美国有线新闻 CNN 2013-10-14

 Today on CNN student news, it’s a shutdownshowdown. President Obama and Democrats¹ versus² Republicans on issues of U.S.government spending. Today, we're looking at this by the numbers. We are eightdays into this partial government shutdown. It started one minute aftermidnight on October 1. About 483,000 government workers are furloughed; theyare home from work without pay. That's a drop from the roughly 800,000 workersoriginally furloughed, since many have been called back to work. Thosefurloughed workers account for 14 percent of all federal employees, so mostgovernment workers are still on the job.

 

Who's getting blamed? According to a poll released on Monday, 63 percent ofAmericans are angry with Republicans, 57 percent are angry with Democrats, 53percent are angry with President Obama.

 

We're eight days into the shutdown and eight days away from the debt ceilingdeadline. That`s another Washington fight to keep an eye on.

 

Here is another number for you: 40,389. That`s about how many miles the Olympicflame will travel as it makes its way to Sochi, Russia for next February's wintergames. On land, in the air, in water, into space. It is the longest torch relayever for the Winter Olympics, but there could be some bumps on the path toRussia's games. 

 

"The Olympic spirit has returned to Russia. The flame's journey acrossthis massive country started in Red Square, past St. Basil's Cathedral and thered walls of the Kremlin. From here, it will travel 65,000 kilometers, crossingnine time zones between Russia's eastern and western borders. 

 

This man says it feels patriotic³ and unforgettable to see the flame. It's beena long time since the Olympic flame was last in the Russian capital. That wasfor the 1980 Moscow games. Dozens of countries boycotted⁴ the event because ofthe Soviet⁵ invasion of Afghanistan. Thirty-three years later, some people havebeen calling for boycotts⁶ again, because of scenes like this. It's a protestagainst a recent law targeting Russia`s gay community. It's now illegal to tellRussian children gay and straight relationships are equal.

 

Activists⁷ say the law is discriminatory, but international Olympic officialssay it does not breach⁸ their charter. Planning and building in Sochi has beenimmense. The city by the Black Sea was a run-down, Soviet era summer resortdestination with no winter sports facilities. It's getting a total makeover.Cost estimates now exceed $50 billion. The weather could also be a challenge.Even in the mountains, Sochi isn't always cold in winter, and snowfall can bepatchy. That's why organizers have spent big on high-tech⁹ snow making gear andstoring huge mounds¹⁰ of last season's snow through the summer. Those are thepotential problems. But the flame's arrival marks the start of a campaign tobuild and spread Olympic excitement here. The relay even includes a cosmic sidetrip. One of the torches without a flame will be carried aboard a Russian Soyuzrocket to the International Space Station.

 

Phil Black, CNN, Moscow."

 

U.S. health officials are responding to an outbreak of salmonella. It's beenlinked to raw chicken products from plants operated by a California poultryproducer. So far, more than 270 people in 18 states have gotten sick. The CDC,the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is working with state andfederal health agencies to investigate. The company says it's looking into theoutbreak too. It also says it's added new safety practices to help control anyinstances of salmonella.

 

Salmonella is a bacteria. The CDC says it's the leading cause of food borneillness. Around 42,000 cases are reported in the U.S. every year. In extremecases, it can lead to severe illness or cause death, but most people who getsalmonella recover in about a week without treatment. One way to prevent it,make sure you cook your food to the right temperature.

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

3 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

4 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

9 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

10 mounds   

土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆

参考例句：

• We had mounds of tasteless rice. 我们有成堆成堆的淡而无味的米饭。
• Ah! and there's the cemetery' - cemetery, he must have meant. 'You see the mounds? 啊，这就是同墓，”——我想他要说的一定是公墓，“看到那些土墩了吗？