NPR 2008-06-23

Gasoline prices have risen another ten cents a gallon over the past two weeks to a national average of $4.10 for self-service regular. Industry analyst¹ Trilby Lundberg says, though, that some areas have higher gas prices than others. “Los Angeles, the biggest market, is the highest price---$4.59 per gallon. And at the other end, Tulsa, Oklahoma at $3.76.”

At an emergency energy summit in Saudi Arabia today, there was a sharp difference of opinion about the cause of the run-up in oil prices. Saudi officials blamed speculators, but US and British officials said demand for oil is simply rising faster than supply. Larry Miller² has the story.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the meeting increased production is necessary to ease price uncertainty³ and volatility⁴. He insisted oil producers need to plough some of the petrodollars back into Britain and other countries in alternative energy investments such as wind farms and nuclear power. “This gives oil producers the chance to hedge their future production by investing in the alternative energy sources that will be the bedrock of  future low-carbon economies." US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said demand, especially from China and India, was  growing faster than supply. Bodman warned without action, the situation will remain unsustainable. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

The Mississippi River has crested⁵ at a number of points north of St. Louis, prompting officials to say the worst of the flooding in the region appears to be over. But in other areas, the water is still rising. Andy Binder⁶ with the Lincoln County, Missouri Sheriff`s department says crews are adding more sandbags along the river near the town of Foley, Missouri. "Bringing in a lot of water, it's overtopping, that's concerning us. So, we've sent our missions up there of volunteer firefighters to that area to try to bolster⁷ and rise and secure our levees." And NPR's Carrie Kahn says residents in Mark Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Missouri remained on alert. “The earthen levee(s), about half a mile long right at the historic point of the town，is holding. But the river did rise a little bit more than they had expected. But people are just waiting and watching the river, hoping that it will go down and that the levees will hold as this last surge comes through southern Missouri.” NPR’s Carrie Kahn reporting from Hannibal, Missouri.

More than 500 wildfires sparked by lightning are burning across Northern California today. One of the largest blazes has spread over nearly six square miles in the heart of the state’s Wine Country. Wayne Connor with the California Department of Forestry⁸ and Fire Protection says fire crews are using aircraft in battling that blaze. "We’ve activated⁹ a DC-10, which is our flagship tanker¹⁰. It dropped 12,000 gallons of retardant to the town." Connor says firefighters are having to cope with the sweltering heat and rugged¹¹ terrain¹² as they try to contain the wildfires.

This is NPR news.

Zimbabwe's opposition¹³ leader Morgan Tsvangirai is pulling out of this week's presidential run-off election because he says his supporters would face the possibility of being killed by government troops if they voted for him. The US and Britain are pushing to have the UN Security Council discuss the situation in Zimbabwe.

Some three hundred Anglican bishops¹⁵ are meeting in Jerusalem this week to map out a future path for conservative Anglicans. The meeting could mark a major step toward splitting from the worldwide Anglican Communion. NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty has the story.

After the United States consecrated¹⁶ an openly gay man, Gene¹⁷ Robinson, to be bishop¹⁴ of New Hampshire five years ago, the Communion has been fraying¹⁸ at the edges. The conservatives say they are weary of fighting over homosexuality and the authority of the Bible. And so, the Bishops who come from  Africa, Asia and Latin America will be meeting in Jerusalem to plot strategy. They represent about two-thirds of the practising Anglicans worldwide , which is why some consider the planning session to be a concrete step toward breaking away. On top of that, the bishops of Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda are boycotting¹⁹ the so called “Lambeth Conference”. Every ten years, Anglican bishops from around the world  meet in England to set loose policy on issues of  faith, things like gay clergy²⁰ and blessing²¹ same-sex unions. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR News.

An online charity auction²² gets underway this evening for the right to have lunch with famed investor²³ and Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffet²⁴. The auction benefits the Glide²⁵ Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco. The bidding on eBay starts at $25,000. Last year, two investors²⁶ paid a total of just over $650,000 for lunch with Buffet.

1 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

2 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

5 crested   

adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• a great crested grebe 凤头䴙䴘
• The stately mansion crested the hill. 庄严的大厦位于山顶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 binder   

n.包扎物，包扎工具；[法]临时契约；粘合剂；装订工

参考例句：

• The cloth flower snaps on with a special binder.这布花是用一种特殊的粘合剂固定住的。
• Purified water was used as liquid binder.纯净水作为液体粘合剂。

7 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

8 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

9 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

10 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

11 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

12 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

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 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

15 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

16 consecrated   

adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献

参考例句：

• The church was consecrated in 1853. 这座教堂于1853年祝圣。
• They consecrated a temple to their god. 他们把庙奉献给神。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

18 fraying   

v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。
• Support for the leader was fraying at the edges. 对这位领导人的支持已经开始瓦解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

20 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

21 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

22 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

23 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

24 buffet   

n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台

参考例句：

• Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？
• Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

25 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

26 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