NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-11-07

 New Jersey¹ governor Chris Christie has won a second term in office. The Republican defeated the Democrat² Bob McDonnell. NPR's Joel Rose has more. 

Chris Christie cruised to an easy victory. Christie was popular even before Hurricane Sandy, but his approval rating soared in the wake of storm as he helped lead New Jersey's recovery. Christie is stalled to be positioning himself to run for president in 2016 as a moderate alternative to the more conservative wing of the GOP, and his reelection should do nothing to discourage those ambitions. Christie's opponent, Democrat State Senator Bob McDonnell tried to persuade voters that he's more interested in governing New Jersey than in seeking national office, but he was never able to compete with Christie name recognition or superior fundraising. Joel Rose, NPR News. 

 

The Virginia governor race is turning out to be a lot more interesting than some have believed might be the case. This point is no call yet at race, putting Democratic Party insider Terry McAuliffe against Republican Tea Party favor Ken³ Cuccinelli. Record amount of money for McAuliffe’s campaign would spat⁴ the race appears to be tighter than many expected. Cuccinelli is focusing on attacking on President Obama signature healthcare law. Meanwhile, polls are closing this hour in New York City where a new mayor will be elected to replace long-time office holder⁵ Michael Bloomberg. 

 

Illinois is about to become the 15th state to legalize same sex marriage after both chambers⁷ of state’s legislature passed the bill to allow same sex couples to marry. NPR’s David Schaper reports, Illinois governor has @@ the measure he would be signing into the law. 

 

Illinois Senate first approved the measure legalizing same-sex marriage last Valentine’s day. But the bill languished⁸ in Illinois House for months. Sponsors wouldn’t even call a vote until they believed they had enough support. 

“As all voters’ wish”

Which is finally happening in late afternoon. 

“Please state for the record, on this question is 61 voting yes; 54 voting no; 2 voting present and this bill having received a constitutional majority is hereby declared passed.”

Supporters in the gallery stood in cheer after a bill they want approval was just 1 vote to spare. Illinois governor Pat Quinn says legalizing gay marriage put the state on the right side of history. David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago. 

 

Key measure of home prices was up slightly in September. Corelogic, a firm tracks  real estate prices, says its home price index rose 0.2% in September from the previous month while below the increases posted during the previous two month, while the firm says prices compared with a year ago are still up more than 12% nationwide. Higher mortgage interests rate coupled the escalating⁹ home prices have begun to wield¹⁰ on sales. Even so the average rate on fixed¹¹ rate on mortgage loan is still about 4%, within half a point near its historic low. 

 

A mixed closing on Wall Street today while investors¹² poor over seasonal¹³ third quarter earning’s numbers. The Dow was down 20 points to close 15,618; the NASDAQ gained 3 points, ending the cession¹⁴ at the 3,939. This @@ S&P 500 closed down 4 points to 1,762.

 

You’re listening to NPR News in Washington. 

 

President Obama says US business is looking for quick passage of immigration reform on Capitol Hill. President's meeting today with business leaders in the White House as part of the efforts to press House members to pass legislation to overhaul¹⁵ the current immigration system. US Chamber⁶ for Commerce is lobbying lawmakers to pass the measure, and tomorrow the FOCIO will announce its plans to push for passage. Senate has already approved the legislation which secures the nation's border while at same time providing a passage to citizenship¹⁶ for 11 million undocumented immigrants who entered US illegally. 

 

Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Israel to try to push forward peace negotiations¹⁷ between Israel and Palestinian authorities. NPR's Emily Harris explains he comes as patience from both sides is starting to wear thin. 

Kerry's first stop with the memorial to former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who is assassinated¹⁸ 18 years ago. The Oslo peace deal signed under Rabin did not lead to the end of Palestinian-Israel conflict. At that memorial, Kerry says he's still trying. 

"I come here without any illusion about the difficulties, but I come here to determine to work with leaders with Prime Minister, with the president of Palestinian authority to try to find the way forward."

Kerry’ll meet both leaders on Wednesday. Already this week, one Israeli lawmaker has accused the Palestinian of showing no flexibility¹⁹ and the Palestinian authority president has said the talks have produced no results so far. Emily Harris, NPR News, Jerusalem. 

 

Mystery of a giant four-story barged Google’s building in San Francisco Bay continue to be one-full. So far, Google's managing to conceal²¹ the purpose of the structure.  experts of environment and legal authority say they're concerned about whether Google by placing the construction on barge²⁰ maybe try to avoid city building permit. 

1 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。

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 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

4 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

5 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

6 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

7 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

8 languished   

长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐

参考例句：

• Our project languished during the holidays. 我们的计划在假期间推动得松懈了。
• He languished after his dog died. 他狗死之后，人憔悴了。

9 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

10 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 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

13 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

14 cession   

n.割让，转让

参考例句：

• The cession of the territory could not be avoided because they lost the war.因为他们输了这场战争，割让领土是无法避免的。
• In 1814,Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution.1814年挪威人反对向瑞典割让自己的国土，并且制定了新的宪法。

15 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

16 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

17 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。

18 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

19 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

20 barge   

n.平底载货船，驳船

参考例句：

• The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
• Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。

21 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。