NPR 2010-06-28

World leaders meeting in Toronto appear to have reached consensus¹ on the importance of cutting government deficits². As NPR's Jim Zarroli reports they pledge today to reduce deficits in half by 2013.

The leaders are meeting at a time when the global economy is still recovering from one of the worst downturns in decades. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said countries should continue to spend money on stimulus³ programs that they have committed to.

"But at the same time, advanced countries must send a clear message that as our stimulus plans expire we will focus on getting our fiscal⁴ houses in order."

Harper said countries should stabilize⁵ their government debt by 2016. The focus on debt reduction represents something of a victory for European countries which have been struggling to contain the Greek debt crisis. Other countries, including the United States and Japan, have pushed for more stimulus spending, saying cutbacks now would endanger the fragile global economy. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, Toronto.

Protests are again under way in Toronto on the second day of the summit. Police have detained more than 100 people today alone, many of them linked to anarchist⁶ groups from Quebec. The weekend violence started after black-clad protesters broke away from a larger peaceful demonstration⁷ and smashed windows of downtown buildings and torched police cars. More than 500 people have been arrested, and Toronto's police chief says he expects more violence.

Alex has been downgraded to a tropical depression as it moves across the Yucatan Peninsula. As NPR’s Jason Beaubien reports from Cancun, the weather system is expected to gain strength when it enters the Gulf⁸ of Mexico later today.

Alex pounded Belize and the eastern side of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to Cancun. Strong winds and heavy rains continued to buffet⁹ the area. Belize set up storm shelters, and more than 1,000 people were moved from coastal¹⁰ islands to the mainland. Alex slowed after coming ashore¹¹ late Saturday, but forecasters say it still has the potential to rebuild into a major storm in the Gulf. Shell Oil Company says it's pulling non-central staff off drilling rigs and oil platforms in anticipation¹² of Alex's arrival. Forecasters currently predict that Alex will stay to the west of the BP oil spill and hit the Mexican Gulf Coast late in the week, but they also warned that track could change. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Cancun.

NPR has learned West Virginia Democratic Senator Robert C. Byrd has been hospitalized in serious condition. The longest-serving senator in the nation's history was admitted to a Washington area hospital last week. The 92-year-old broke the record for congressional service in November after serving more than 57 years.

Martin D. Ginsburg, the husband of Supreme¹³ Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, died today at the couple's home in Washington DC. He was 78 years old.

You are listening to NPR News in Washington.

At least one major oil company says deepwater drilling must continue despite BP's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. At a business and political forum¹⁴ in South Africa, Royal Dutch Shell says drilling is needed to meet rising global demand, but the company's chief executive says the Gulf spill should offer lessons.

The Pope is lashing¹⁵ out at Belgian authorities who staged raids on church property Thursday as part of an investigation¹⁶ into sexual abuse of children by church officials. Teri Schultz reports from Brussels on the mounting criticism of the prosecutors¹⁷' actions.

Pope Benedict calls it "surprising and deplorable" that police and investigators¹⁸ sealed off a Belgian archbishop's residence and a cathedral and drilled into two tombs in search of evidence in an ongoing¹⁹ pedophile inquiry²⁰. Computers, phones and files were seized. In a letter to Belgian bishops²¹, the Pope expresses his solidarity²² with them in what he calls this moment of sadness. He also says he hopes the justice will take its course and that everyone involved will have their rights respected. Bishops were holding a meeting at the time of the raids and were detained for several hours during the collection process. The Belgian Catholic Church says it's considering filing legal action against the state. The prosecutor's office says it was justified²³ in looking for more evidence regarding sexual abuse charges against clergy²⁴. For NPR News, I’m Teri Schultz in Brussels.

As Germany celebrates its 4-1 World Cup win over England, an eight-legged resident of Germany seems to have seen the victory coming. An octopus²⁵ in a German aquarium²⁶ was given the choice of food from two plastic containers, one bore an England flag, the other had a German flag. The octopus nicknamed Paul quickly opened the box with Germany's flag.

I’m Rebecca Sheir, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

2 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

3 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

4 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

5 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。

6 anarchist   

n.无政府主义者

参考例句：

• You must be an anarchist at heart.你在心底肯定是个无政府主义者。
• I did my best to comfort them and assure them I was not an anarchist.我尽量安抚他们并让它们明白我并不是一个无政府主义者。

7 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 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？

10 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

11 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

12 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

13 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。

14 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

15 lashing   

n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

17 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

18 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

20 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

21 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。

22 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

23 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

24 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。

25 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

26 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。