美国国家电台 NPR 2012-11-18

 Air raid sirens went off in Tel Aviv earlier today. Israeli military says its rocket interception¹ system brought down a rocket headed for the city. There are no reports of injuries. Israel bombarded Gaza in a series of overnight air strikes in response to militant² rocket launches into Israel. The air strikes have killed at least 39 Palestinians and three Israelis. NPR’s Anthony Kuhn reports from Gaza City.

 

今日早些时候，特拉维夫市拉响了空袭警报。以色列军方表示，以军火箭拦截系统拦截了一枚射向特拉维夫市的火箭。目前没有伤亡报道。为了回应巴勒斯坦激进分子对其发射火箭，以色列对加沙进行一连串的夜间空袭，已造成至少39名巴勒斯坦人死亡，3名以色列人丧生。NPR安东尼?库恩加沙报道。

 

 

 

Children picked through the rubble³ of Hamas official Mahmoud Abusala’s house, which was leveled in an Israeli air raid. Other attacks destroyed Hamas police headquarters and the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Visiting Tunisian, Foreign Minister Rafik Abdesslem and his delegation⁴ called on Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza one day after Egypt’s prime minister paid a similar visit. Militants⁵ launched around 60 rockets from Gaza at Israel on Saturday. Israel says militants have launched around 700 rockets at it in the four days since the conflict escalated⁶. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Gaza City.

 

在以色列的一次空袭中，哈马斯官员马哈茂德?阿比萨拉的住所被夷为平地，小孩们在废墟上捡石头。哈马斯警察总部及总理伊斯梅尔?哈尼亚的办公室在别的空袭中也被铲平。突尼斯外交部长阿卜杜赛拉姆和他率领的代表团在访问加沙时呼吁以色列停止对加沙的空袭。就在前一日，埃及总理也访问了加沙。周六，加沙激进分子向以色列发射了60枚火箭。以方表示，自从双方冲突升级后，四天内激进分子已经向其发射了700枚火箭。NPR安东尼?库恩加沙城报道。

 

 

 

President Obama goes to Thailand Sunday, the first stop on his Southeast Asian tour. Douglas Baction reports from Bangkok。 Thailand is expected to announce it will join negotiations⁷ for a strategic trade agreement.

 

星期日，奥巴马总统访问泰国，这是他东南亚之行的第一站。据道格拉斯?巴克森在曼谷的报道，泰国预计会宣布加入战略贸易协议的洽谈。

 

 

 

The pact⁸ called the Trans-Pacific Partnership⁹ is intended to bolster¹⁰ trade between Southeast Asia and the United States. Currently 11 countries on both sides of the Pacific are negotiating the agreement which backers say will generate tens of billions of dollars in global income gains. Mr. Obama’s trip is part of his administration’s Pivot¹¹ to Asia. Washington seeks to re-balance its military and economic interests there. Earlier this week, Washington and Bangkok signed a new defense¹² cooperation agreement updating an old pact. For NPR News, I’m Douglas Baction in Bangkok.

 

《泛太平洋伙伴关系协议》将会加强东南亚与美国的贸易来往。目前，太平洋两岸的11个国家正就此协议进行洽谈。支持者认为，这项协议将为全球带来数百亿美元的收入。此次东南亚之行是奥巴马政府重返亚洲战略的一部分。美国力图再平衡其亚洲的军事和经济利益。本周早些时候，美国和泰国签署了新的国防合作协议。NPR记者格拉斯?巴克森报道。

 

 

 

President Obama will also visit Myanmar, the country also known as Burma, during his trip. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says there are signs of progress there. Clinton says with fledgling pro-democracy reforms, Myanmar can look forward to improved relations with the United States.

 

另外，奥巴马总统的亚洲之行还包括缅甸。国务卿希拉里?克林顿表示，缅甸的民主改革已取得进展。她还表示，民主改革的初步成效使缅甸与美国的关系有望改善。

 

 

 

“The United States is responding not just with growing diplomatic engagement, but also with new economic ties that we believe will help encourage further political and market reforms, and thereby¹³ improve stability over time.”

 

“美国不仅会回应日益增长的外交接触，还会响应经济合作关系。我们相信，两国的经济合作关系将进一步促进政治和市场改革，久而久之也会增强稳定性。”

 

 

 

Clinton spoke¹⁴ in Singapore today. She is expected to join the president in Thailand tomorrow. 

 

今日克林顿在新加坡发表讲话。她预计明日在泰国与奥巴马会面。

 

 

 

Two people are still missing from yesterday’s explosion and fire aboard an oil rig platform in the Gulf¹⁵ of Mexico. Coast Guard ships are searching. Reports say the blast began after workers used a torch to cut open an oil line. The Coast Guard says there is an oil sheen on the water, but that’s apparently¹⁶ leftover¹⁷ oil on the platform. Officials say this is containable. It will not be like the Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010. 

