baptisms. Wiesel told the Huffington Post that Mormon and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney should denounce the practice. Romney's campaign has not responded. Mormons are only supposed to conduct the Baptisms for direct ancestors. The church says Wiesel and his relatives were not actually slated²¹ for the Mormon ritual which is a basic tenet of the faith. Howard Berkes, NPR News, Salt Lake City.

 

US stocks mixed at last check with investors²² still watching what happens with the bailout situation in Greece. At last check, Dow off 65 points, or about 0.5%, it's at 12,814.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 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》

4 sketchy   

adj.写生的，写生风格的，概略的

参考例句：

• The material he supplied is too sketchy.他提供的材料过于简略。
• Details of what actually happened are still sketchy.对于已发生事实的详细情况知道的仍然有限。

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

6 stumping   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• She's tired of stumping up for school fees, books and uniform. 她讨厌为学费、课本和校服掏腰包。
• But Democrats and Republicans are still dumping stumping for the young. 但是民主党和共和党依然向年轻人发表演说以争取他们的支持。

7 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。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 inferno   

n.火海；地狱般的场所

参考例句：

• Rescue workers fought to get to victims inside the inferno.救援人员奋力营救大火中的受害者。
• The burning building became an inferno.燃烧着的大楼成了地狱般的地方。

10 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

11 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

12 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。

13 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。

14 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

15 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

16 posthumous   

adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的

参考例句：

• He received a posthumous award for bravery.他表现勇敢，死后受到了嘉奖。
• The legendary actor received a posthumous achievement award.这位传奇男星在过世后获得终身成就奖的肯定。

17 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

18 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

19 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。

20 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

21 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

22 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会