美国国家电台 NPR 2012-11-04

 President Obama met with some of his top aides and governors and mayors from areas affected¹ by Superstorm Sandy. He got an update at FEMA headquarters today. The federal government is giving storm victims new aid. It will help people who lost their houses, move out of shelters and into temporary homes. And it is sending badly-needed gasoline to the Northeast. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says there will be five mobile fuel stations set up around New York City. 

 

Fuel is on its way. You don't have to panic. We don’t need the anxiety. We don’t need the lines. Be prudent², but fuel is on the way.  

 

Federal government is asking people to let emergency responders fill up their gas tanks first. The gas will help New Jersey³ where Governor Chris Christie has ordered gas rationing⁴ to ease fuel shortages, NPR’s Joel Rose reports.  

 

Drivers in 12 New Jersey counties will be allowed to buy gasoline just every other day. Governor Chris Christie ordered the rationing late Friday to relieve fuel shortages in the state hard hit by Sandy. Drivers with license⁵ plates ending in an even number can buy gas on even number days, and those of plates ending in an odd number can fuel their tanks on odd number days. Many gas station across the region were forced to close because of lack of electricity or gasoline. Those that are open are dealing⁶ with long lines and angry customers. Governor Christie says he is hoping the new restrictions⁷ will lead to shorter wait times at the pump. Joel Rose, NPR News, New York.  President Obama holds re-election rallies in four states today, as the presidential campaign speeds up in its final weekend. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports Mr. Obama is urging voters to stay the course.  On the heels of the Labor⁸ Department report showing better-than-expected job growth last month, Mr. Obama says now it is not the time to change course. He told supporters in Mentor⁹, Ohio, that slowly but surely, the U.S. economy is on the mend.  

 

Today our businesses have created nearly 5.5 million new jobs. The auto¹⁰ industry is back on top. All four of the states where Mr. Obama campaigns today: Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa and Virginia have unemployment rates below than national average. Scott Horsley, NPR News traveling with the President.  

 

Republican presidential candidate Mitt¹¹ Romney is barnstorming across several states too. He also gave the GOP weekly media address today with this campaign promise. 'On my first day in office, I will also send five bills to Congress and sign five executive orders, every one of them will help us create jobs, and that is just the start of my plan to create 12 million jobs in my first term alone.' Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.  

 

Daylight saving time ends this weekend. Standard time returns at 2 a.m. Sunday morning. That means you need to set your clocks back by one hour before going to bed.   

 

You are listening to NPR News, from Washington.

 

  Several news reports say Syrian troops have entered the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights. This is the area between Syria and Israel captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast war. The Associated Press reports Israel has complained to the U.N. peacekeeping force about the incursion. Reuters is reporting the Syrian tanks were pursuing Syrian rebels.  

 

A new report claims Japanese officials tasked with setting safety standards for nuclear reactors¹² apparently¹³ got funding from utilities or other industry supporters. John Matthews in Tokyo reports the newly-discovered conflicts of interest could shut down Japan’s two operating reactors.

 

In July, the two reactors of the Ohi nuclear plant in West Japan were the first to come back online amid concerns of power shortages. Now the nuclear regulatory agency says some of the experts setting safety standards for the nuclear plants were accepting funds from companies reliant on the industry. Professors Akio Yamamoto and Akira Yamaguchi received 125,000 and 339,000 dollars respectively from organizations such as Utility Tokyo Electric. The commission’s membership willingly disclosed these figures, but their role in pushing for the Ohi restart is now calling into question their neutrality and whether or not the plant itself is safe. Government officials say the two reactors could be put offline again even with what they call a gray zone  of uncertainty¹⁴. For NPR News, I am John Matthews, in Tokyo.

 

Representatives from the government of Mali and some from Islamist militant¹⁵ groups are now in the capital Burkina Faso. They are discussing a possible truce¹⁶ or solution to the warfare¹⁷ in Mali.   I am Korva Coleman. NPR News, in Washington.

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

3 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。

4 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 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。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

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 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

10 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。

11 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。

12 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

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 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

15 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

16 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。

17 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。