NPR 2012-12-31

　　From NPR news in Washington, I am Nora Raum.

 

　　Last minute talks for a deal to avert¹ tax hikes for everyone and addressed spending cuts in the New Year. Appeared to have stalled in the Senate. NPR’s David Welna reports that Senate Republican leader is looking to Vice² President Joe Biden, to try to move things forward.

 

　　That mid-afternoon on the Senate floor, Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he had not received a counter-offer from Democrats³ to the proposal he made last night for averting⁴ a fiscal⁵ cliff. McConnell said no signal issues seem to be an impossible sticking point.

 

　　“ The sticking point of there to be a willingness and an interest, or frankly⁶ the courage to close the deal. I want everyone to know, I am wanna to get this done, but I need a dance partner.”

 

　　Majority leader Harry⁷ Reid confirmed the Democrats are unable to come up with a counter-offer. He said one thing they won’t do was make any cuts to social security. Possibly a reference to a push by the GOP to include new inflation conclusion. That was dampen the growth and cuts the retirement⁸ benefits.

 

　　David Welna, NPR news, the Capital.

 

　　A letter of Syrian opposition⁹ factions¹⁰ are dismissing a peace plan by international envoy¹¹ Lakhdar Brahimi. Saying contents unacceptable concessions¹² to the regime. NPR’s Peter Kenyon is monitoring the story from Istanbul, he says the reports are more violence.

 

　　Brahimi’s visit to Moscow has raised modest hopes of breakthrough, giving Russia’s position as solid ally of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his regime. But the opposition refuses to consider any agreement that leaves al-Assad in power.

 

　　Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the other hand, says it is impossible to persuade al-Assad to step down ans insisting on that would mean sacrificing many more lives.

 

　　Heavy fighting continued in many parts of Syria yesterday. Activist¹³ claims of hundreds killed by government forces and Homas area could not be immediately confirmed. But London based Syrian observatory¹⁴ for human rights said it appears likely that at least dozens were killed.

 

　　Peter Kenyon, NPR news, Istanbul.

 

　　In Pakistan, 21 border soldiers were kidnapped by the Pakistani Taliban last week have been found died. NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston reports.

 

　　Officials say that the Pakistani Taliban executed nearly two dozens of the frontier corps’s men they captured last week near the city of Peshawar. Frontier corp’s men are in wilderness,punished to enforce, based in North Pakistan. Officials say the men were tied up, blindfolded¹⁵ and lined up before they were shot.

 

　　The army has launched a massive search rescue campaign right after the man disappeared. The killings¹⁶ end a bloody¹⁷ month in the concert with the Pakistani Taliban. The group launched two high profile attacks in Peshawar this month along. A suicide bombing that killed a local politician, and an attack on the Peshawar airport.

 

　　The discovery of the bodies camp just two days, after the leader of Pakistani Taliban released a video tape, saying he was open to peace talks.

 

　　Dina Temple-Raston, NPR news, Islamabad.

 

　　This is NPR news.

 

　　New England is digging out from as much as foot of snow after yet another storm. But now meteorologist say the outlook is clear for the next few days.

 

　　Richard Aldo was the National Weather Service says that scene for much of the country on New Years Eve.

 

　　“The trouble spot else gonna be trouble spot. May be Kansas city, it might have some snow, formed a day, New Years eve to the night time hours. And then further South form Dallas into Litter Rock, Arkansas. There will have some light, modest wind chills to be whirl.”

 

　　In Arkansas, utility officials say there are still thousands of people without electricity since storm in Christmas day.

 

　　Students, parents and faculty¹⁸ from Sandy Hood¹⁹ Elementary school in Connecticut are on hand for the New York Giants Football game today. The team invited the guests to play row in the pre-game ceremony. NPR’s Joel Rose reports.

 

　　Hundreds of guests from Newtown, Connecticut will attend the Giants final regular season game. Members of the Sandy Hood community will circle the field during the national anthem²⁰, and will share the moment of silence before the game, to honor the victims of the shooting spree earlier this month, that killed 26 people, including 20 children.

 

　　Giant Wide receiver Victor Cruz has already met the family of one victim, after the shootings, Cruz visited with the family of six-year-old Jack²¹ Pinto,  after learning the young shooting victim was Giant’s fan.

 

　　Joel Rose, NPR news, New York.

 

　　A New York judge is ordering a woman suspected of shoving a man in front of subway train last week, undergo a psychiatric evaluation²². She has been charged with murder as a hate crime. Investigators²³ say that she told them that she pushed the man Thursday night, because she thought he was a Muslim. This was the second man killed in this fashion this month.

 

　　I am Nora Raum, NPR news, in Washington.

1 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

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 averting   

防止，避免( avert的现在分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• The margin of time for averting crisis was melting away. 可以用来消弥这一危机的些许时光正在逝去。
• These results underscore the value of rescue medications in averting psychotic relapse. 这些结果显示了救护性治疗对避免精神病复发的价值。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

7 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

8 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

9 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。

10 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

11 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

12 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

13 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

14 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

15 blindfolded   

v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗

参考例句：

• The hostages were tied up and blindfolded. 人质被捆绑起来并蒙上了眼睛。
• They were each blindfolded with big red handkerchiefs. 他们每个人的眼睛都被一块红色大手巾蒙住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

17 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

18 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

19 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。

20 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

21 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

22 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

23 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》