NPR 2009-07-28

The Obama administration is pushing for improved relations with China. Hosting a meeting this week between US and Chinese officials in Washington, President Obama says the talks are aimed at fostering cooperation on the economy, energy and national security. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

President Obama says the relationship between the US and China will shape the 21st century. And the two countries will have to work together to make progress on a range of global challenges. He argued that China could encourage more sustainable economic growth by buying more American goods. Mr. Obama also noted¹ that China is second only to the US, as a consumer of energy and a producer of greenhouse gases. "Let's be frank, neither of us profits from a growing dependence² on foreign oil, nor can we spare our people from the ravages³ of climate change unless we cooperate. Common sense calls upon us to act." This week's talks are not expected to produce any breakthrough with China on preventing climate change. They are intended to set a positive tone for more talks in the future. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

Defense⁴ Secretary Robert Gates says the US offer to hold talks with Iran about its nuclear program is not open-ended. Meeting with his Israeli counterpart in Jerusalem today, Gates said it's possible Teheran might try to postpone⁵ any discussions until it has nuclear weapons capability⁶, which both the US and Israel say it might have in the next one to three years. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel is taking no options off the table in dealing⁷ with Iran's nuclear ambitions.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says it is time to start engaging with the Taliban insurgency⁸ in Afghanistan. In a speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Miliband said there are moderate Taliban guerrillas who could be given seats in the Afghan government. Larry Miller⁹ has details from London.

David Miliband said those leading the insurgency have different motivations and that some militants¹⁰, tribal¹¹ groups and hired fighters could be brought into the Afghan political process. Miliband said it's easy but wrong to brand the insurgency under the single heading of Taliban. "There is no single authoritative¹² leadership of the insurgency in either Afghanistan or Pakistan. Instead there are a range of diverse insurgent¹³ groups. Cooperation between them is opportunistic rather than strategic." Foreign Secretary Miliband told NATO the problems in Afghanistan will not be resolved through military might that there must be a political solution. For NPR News, I am Larry Miller in London.

Another sign today that the housing market could be stabilizing¹⁴: the sale of new homes climbed more than 11% from May to June. Home prices, however, continue their decline.

On Wall Street today, the Dow climbed 15 points to close at 9,108; the NASDAQ picked up a point, closing at 1,967.

This is NPR.

Two more Republican Senators have lined up against confirming Sonia Sotomayor's nomination¹⁵ to the US Supreme¹⁶ Court. Alabama's Jeff Sessions and Iowa's Senator Chuck Grassley, both are senior Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is due to vote on the nomination tomorrow.

The National Football League has conditionally¹⁷ reinstated former Atlanta Falcons¹⁸ quarterback Michael Vick, suspended and then in prison for involvement in dog fighting operations. Commissioner¹⁹ Roger Goodell said today Vick could play in the regular season if he finds a team that will sign him.

Modern dance legend Merce Cunningham died last night at his home in New York City. He was 90 years old. As NPR's Neda Ulaby reports, Cunningham expanded the art of dance in some surprising ways.

Merce Cunningham thought anything could be a dance, including riding a bike, kicking a ball, even standing²⁰ perfectly²¹ still. In a 1985 interview with WHYY's Fresh Air, Cunningham said that although his work was seen as radical²² and divisive early on, his aim was to experiment not to provoke. "These ideas were new ideas that were in the air and these were possibilities that had never been tried before and one could see they were possibilities even though (wasn't) one wasn't sure how they might come out." Cunningham collaborated²³ with a virtual pantheon of 20th century visual artists: Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and his partner of many decades--composer John Cage. Cunningham performed with his company until well into his 70s and announced shortly before his death that it would be shut down after a final two-year tour. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

I am Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.

1 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

2 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

3 ravages   

劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹

参考例句：

• the ravages of war 战争造成的灾难
• It is hard for anyone to escape from the ravages of time. 任何人都很难逃避时间的摧残。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

6 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

11 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

12 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

13 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

14 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

15 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

16 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

17 conditionally   

adv. 有条件地

参考例句：

• We will provide necessary English training to the new employees conditionally. 公司将为员工提供必要的英语培训。
• China should conditionally support and participate in the coordination. 我国对此宜持有条件支持并参与的立场。

18 falcons   

n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Peregrine falcons usually pluck the feathers and strip the flesh off their bird prey. 游隼捕到鸟类猎物时，通常是先拔掉它们的羽毛，再把肉撕下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Though he doubted the wisdom of using falcons, Dr. de la Fuente undertook the project. 虽然德·拉·富恩特博士怀疑使用游隼是否明智，但他还是执行了这项计划。 来自辞典例句

19 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

20 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

21 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

22 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

23 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。