NPR 2010-03-10

The Senate is taking a key vote on legislation extending jobless benefits to Americans. It's a procedural vote. The legislation includes dozens of tax breaks for individuals and businesses that expired in 2009. Congress has previously¹ passed several brief extensions for jobless benefits. In this new package, some people would be eligible² to receive benefits through the end of the year.

 

Energy company Chevron³ says it‘s cutting 2,000 jobs, as Rachael Mellor of member station KQED reports, Chevron is also cutting assets in the Caribbean, Central America and England.

 

Fuel refining isn’t as profitable as it used to be, given the sagging⁴ global economy and tanking sales of gas-guzzling SUVs. Also BusinessWeek notes that more than one in three exploration wells Chevron drilled last year failed to find oil or gas. And the San Ramon-based energy giant is spending almost 60 million dollars a day looking for new crude and building offshore⁵ platforms to exploit old finds. Two thousand jobs equates⁶ to about 3% of Chevron's staff of 64,000 worldwide. The firm is also considering whether to sell operations in Hawaii and Africa. The weak market may make it difficult to unload them. But meeting with Wall Street analysts⁷, Chevron officials say this is the time to consolidate⁸ and focus on operations in North America and Asia-Pacific. For NPR News, I'm Rachael Mellor in San Francisco.

 

The president of Haiti is in Washington thanking the US for aiding his country in the wake of the devastating⁹ earthquake. He is also discussing his country's future. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

 

Haitian President Rene Preval is getting prepared for a donor’s conference later this month in New York. He said in the past development aid has focused on the capital, while the provinces were neglected. In the wake of a January earthquake that left the capital in ruins, Preval hopes to do things differently. "So this is an opportunity to not only rebuild Port-au-Prince, but first and foremost, to invest and to rebuild in the provinces. And of course the recovery of Haiti will take a long time." He was speaking alongside Secretary of State Hilary Clinton who said the priorities now are to get seeds and fertilizer to farmers and to get people into safe housing before the rainy season. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.

 

The White House is condemning¹⁰ Israel's decision today to approve 1,600 new settlements for East Jerusalem, an area in dispute between Israelis and Palestinians. The decision also comes as Vice¹¹ President Joe Biden visits Israel to help promote Mideast peace talks.

 

Police in Ireland say they've arrested seven people in an alleged¹² plot to murder a Swedish cartoonist. The cartoonist Lars Vilks has been targeted by al-Qaeda for drawing a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog.

 

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 26 points at 10, 578. The NASDAQ is up 11, it's currently at 2,343.

 

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After a historic vote, the final transfer of power from the British parliament to Northern Ireland's legislative¹³ assembly is set to take place April 12th. Larry Miller¹⁴ has this from London.

 

The vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly was whether to take over policing and justice powers. They came as the result of the power-sharing agreement between the province's Catholic and Protestant politicians. "All those in favors say aye."

"Aye." "Contrary, No." "No."The Nos were perhaps noisier, but the vote to transfer the final powers to Northern Ireland was carried 88 to 17. The second largest Protestant party dissented¹⁵ despite personal lobbying by former President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Clinton. Prime Minister Gordon Brown described the vote to complete home rule as the end to decades of strife¹⁶. Brown said the message is democracy and tolerance¹⁷ prevails. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

 

Iraqi election officials say 62% of eligible voters cast ballots¹⁸ in the country's election Sunday. Iraq is selecting members for a new parliament, final results won't be known for a while, but initial results could be announced this week. The political coalition¹⁹ of current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki isn't waiting and says it is ahead, so does the party of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

 

Indonesian police killed three terror suspects today when they raid several hideouts near Jakarta. They are looking for militants²¹ who were in the group Jemaah Islamiyah which is affiliated²² with al-Qaeda. Now police are trying to learn if one of the dead suspects is a wanted militant²⁰ leader named Dumatin. He is suspected of helping²³ plan the deadly Bali nightclub attacks of 2002.
 

1 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

2 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

3 chevron   

n.V形臂章；V形图案

参考例句：

• He wore shoulderstrap rank slides with sergeant's chevrons.他佩戴标示级别的肩章，上面有中士的V形标志。
• The chevron or arrow road sign indicates a sharp bend to the left or right.V形或箭头路标表示有向左或向右的急转弯。

4 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

5 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

6 equates   

v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的第三人称单数 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• He equates success with material wealth. 他认为成功等同于物质财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This equates to increased and vigor, better sleep and sharper mental acuity. 也就是说可以起到增强活力，改善睡眠，提高心智的作用。 来自互联网

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

13 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

14 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。

15 dissented   

不同意，持异议( dissent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• We dissented from the decision. 对那项决定我们表示了不同意见。
• He dissented and questioned the justice of the award. 他提出质问，说裁判不公允。

16 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

17 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

18 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

20 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

21 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。

22 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

23 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。