NPR 2011-01-16

People in Tunisia are trying to figure out the next step now that the president has gone after a month of anti-government protests. Eleanor Beardsley is in Tunis. She says people don't know what to expect.

The mood is very tense and very uncertain. It's very anxious. People know that something huge happened yesterday, and they know that they brought it on, but they're not quite sure what it means. I think a lot of people feel there's gonna be more bloodshed before it's all over yet, and I talked to people. And they were hesitant to talk too much, and while they were happy, they were still very nervous. And some people expressed doubt that things would go well because they said Tunisia doesn't really have experience with democracy, and they're worried about another strongman coming in and trying to take control. So, there's a lot of fear right now about how people play out, I think, in the next days and weeks here, but what people really want to see are open, free and fair elections than not fake elections they say that they've had for the last 25 years.

Eleanor Beardsley in Tunis. The speaker of the parliament was sworn in today as an interim¹ president. He's asked the prime minister to form a coalition² government.

Iraqi officials say an Iraqi soldier opened fire on US troops at a US base in the northern city of Mosul today. Two US soldiers were killed and one other was wounded. Two Iraqi soldiers were taken into custody³.

The Obama administration has ended the "virtual fence" project along the US-Mexico border. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates reports.

The so-called "virtual fence" project built and run by the Boeing company was actually a system of sensors⁴, video cameras and radar⁵. Its purpose was the electronic patrolling of huge stretches of the US border with Mexico to stem the streams of illegal immigrants, drugs and firearms coming into the country through border states. On Friday, the Obama administration officially killed the project, which had been plagued with controversy⁶ and cost overruns. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said security measures tailored to individual sections of the border will be more effective. Today, the "virtual fence" has covered only 53 miles of the 323-mile-long Arizona-Mexico border at the cost of one billion dollars. Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR News.

A supermarket opened in Tucson, Arizona today for the first time since shootings in the parking lot last Saturday that killed six people and wounded 13 others. Safeway spokeswoman Cathy Kloos says the employees are doing okay.

"We've had counselors⁷ available for our employees since Saturday round the clock whatever the employees need. And today, we've actually brought in additional military people to help out customers who might need something."

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was wounded in the shootings, is said by her doctors to be making some progress, but is still listed in critical condition.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Workers at Fiat⁸'s auto⁹ plant in Turin, Italy have approved a plan aimed at boosting productivity in exchange for measures to curb¹⁰ absenteeism and to restrict strikes. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports the plan has sharply divided workers who approved it by only 54 percent.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne had warned he would shift production abroad if the deal was not approved. It overhauls¹¹ decades of labor¹² relations by moving away from the national contract and making new demands on the workers to ensure greater competitiveness and productivity. Fiat will now go ahead with a joint¹³ venture with Chrysler to produce Jeep SUVs and Alfa Romeo cars at Turin's Mirafiori plant. The powerful metalworkers' union opposed the Marchionne plan, saying it undermines workers' hard-earned rights and worsens working conditions. The union has called the strike for January 28th and may take legal action against the plan it says it's unconstitutional. Voting broke down between assembly line workers who overwhelmingly opposed the plan and white-collar employees who approved it. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Turin.

A federal judge in California says he expects the first lawsuit¹⁴ regarding sudden acceleration¹⁵ in Toyotas will go to trial in 2013. Judge James Selna is presiding over the class action litigation consolidated¹⁶ in Orange County. The plaintiffs claim that problems in the car's throttle¹⁷ control system cause unexpected acceleration. Toyota says that there's no evidence that a design defect was to blame. The car company blames sticky gas pedals, faulty floor mats and driver error.

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 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。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

5 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

7 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

8 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

9 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

10 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

11 overhauls   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的第三人称单数 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• The plant overhauls 8 locomotive, manufactures and repairs 100 train vehicles annually. 年机车解体大修8部，修、制各类型铁路车辆百余辆。 来自互联网
• The wind turbine generator overhauls what is the standard flow? 风机检修的的标准流程是什么？ 来自互联网

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

15 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

16 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

17 throttle   

n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压

参考例句：

• These government restrictions are going to throttle our trade.这些政府的限制将要扼杀我们的贸易。
• High tariffs throttle trade between countries.高的关税抑制了国与国之间的贸易。