 

昨日，墨西哥湾一石油钻井平台起火，发生爆炸，两人失踪。海岸警卫队的船只已展开搜寻工作。据报道，两名工人利用喷枪切开油管，爆炸随即发生。海岸警卫队表示，海面上的油迹明显是钻井平台上残留下来的。有官员称，情况已得到控制，不会重演2010年“深水地平线”钻井漏油事故。

 

 

 

You’re listening to NPR News. 

 

你正在收听NPR新闻。

 

 

 

French politicians and business leaders have reacted angrily to British weekly magazine The Economist¹⁸ for its cover story this week. It describes the French economy as the biggest danger to Europe’s currency. NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley reports The Economist called France a ticking time bomb in the heart of Europe.

 

法国政治家和商界领袖对英国周刊《经济学人》本周的封面报道感到十分愤怒，因为它将法国经济形容为欧洲货币最大的威胁。据NPR记者埃莉诺?比尔兹利报道，《经济学人》把法国称为欧洲心脏的一颗定时炸弹。

 

 

 

Showing a bundle of baguette loaves with the dynamite¹⁹ fuse burning down, The Economist warned that France was a bigger danger to the euro currency than debt-stricken countries Italy, Spain and Portugal. The respected right-leaning British weekly said high taxes on businesses were eroding²⁰ the country’s competitiveness, and that both French leaders and voters were dangerously behind on much needed economic reforms. Far-left French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said the Economist was known for exaggerations and French bashing. And even capitalist-minded business groups said the magazine’s claims were completely exaggerated. Socialist²¹ President Francois Hollande has now may reducing the French deficit²² and making French companies more competitive his top priority, to the point where left-leaning voters and unions have called him a traitor²³. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

 

法国就像一捆系着导火索的面包一样，随时都可能爆炸。《经济学人》警告，与意大利、西班牙和葡萄牙这些陷入债务危机的国家相比，法国对欧元的威胁更大。《经济学人》十分受人敬重，且思想右倾。该杂志认为，对企业征收高额的税费在不断削弱法国的竞争力，法国领导人和选民的处境堪忧，急需经济改革。法国极左派人士工业部长阿尔诺?蒙特布尔表示，《经济学人》以夸大事实和抨击法国而闻名。甚至一些资本主义集团也认为该杂志的观点完全夸大了事实。社会党总统弗朗索瓦?奥朗德已把减少法国的赤字和增强企业的竞争力作为首要任务。因此，左倾选民和工会称奥朗德为叛国贼。NPR记者埃莉诺?比尔兹利法国报道。

 

 

 

President Obama urged Congress to pass legislation to make sure less affluent²⁴ Americans don't see tax increases at the New Year. Mr. Obama used his weekly media address to talk about the “fiscal cliff.” This raises taxes on everybody and imposes spending cuts. In the Republicans' weekly response, New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte says the “fiscal cliff” cannot be averted²⁵ unless lawmakers seriously address entitlement programs, such as Social Security. 

 

奥巴马总统敦促国会通过立法，确保在新年之际更多美国富人的税收会增加。奥巴马在总统每周广播演讲中谈到“财政悬崖”。若美国跌入“财政悬崖”，所有人的税收将会增加，削减开支计划也会强制执行。在共和党人每周演讲中，新罕布什尔参议员凯利?阿约特表示，只有国会认真改革像社会保险这样的福利计划，美国才能避免“财政悬崖”。

 

 

 

Football Hall of Famer and former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka is hospitalized. He is recovering from a minor²⁶ stroke. Ditka says he wants people to know he is ok. 

 

橄榄球名人堂的前芝加哥熊队教练迈克?迪特卡生病住院。他患有轻微中风，目前正在康复。迪特卡表示，希望人们知道他没有大碍。

1 interception   

n.拦截；截击；截取；截住，截断；窃听

参考例句：

• Aerial photography can provide valuable information on precipitation, evapotraspiration, interception, and runoff. 航空摄影可提供有关降水量、蒸发蒸腾量、入渗和径流量的有价值的资料。
• Light interception and distribution in hedgerow orchards with different alleyway widths is indicated in Fig. 56. 图56显示篱壁果园不同行间宽度的光能截取和分配的情况。

2 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。

3 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 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。

6 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

7 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。

8 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

11 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

18 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。

19 dynamite   

n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破)

参考例句：

• The workmen detonated the dynamite.工人们把炸药引爆了。
• The philosopher was still political dynamite.那位哲学家仍旧是政治上的爆炸性人物。

20 eroding   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的现在分词 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
• Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。

21 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

22 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

23 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

24 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

25 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

26 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。