NPR 2012-07-26

 Heady? gunfire from opposition¹ fighters in the Syrian city Aleppo was collected by the Turkish agency Anadolu as fighting enters its 5th day. Opposition activists² say fighting raged through the night and many neighborhoods. Syria's commercial hub is about 40 miles from neighboring Turkey which announced today was closing its border with the country due to the unrest. The move cuts off an important import route for supplies for the Syrian state. 

 

Mitt³ Romney's campaign is denying a controversial anonymous⁴ quote that appealed in a London newspaper this morning. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports the controversy⁵ popped up just as the candidate arrived in London for the Olympics. 

 

London's Daily Telegraph newspaper quoted an anonymous Romney advisor⁶ saying we're part of an Anglo Saxon heritage. And he feels that the special relationship is special. That prompted accusations⁷ of racism⁸. In a statement vice⁹ president Biden said the line is beneath a presidential campaign. Obama campaign advisor David Axelrod called it's stunningly¹⁰ offensive. Romney press secretary Andrea Saul denied the quote. She said it does not reflect the view of Governor Romney or anyone in his campaign. Romney has promised not attack President Obama while travelling abroad this week. His campaign has announced 6 photo ops in London, but no speeches or news conferences. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington. 

 

Senate leaders have begun debating rival democratic and republican plans for extending broad tax cuts next year that are set to expire in January. Democrats¹¹ want to limit? the tax extension to households making less than a quarter million dollars a year. Republicans want to extend the tax cut for everyone. The first vote is expected to come at 4pm eastern time. 

 

A government safety panel says the oil spill on the Gulf¹² of Mexico 2 years ago was due in part to a lack of focus on big safety issues. NPR's Christopher Joyce reports the panel blames both the British Petroleum¹³ and federal regulators for poor oversight¹⁴. 

 

 

The investigation¹⁵ found that BP and its business partners as well as government regulators focused mostly on avoiding personal injuries and lost work time on the oil rake?. The US chemical safety board says the rake operator should have paid more attention to what they call process safety, like checking safety equipment and automatic shut off systems, such as the one at the well head that failed to prevent the BP oil spill. The lack of a big picture of view, they report, meant BP wasn't prepared for a large scale catastrophic event. The safety board says this safety blind spot is similar to the situation at BP's Texas City refinery¹⁶ which blew up in 2005 and killed 15 people. Christopher Joyce, NPR News.

 

At a last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 100 points at 12'717. 

 

This is NPR News.

 

Same sex marriage may soon be legalized in Scotland. Law makers¹⁷ say legislation has decking? from the major Scottish political parties. When enacted¹⁹, Scotland could become the first country in the UK to allow same sex marriages. The UK government has conducted a public consultation²⁰ on legalizing marriages and has the support from Prime Minister David Cameron. 

 

Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called on her country which is also known as Burma to enact¹⁸ legislation protecting the rights of minorities. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from /ji karda/, that was Suu Kyi's first speech in parliament since winning her seat in April bi-elections.

 

Speaking from the back of parliament’s main hall Suu Kyi said that to become a democratic union Myanmar must have equal rights legislation. She said that this is about more than just preserving ethnic²¹ language and customs but also addressing poverty and ongoing²² armed conflict. Suu Kyi and her fellow opposition law makers are vastly outnumbered by representatives of the ruling party and military. As a dissident, she spoke²³ boldly to Burmese authorities. As a parliamentarian she has spoken cautiously on the ethnic issue to avoid antagonizing both the government and her constituents²⁴. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Jikarda.

 

Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is making her first trip abroad since being shot in the head last year. She's touring a particle physics laboratory in Switzerland. Her husband astronaut Mark Kelly is being honored for his installation of a 2 billion dollar cosmic ray detector²⁵ for the Geneva based European Center for Nuclear Research on the International Space Station. 

 

I'm Windsor, 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 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》

3 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。

4 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

5 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。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 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。

10 stunningly   

ad.令人目瞪口呆地；惊人地

参考例句：

• The cooks, seamstresses and other small investors are stunningly vulnerable to reversals. 那些厨师、裁缝及其他的小投资者非常容易受到股市逆转的影响。
• The production cost of this huge passenger liner is stunningly high. 这艘船城造价之高令人惊叹。

11 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》

12 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。

13 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。

14 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

16 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

17 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

19 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

20 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

21 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

22 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

23 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。

24 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。