NBA Imposes Player Lockout

 　　The National Basketball League has formally locked out its players after they failed to reach an agreement with the owners on a new collective bargaining agreement.

　　The lockout took effect early Friday morning when the previous labor¹ deal expired.  NBA owners announced the lockout hours earlier on Thursday, after a three-hour bargaining session in New York failed to yield any results.

　　The owners say the NBA lost $300 million last year, with just eight of its 30 franchises² making a profit.  They want to impose a strict salary cap on the players, curtail³ guaranteed contracts and cut the players' guaranteed share of the league's annual $4 billion revenue from 57 percent to 50 percent.

　　They rejected an offer by the players' union to reduce the players' guaranteed share to 54.3 percent, giving back $100 million a year for the next five years.

　　Friday's lockout is the first work stoppage in the NBA since the 1998-99 season, when the season was shortened to 50 games after a prolonged and acrimonious⁴ lockout.  Observers say the current labor dispute could cost the NBA the entire 2011-12 season.

　　Under the lockout, players can not train at the team's facilities or work with the team's coaches.  Franchises are also barred from making trades or negotiating contracts with rookies and free agents.

　　The NBA is the second major North American sports league this year to shut down operations due to a labor dispute.  Players with the National Football League have been locked out since March, but the two sides are negotiating to reach a deal before the start of pre-season training camps set to begin later this month.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 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。

2 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

3 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

4 acrimonious   

adj.严厉的，辛辣的，刻毒的

参考例句：

• He had an acrimonious quarrel with his girlfriend yesterday.昨天他跟他的女朋友激烈争吵了一番。
• His parents went through an acrimonious divorce.他的父母在激烈吵吵闹闹中离了婚。