NPR 2011-10-31

 Not the usual sound for a New England fall day, but in many parts of the East, residents are digging out from a rare October snowstorm. National Weather Service forecaster Bruce Sullivan says several areas got heavier accumulations.

 

"We've seen snow totals across Pennsylvania as high as 16 inches; New York: we have 17.9; New Jersey¹: 19.0; Maryland: the highest at 11.5."

 

The wet heavy snow weighed down trees still covered with autumn leaves. Gusting² winds toppled some lame³ limbs off of others, and as many as three million people are now without power.

 

Winter-like weather isn't freezing out anti-Wall Street protestors in Providence⁴ Rhode Island. They are ignoring an eviction⁵ deadline set for today. Flo Jonic from member station WRNI reports the occupiers are staying on despite a dusting of snow.

 

With a small generator⁶ powering space heaters, Occupy Providence protestors are holding their ground in Burnside Park. About 200 people have been camped out for the past two weeks. Although the weather's gotten considerably⁷ colder and it snowed overnight, Occupy spokeswoman Amanda Magee characterized the mood as "wicked chipper".

 

"There's a couple of snowball fights already. We're all ready for today. I mean the snow's definitely not going to bring us down. It's a really good mood, high spirits, happy people." 

 

The protestors have ignored an eviction notice, but city officials are determined⁸ to avoid violence. Their plan is to seek a court injunction forcing the demonstrators from the park. For NPR News, I'm Flo Jonic in Providence.

 

Australia's Labor⁹ Relations Tribunal has ruled in favor of Qantas Airlines over a labor dispute. The carrier grounded its entire fleet yesterday, locking out striking workers. But as Stuart Cohen reports from Sydney, Qantas' planes could be flying again by this evening.

 

Fair Work Australia has ordered the three unions in contract negotiations¹⁰ with Qantas to terminate all of their rolling work stoppages and other industrial action that have been going on for months. That's the outcome that Qantas hoped for and the government had wanted when it referred the dispute to the labor relations board. Australia's Assistant Treasure Bill Shorten says he now expects both sides to work to get the airline flying again.

 

"We are pleased that after 24 hours of turmoil¹¹, common sense will be restored to the aviation, tourism sectors¹² of Australia."  

 

Qantas will now have to be recertified by the government as safe to fly again, a process that should take just a few hours. It could be back in the air as early as Monday evening local time. For NPR News, I'm Stuart Cohen in Sydney.

 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is warning western countries not to intervene after anti-government protestors called for international protection from his crackdown. Assad says he is avoiding another Afghanistan.

 

This is NPR.

 

Rescue crews in Atchison, Kansas have been forced to suspend their search for those missing after a massive explosion at a grain elevator last night. City manager Trey Cocking.

 

"We do have three confirmed fatalities¹³ and we have three missing at this time." 

 

The blast shook the ground four miles away. 

 

A California agency is giving the go-ahead for plans to celebrate next year's 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. From member station KQED, Joshua Johnson reports the occasion comes amid significant changes for the bridge.

 

Starting next year, you will be able to do something visitors can not do now–walk the bridge at night. In 2012, special evening tours will show off the engineering feats¹⁴ that made the bridge possible. There will also be a new visitors' pavilion, an education building and even a locally composed symphony, the Golden Gate Opus. These honors come amid big changes including plans for a suicide barrier to stop jumpers and replacing the toll¹⁵ collectors with a fully¹⁶ automated¹⁷ system. Out-of-state drivers will pay online or get a bill in the mail. The Golden Gate Bridge turns 75 on May 27th. For NPR News, I'm Joshua Johnson in San Francisco.

 

An unmanned Russian cargo¹⁸ spaceship is on its way to the International Space Station. It's carrying some three tons of food, fuel, oxygen, clothes, even iPads to the three-member crew. And it's due to arrive at the orbiting outpost Wednesday. Today's successful launch is the first to head to the International Space Station since a supply vehicle crashed in August. Russia is the Space Station's only flight provider.

 

I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News, in Washington.

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 gusting   

（风）猛刮（gust的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Then the treacherous North Atlantic struck, with hail, rain, lightning and gusting wind. 这时，气候变幻莫测的北大西洋出现了冰雹、大雨、闪电和狂风。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
• Jeff: Sometimes, the partiality and miscarriage of justice are dis-gusting too. 杰夫： 有时，裁判的不公平和误判也真是令人讨厌的一件事情。

3 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

4 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

5 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

6 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

7 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 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。

10 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。

11 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

12 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

15 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

16 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

17 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

18 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。