NPR 2011-07-30

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Lakshmi Singh.
        President Obama says the looming¹ debt crisis is a burden to Congress could easily lift if it just chooses to do so. NPR’s Ari Shapiro reports the President, the Senate to make a statement of the White House this morning after a night won House Republicans could not put together to vote on the bill.
        The President says the 2 parties are not miles apart as he put out plenty of ways out of this mass, but the deadline is only 4 days off.
        “If we don’t come to an agreement, we could lose our country’s triple-A credit rating, not because we didn’t have the capacity to pay our bills. We do. But because we didn’t have a triple-A political system to match.”
        As the President spoke² House and Senate leaders work down competing bills, the parties will continue working through the weekend. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, the White House.
        Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell accuses Democrats³ of trying to build up opposition⁴ to the House Republican plan to win his words, keep the crisis alive.
        “Speaker Boehner’s been doing the hard work of governing, working day and night to put together a bill that can actually pass the House of Representatives and end this crisis now. And he should be commended for his efforts. What about here in the Senate? Well the contrast couldn’t be starker⁵.”
        House speaker Boehner reworked his plan in an attempt to win over Conservatives if he could plan the proposal did make deep enough cuts. The main change is a provisional ties in additionally increased the debt ceiling of Congressional approval of balanced budget manmade constitution. The House is expected to vote on the revised plan tonight.
        Bells tore for Bano Rashid, then 18-year-old Muslim girl killed in last week’s massacre⁶ in Norway. Rashid’s funeral was the first of those to be held for the 77 people killed when the self-confessed attacker Ander Behring Breivik opened fire at the youth camp. Earlier he had bombed Oslo’s government district. The government says it is investigating police’s response to the terrorist attack.
        The man suspected planning to attack soldiers from Fort Hood⁷, Texas has made his first court appearance. The member station KUT in Austin, Matt Largey has details.
        Private First Class Naser Abdo appeared in federal court in Waco charged with the possession of an unregistered firearm. The 21-year-old Abdo was arrested Wednesday at a motel near Fort Hood where authorities found bomb-making components⁸ and instructions. They complained unsealed in court today said Abdo had enough materials to build 2 bombs and he admitted he plans to blow them at a restaurant popular with Fort Hood soldiers. As he left the courtroom, Abdo shouted the name of the army psychiatrist⁹ accused of killing¹⁰ 30 people and shooting rampage in Fort Hood in 2009. Abdo who’s been AWOL from his post at Fort Campbell, Kentucky is being held without bound if convicted he faces up to 10 years in prison. For NPR News, I’m Matt Largey in Austin.
        Before the close the Dow was down 96 points. This is NPR.
        More heavy fighting is reported out of Somalia’s capital after what the authorities called a threat to emergency relief aid. Airlift into the trouble in the poor African nation. NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports the Somalia soldiers backed by African Union peacekeepers clashed with Islamist militants¹¹.
        The African peacekeepers say they seized territory in Mogadishu under the control of al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab insurgents¹² after they apparently¹³ threaten to displace people’s camps in the Somalia capital. The African Union and the fragile western-backed transitional government say the military strike willing to prove security and allow aid agencies to deliver food to people who fled drought, famine and conflict in other parts of Somalia. The fighting on Thursday came a day after the first airlift into Mogadishu by the UN World Food Program. Al-Shabab has banned the WFP from its zones saying it promotes a western agenda. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Nairobi.
        Thousands of anti-government protestors in Syria are urging those who’ve been standing¹⁴ on the sidelines of the 4-month uprising in that country to break their silence just fired continuing government crackdown. Today, crowds had rallies across the country. Activists¹⁵ accused government troops of firing a lot of emission¹⁶ and tear gas to them. They said at least 4 people were killed but that figure was not independently verified.
        Weaker than expected economic growth in the 2nd quarter in the U.S. as well as the ongoing¹⁷ debt impasse¹⁸ are certainly infecting the U.S. Before the close, Dow Jones Industrial’s down 97 points at 12,143 in trading of 3.4 billion shares; NASDAQ down 10 at 2,756.
        This is NPR.

1 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 starker   

（指区别）明显的( stark的比较级 )； 完全的； 了无修饰的； 僵硬的

参考例句：

• As night falls, the contrast between these worlds grows starker. 随着夜幕的降临，两个世界的对比更为鲜明。
• What's more, compared with 1992, voters face a starker economic choice. 另外，跟1992年相比，选民面临着一种更为刻板的经济选择。

6 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

7 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

8 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

9 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 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。

12 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

13 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

17 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。

18 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。