CNN 2011-11-22

 And, of course, we thank the students at Chicago’s Grace Christian¹ Academy for getting our week going. I’m Carl Azuz bringing you 10 minutes fo headlines from around the globe. We’re going to get into our first story today with this report. 

 

 

First up

Explain it to me:

The “Super Committee”

 

The reason it’s been given the nickname of “super committer”, if you will, is many believe that this committee has super powers. They basically can bypass a lot of procedural hurdles² that legislation often runs up against as it tries to make its way through the House and Senate. 

 

Why was it created?

The super committee was created during the debt ceiling debacle over the summer. It was created to basically do what Congress could not do during the debt ceiling negotiations³, which was find bigger deficit⁴ savings⁵ in order to help the country stabilize⁶ its debt.

 

Who is on the “Super Committee”?

There are 12 members on this committee. 12 lawmakers, evenly split between House and Senate, Democratic and Republican. They were all appointed by the leader of each chamber⁷. They bring a range of experience, a range of background and a range of political motivations if you will. 

 

When are its recommendations due?

The deadline is tight. The committee has until November 23rd right before Thanksgiving to reach agreement. It does not have to be unanimous within the committee. It has to be a majority of the members on the committee that has to reach agreement, and then it is sent to Congress to both chambers⁸, the House and the Senate. And Congress has to vote on it by December 23rd. 

 

Ok, so we’re talking about Congress’ super committee and you heard Kate Bo* say that it has until this Wednesday to recommend a plan to cut more than a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. But the committee members need at least 48 hours to look over any plan before they vote on it. So really the deadline is more like today. And as of Sunday, no deal. Assistants to super committee members were saying that the only announcement the committee would be likely to make was that they failed to reach an agreement. So, what happens if they don’t reach the deadline? Automatic government budget cuts across the board starting in 2013, including cuts to the U.S. military that Defense⁹ Secretary Leon Panetta said could cause serious problems for America’s military. Something to keep in mind, Congress created these deadline, so Congress can change them too or decide to get rid of them altogether. Right now, that’s what some lawmakers are suggesting that Congress should do. 

 

Today’s first Shoutout goes to Mr. P*and Mr. Water’s homeroom class at Lexington Middle School in Lexington, Nebraska. Where would you find Tahrir Square? You know what to do? Is it in Libya, Egypt, Syria or Yemen? You got three seconds. Go. Tahrir Square is in Egypt’s capital city of Cairo. That’s your answer, and that’s your Shoutout. 

 

Tahrir Square was a rallying point for protesters during Egypt’s political revolution earlier this year. Same thing is going on the there now, more protests. There was an uprising you might remember that happens in the spring, and that drove Egypt’s president from office. They are plans for a new constitution and elections. But some Egyptians are angry about how long all this is taking since initial uprising. They are worried that Egypt’s military which is running the government right now already might have claimed too much power in Egypt’s new government. Protesters were back in Tahrir Square over the weekend fighting with army and police forces. Some people died in the violence. More than a thousand were wounded. Military officials say they want to transfer the government over the civilians¹⁰. Elections for parliament are scheduled to start next week. 

 

In the neighboring country of Libya, many people are celebrating the arrest of this man. His name is Seif al-Islam Gadhafi. He is the son of former Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi. Seif Gadhafi had been hiding for months. He was captured over the weekend after a gun by battle in the Libyan desert. Seif al-Islam Gadhafi didn’t have a high-level job in his father’s government, but experts say he had the most influence in Moammar Gadhafi’s inner circle, and they thought Seif was the most likely person to take over control after his father. The Gadhafi government has been accused of brutally¹¹ attacking citizens during Libya’s civil war. The International Criminal Court wants to put Seif Gadhafi on trial for crimes against humanity including murder. But Libyan officials also want to put him on trial in Libya. They want it happen in their court system. So they are, we don’t know yet how this is all going to play out.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

7 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。

8 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

9 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。

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。