NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-06-19

　　From NPR News in Washington, I’m Lakshmi Singh.

 

　　President Obama has informed leaders at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland about a potentially important milestone¹ in the Afghan War. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports the Taliban have agreed to open a negotiating office in Doha, Qatar, and talks with the US could begin in a couple of days.

 

　　Administration officials say the Taliban’s agreement to open talks comes after months of diplomatic spadework that coincides with another milestone, Afghan forces taking the lead in military operations throughout their country, with US and allied² forces now playing a supporting role. US officials say the talks with the Taliban are likely to be complex, long and messy. But they say this could be an important first step towards a negotiated end to the 12-year-old war. The Taliban has agreed to renounce³ international attacks launched from Afghan soil. The US says any final deal with the Taliban should also sever⁴ ties with al-Qaeda and include protections for Afghanistan’s women and minorities. Scott Horsley, NPR News, traveling with the president.

 

　　The leaders of the G8 summit are united in working to end the Syria crisis but they are still divided on how to do it. As the gathering⁵ release(d) its communiqué on Syria, British Prime Minister David Cameron said President Bashar al-Assad could not be part of a post-civil war Syria.

 

　　"As for the transition, look, I think it is unthinkable that President Assad can play any part in the future government of his country. He has blood on his hands. He’s used chemical weapons."

 

　　But Russia opposes any measures that would force Assad out.

 

　　The head of the NSA testified today about foiled terror plots. General Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, told the House Intelligence Committee the NSA’s controversial surveillance programs may have prevented terrorists events more than 50 times since the 9/11 attacks. And he said people’s privacy had not been violated.

 

　　"The disciplined operation of these programs protects the privacy and civil liberties of the American people."

 

　　Officials said one of those foiled terror plots was against the New York Stock Exchange.

 

　　The Federal Reserve’s policymaking Federal Open Market Committee began two days of meetings in Washington today. And Steve Beckner of Market News International says their meeting amid mixed economic signs.

 

　　In deciding how much monetary⁷ stimulus⁸ to provide, Fed policymakers are reevaluating the economy and revising their projections⁹ for growth, unemployment and inflation. Ahead of the meeting, the Labor¹⁰ Department reported a modest rise in consumer prices, while the Commerce Department reported a weaker-than-expected increase in housing starts and a drop in building permits. Most Fed watchers think the mix of low inflation, high unemployment and slow growth will lead the FOMC to delay scaling back its 85-billion-dollar monthly bond-buying or quantitative¹¹ easing. The Fed will announce its decision Wednesday afternoon. For NPR News, I’m Steve Beckner.

 

　　This is NPR News.

 

　　Under the glare of cameras, the FBI resumed its search for Jimmy Hoffa. For a second day agents scoured¹² an overgrown farm field just outside Detroit for the remains¹³ of the former Teamsters’ boss whose fate has remained a mystery for nearly 40 years.

 

　　Bob Meistrell, who with his brother Bill developed the first modern wet suit, has died on his boat off the Los Angeles coast. He was 84 years old. NPR’s Karen Grigsby Bates has this appreciation¹⁴.

 

　　Bob Meistrell grew up in Missouri with his identical twin Bill. The boys taught themselves to swim at a local pond, but when they moved to Southern California as teens, they took up surfing and became avid⁶ fans. Wet suits have been gradually catching¹⁵ on, but many surfers rejected them as ugly and cumbersome¹⁶. Using a declassified¹⁷ Navy pattern, the Meistrells created a new kind of wet suit that was lighter¹⁸, more limber and less irritating than the foamed¹⁹ rubber-backed neoprene then in use. And those wet suits caught on. Today the Meistrells’ company, Body Glove International, earns more than 200 million dollars in sales of wet suits and water sports items. Bill Meistrell remained active in water sports after his brother Bob died in 2006. He died from a heart attack aboard his boat in Catalina Harbor on Sunday. Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR News.

 

　　Chrysler is giving in to federal regulators’ demands to recall nearly three million older Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty SUVs dating back more than ten years. It reversed course amid growing pressure from customers. And National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the vehicles were at risk of a fuel tank fire.

 

　　Before the closing bell, Dow was up 138 points at 15,318.

 

　　I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

4 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

7 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

8 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

9 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

12 scoured   

走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮

参考例句：

• We scoured the area for somewhere to pitch our tent. 我们四处查看，想找一个搭帐篷的地方。
• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

15 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

16 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

17 declassified   

adj.解密的v.对（机密文件等）销密( declassify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thousands of classified documents have now been declassified. 数以千计的保密文件现在被解密了。
• The software used for Siemens S7-300 encryption logic block declassified. 此软件用于对西门子S7-300加密逻辑块解密。

18 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

19 foamed   

泡沫的

参考例句：

• The beer foamed up and overflowed the glass. 啤酒冒着泡沫，溢出了玻璃杯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The man foamed and stormed. 那人大发脾气，暴跳如雷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》