NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-01-26

 \　　President Obama has tapped his long-time advisor¹ Denis McDonough to be the new White House Chief of Staff. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports McDonough would replace Jack² Lew who is expected to become the next treasury³ secretary.

 

　　McDonough has been a close confidant to the President, since Obama first came to the U.S. Senate. He is currently the Deputy National Security Advisor, where White House officials say McDonough played a key role in major decisions ranging from Afghanistan to the repeal⁴ of “Don’t Ask,Don’t Tell”. McDonough also has ties on Capitol Hill as a onetime staffer to former Democratic Senate Leader Tom Daschle. Many of the president’s personnel moves as he begins his second term have involved shuffling⁵ insiders, rather than recruiting new blood. Obama is tapping Vice⁶ Presidential Advisor Tony Blinken to fill McDonough’s old job on the national security team. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 

　　Vice President Joe Biden is taking the White House campaign on gun control to Virginia today. Biden is holding a round-table discussion in Richmond with experts who worked on gun safety after the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech.

 

　　“We had a great conversation, the president’s team, the secretaries, and I, and as well as the Justice Department Reps.. We were able to really quiz our friends who have been through a horrible tragedy here as everyone in America knows what happened at Virginia Tech.”

 

　　The Obama Administration is pushing Congress to pass a measure that would require background checks for all gun sales and ban those military-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition⁷ magazines.

 

　　A former CIA operative has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for leaking the identity of one of his colleagues. NPR’s Carrie Johnson reports the judge says the prison term is way too light.

 

　　John Kiriakou spent almost 15 years at the CIA working on some of the agency’s most sensitive clandestine⁸ missions. But the Justice Department says he ran afoul of the law by sharing with a reporter the name of an undercover operative involved in a detainee interrogation program. Kiriakou’s supporters paint him as a whistleblower. But U.S. District Judge Leone Brinkema says he betrayed trust. The judge says she would have thrown the book at Kiriakou and given him a prison term as many as ten years, but his plea deal with the government tied her hands. Prosecutor⁹ Neil MacBride says the case should serve as a reminder¹⁰ that the damage drawn¹¹ by leaks is real and justice will hold people to account. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　Flu cases are starting to decrease nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked¹² again last week, especially among the elderly, but flu activity is declining in most regions. It remains¹³ on the rise in the west.

 

　　This is NPR News.

 

　　Economic growth in Britain contracted again during the last three months of 2012. Larry Miller¹⁴ reports there is now concern Britain faces a triple-dip recession.

 

　　The British economy shrank by 0.3%, four out of the last five quarters have now had negative growth. The Office for National Statistics describes the economy as bumpy¹⁵ and the trend is sluggish¹⁶. Treasury Chief George Osborne blames Britain’s high debt and the recession-plagued eurozone, that’s cut back on British exports.

 

　　“I am not making excuses; we are going to confront these problems. We can’t run away from them and the way you confront them is to get the British economy into a state where we are exporting more, where we are connected with the growing markets in the world, where our businesses are competitive and jobs go on being created.”

 

　　However, Britain unions and the political opposition¹⁷ blamed the government’s austerity strategy for the lack of growth, arguing spending cuts are too deep and too fast. For NPR News, I am Larry Miller in London.

 

　　Even though new home sales slipped in December, it was still the best year the industry experienced since 2009. The Commerce Department says new home sales fell 7.3% last month to a seasonally¹⁸ adjusted annual rate of 369,000. Economist¹⁹ Mark Vitner says sales of new homes could be strong again in 2013.

 

　　“Interest rates are lower. There is not as much competition from foreclosures and short sales and so home-builders are in much better shape.”

 

　　Vitner says the housing market began to recover in 2012, helped by steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates.

 

　　A bill that would allow gay marriage in Rhode Island is now in the hands of State Senate. The measure received an overwhelming support in the House yesterday.

 

　　This is NPR News.

1 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

2 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。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

5 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 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。

7 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

8 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

9 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

10 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

11 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

15 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

16 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

17 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。

18 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

19 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。