NPR 2011-11-17

 Greece's coalition¹ government wins a vote of confidence today, but it's already facing divisions between the supporting parties. That would make it difficult to release money from Brussels Greece needs in order not to go bankrupt by Christmas. We have details from John Psaropoulos in Athens.

 

A party's disagreed over the terms of the next installation of Greece's bailout - 11 billion dollars. Papoulias is asking the leaders of the major parties in parliament to sign a letter saying they stand by those bailout terms. But the leader of the conservative New Democracy party, Antonis Samaras, is refusing to sign. Samaras' signature is important for two reasons: Greece's European creditors² want his signature because he was in opposition³ to many of the country's austerity measures, saying they have made Greece's recession worse and put people out of work; and polls suggest he is set to become the next prime minister after elections that could take place as early as February. For NPR News, I'm John Psaropoulos in Athens.

 

And economist⁴ Mario Monti is now at the helm of Italy's new government responsible for pulling Italy from the brink⁵ of default. Monti will try to convince global markets that his country can take control of its debt crisis.

 

Oil prices have cracked 100 dollars a barrel in the US as West Texas Intermediate soared at one point for 102. NPR's John Ydstie reports a price hike follows the sale of a major pipeline⁶, which could relieve a glut⁷ of West Texas crude in Oklahoma.

 

The change in ownership of the CUV pipeline, which runs from the US Gulf⁸ Coast to Cushing, Oklahoma, is partly behind the hike in the price of US oil. Enbridge, which bought a stake in the pipeline from ConocoPhillips, says it plans to reverse the flow of the pipeline, allowing refiners further south access to the oil. That will ease a glut of West Texas Intermediate in Cushing, which is the place where WTI oil contracts are physically⁹ settled. The move is also closing the gap between the price of West Texas Intermediate and Europe's Brent crude, which had widened because of the glut. The rising oil price is bad news for US consumers and for the US economy, which is struggling to create enough momentum¹⁰ to bring down unemployment. John Ydstie NPR News, Washington. 

 

But the mood is a bit better among homebuilders in the US, turning out that they are less pessimistic about the future of the housing market but not enough to signal a significant rebound¹¹. The National Association of Home Builders says its builder sentiment index rose to 20 in November. The trade group says the main factor was the low mortgage rate, but any reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment in general about the housing market. 

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down four points at 12,092; NASDAQ off two points.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Severe weather is moving through the Southeastern US. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports suspected tornadoes¹³ have struck several states, causing mostly minor¹⁴ injuries but no deaths.

 

Tornado¹² damage is reported in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as a line of strong storms moved through the region. In Louisiana, there are reports of power outages and isolated¹⁵ damage and at least three perishes, including blown-out windows in a school building. In Southeast Mississippi, authorities say at least 15 people were hurt, and some Laurel residents were briefly¹⁶ trapped in their homes by fallen trees. Homes were also damaged in West Alabama, a region still recovering from a deadly tornado outbreak last spring. Officials say high winds blew the roof of a motel and damaged cars at an auto¹⁷ dealership¹⁸ in Demopolis. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

 

There's a tornado warning, by the way, in effect for the Atlanta area. 

 

Another news: A congressional advisory¹⁹ panel is calling for greater scrutiny²⁰ of China's military expansion and what it characterizes as anticompetitive trade policies. It says China's buildup is aimed at countering the US's defenses. The warning came after President Obama announced a new security agreement with Australia to offset²¹ China's expanding military presence in Asia.

 

Israel and Arab states expected to take part in two days of nuclear talks next week that could help shape prospects²² of a global conference next year on the Middle East. An Arab envoy²³ says the participants are expected to pinpoint²⁴ issues that could be an obstacle to establishing a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.

1 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。

2 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

6 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

7 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

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 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

10 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

11 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

12 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

13 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

14 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

15 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

16 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

17 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。

18 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

19 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

20 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

21 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

22 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

23 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

24 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。