美国国家电台 NPR 2012-10-27

 Economic growth  in the U.S. picked up the pace between July and September, boosted by both consumer and government spending. As NPR's James Rolly reports the 2% annual rate of growth was improvement over the second quarter, but still not what many economists¹ would call robust². 

 

Economists had expected growth of about 1.8%, so the actual number is slightly higher than predicted. It also represents an increase over the second quarter when the economy grew just 1.3% and it suggests that the economy continues to improve modestly, though not at a rate to increase hiring significantly. Consumer spending rose to 2%. But exports fell and business investment in equipment and software was flat which cut the growth rate down. This is the last report on growth before November 6th election. James Rolly, NPR News.

 

Addressing supporters in Ames, Iowa today, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt³ Romney charged that the Obama Administration had fallen short on 2008 campaign promises. 

 

Where the jobs, where the 9 million more jobs that President Obama promised his stimulus⁴ would have created by now. They are in China, Mexico, Canada, in countries that make themselves more attractive for entrepreneurs, and business and investment. Even as President Obama's policies have made it less attractive for them here.  

 

After an intensive swing through battleground states, President Obama is spending most of today at the White House. The presidential candidates have filed their financial disclosures before the election. And as NPR's Peter Overby tells us President Obama's campaign has made history. 

 

Mr. Obama is the first presidential candidate to raise more than $1 billion, unlike Republican Mitt Romney, the president's campaign is still raising money. Romney's total for the race now stand at $863 million. President Obama had $125 million and Romney had $ 179 million available for the final sprint⁵ to election day. And another milestone⁶ is also within view.  The Wesleyan Media Project says 915,000 ads have run in the general election campaign, that includes spots by the two candidates and all the outside groups that have pummeled each of them. There are maybe more than a million ads by the election. Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington. 

 

National Hockey League play has been canceled through the end of November, as a result of the ongoing⁷ labor⁸ dispute between players and owners. The league scratched more than 300 scheduled games. The season was originally slated⁹ to begin the second week of October. 

 

On Wall Street at this hour, the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 15; the NASDAQ up four points; the S&P 500 up 0.5 points.

 

This is NPR.

 

A Sunni neighborhood in southern Damascus was the scene of a major car bombing. There are reports the explosion occurred near a children's playground. There are several casualties and damages to buildings. The blast occurred despite a truce¹⁰ called for the Muslim  Eid Al-Adha Holiday. 

 

A court in Italy has convicted former Premier¹¹ Silvio Berlusconi of tax evasion¹². He has been sentenced four years in jail. The BBC's Alan Johnson reports the charge is stemmed from Berlusconi's dealing¹³ in his television empire. 

 

These televisions right steals may back in the 1990s, were worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And the prosecution¹⁴ argued that they were arranged in such a way that defendants¹⁵ were able to create slush funds and its aim to avoid paying tax. Mr. Berlusconi is certain to appeal. Over the years, he has been tried a number of times in connection with his business affairs. But he's always either been cleared or the case has dragged on so long that it expired under a statue to limitations. The BBC's Alan Johnson.

 

Hurricane Sandy over Atlantic heading north after causing widespread damage in the Caribbean. Along the east coast of Florida, rain, large waves and high winds been reporting. At the same time, a wintry storm moving across the U.S. from the west, cold air steaming south from Canada. And forecasters say there is a good chance the various weather systems could converge¹⁶ in the middle Atlantic region and the result could be a powerful blow early next week. Meteorologists say there could be snow in some places. 

1 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

3 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

4 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。

5 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

6 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

7 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。

8 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。

9 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

10 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

11 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

12 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

14 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

15 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

16 converge   

vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近

参考例句：

• The results converge towards this truth.其结果趋近于这个真理。
• Parallel lines converge at infinity.平行线永不相交。