NPR 2012-12-12

　　From NPR News in Washington, I'm Barbara Klein.

 

　　Michigan lawmakers have given final approval to two right-to-work measures that will likely weaken unions in what has been a labor¹ stronghold. The bills prohibit unions from demanding dues from non-union members who benefit from collective bargaining. Governor Rick Snyder says he'll sign them as soon as tomorrow. But as Rick Pluta of Michigan Public Radio tells us, union advocates aren't giving up.

 

　　Union leaders, Democrats² say they are talking about possibly filing an equal protection lawsuit³, saying that you can't carve out just two unions but make them apply to all the others. And then they are also talking about just plain old political activism. They say that Republicans who voted for this, some of them, at least differ in vulnerable districts. They could be targeted for recall.

 

　　Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta.

 

　　The US trade deficit⁴ widened in October. NPR's Elsa Chang reports it was the biggest drop for exports in about four years.

 

　　The wider the trade deficit is, the more it can slow down growth here. And in October the trade gap increased about 4.9%. But some economists⁵, like Tim Quinlan of Wells Fargo, say the numbers may have been artificially affected⁶ by Superstorm Sandy. New York closed its port during the last few days of October, and that port sees about 1/10 of all exports and imports.

 

　　“It is not going to be huge, but, you know, if you lose, you know, three or four days worth of trading in the port, it does, you know, round numbers about 10% of your trade in both directions. That's enough to move the needle.”

 

　　The largest category of exports that slowed down was industrial supplies and raw materials. Elsa Chang, NPR News, New York.

 

　　Activists⁷ in Syria say they've seized full control of a major military base near Aleppo following a two-day battle. Among the opposition⁸ fighters, members of Jabhat al-Nusra, which the State Department today designated as a terrorist organization.

 

　　Two major international tests show US students in several states are among the highest performers in math, science and reading when compared to students in top-performing countries. NPR's Claudio Sanchez has details.

 

　　As a nation, US fourth and eighth graders still lag behind Asian students, but American students have been making gains since 1995, especially if you break down their scores by state and compare them to kids in other countries. In reading, for example, Florida’s fourth graders rank among the top five, Finland, Russia, Singapore and Hong Kong. In math, North Carolina is among the top eight. Eighth graders in Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina and Indiana also compare favorably in math right up there with the top Asian countries. Colorado, Massachusetts and Minnesota place in the top 12 internationally in fourth grade science. The results were released by the National Center for Education Statistics. Claudio Sanchez, NPR News.

 

　　On Wall Street at this hour, the Dow was up 108 points, the NASDAQ up 53.

 

　　This is NPR.

 

　　A former police officer in Florida is due to be executed this evening. Manuel Pardo is convicted of murdering nine people during the 1986 rampage. Yesterday a federal judge denied Pardo's request for a stay.

 

　　Defense⁹ Secretary Leon Panetta says intelligence agencies have detected no new movement of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime. But on the visit to Kuwait, Panetta says he's still concerned that President Bashar al-Assad is considering using chemical weapons.

 

　　The number of journalists imprisoned¹⁰ around the world this year is at a record high. The Committee to Protect Journalists says arrests are climbing as governments increasingly accuse reporters of terrorism and anti-state activities. The group says Turkey, Iran and China are the three leading jailers.

 

　　Famed Russian soprano Galina Vishnevskaya died today. She was 86. As NPR's Neda Ulaby reports, the star turned political dissident had a dramatic life.

 

　　It's hard to imagine any opera with a plot equal to her life. Galina Vishnevskaya was abandoned as a baby, plucked from thousands of hopefuls to study opera, became the Bolshoi Theater's greatest star and married world-famous cellist¹¹ Mstislav Rostropovich four days after meeting him. Vishnevskaya made her American debut¹² in 1960, the same year she recorded this aria¹³ for Madama Butterfly. She was stripped of Soviet¹⁴ citizenship¹⁵ soon after with her husband for their friendship with dissidents. She later returned to help other Russian artists and in 2007 starred in a movie nominated for a Palme d'Or. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

 

　　And I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 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》

3 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

4 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。

5 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》

6 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。

7 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》

8 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。

9 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。

10 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

11 cellist   

n.大提琴手

参考例句：

• The cellist's bowing was very sensitive . 那位大提琴手的弓法十分细腻。 来自辞典例句
• World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded The Silk Road Project in 1998. 世界闻名的大提琴家马友友于1998年创建了丝路工程。 来自互联网

12 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

13 aria   

n.独唱曲，咏叹调

参考例句：

• This song takes off from a famous aria.这首歌仿效一首著名的咏叹调。
• The opera was marred by an awkward aria.整部歌剧毁在咏叹调部分的不够熟练。

14 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

15 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。