NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-10-08

 There’s no apparent movement in the partisan¹ stalemate over the budget and the debt ceiling. House Speaker John Boehner told ABC’s "This Week" that debt ceiling won’t be raised until President Obama negotiates government spending.

 

“It is time to deal with America’s problem. How can you raise the debt limit and do nothing about the underlying² problems.” 

 

President Obama says he will have the conversation but not as a condition for reopening the government or meeting its existing debt obligations.

 

Among the many consequences of the government shutdown, key economic statistics are being compiled. Steve Beckner of Market News International reports the information lapse³ is complicating⁴ the Federal Reserve’s conduct of monetary⁵ policy.

 

Fed policymakers were eagerly awaiting the September employment report scheduled for release Friday morning, but neither that nor other official economic readings will be available until colleting agencies like the Labor⁶ Department and Commerce Department reopen. That leaves the Fed in a fog as it approaches a late October monetary policy meeting. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart among others says the data blackout will make him more careful in deciding whether the economy and jobs are improving enough to justify⁷ cramming⁸ the Fed’s 85-billion-dollar monthly bond buying. He says the dearth⁹ of data makes October a more ambiguous time to reduce quantitative¹⁰ easing. For NPR News, I’m Steve Beckner in Atlanta.

 

Libya is calling for the return of an accused terrorist captured yesterday by US forces in Tripoli. NPR’s Leila Fadel reports the man known as Abu Anas al-Libi has been indicted¹¹ for participating in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

 

He has been wanted by the United States for 15 years and was snatched off the streets in Tripoli by US forces on Saturday. A statement from the Pentagon said he’s been detained under the law of war outside of Libya. But it appears that the US did not consult with Libyan authorities before the operation in Tripoli. A statement from the Libyan government on Sunday referred to the capture of the accused al-Qaeda operative as a kidnapping. It also said that the interim¹² government is “keen that all Libyan nationals be tried inside Libya” and that suspects are innocent until proven guilty. The statement added that it hopes the strategic relationship between the US and Libya isn’t harmed by this incident. Leila Fadel, NPR News.

 

In Egypt, more deadly clashes erupted today among anti-military demonstrators, rival protesters and security forces. At least 51 people were killed. In Cairo, those loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood¹³ and ousted¹⁴ President Mohamed Morsi clashed with government forces for several hours. The demonstrations¹⁵ took place as thousands of Egyptians turned out in the streets to mark a national holiday. This is NPR.

 

The Supreme¹⁶ Court begins a new term tomorrow with an agenda that includes government-sanctioned prayer, abortion¹⁷ and affirmative action. Among the cases coming up this week -- campaign finance. Tuesday, justices will hear a challenge to the total limit on how much donors¹⁸ are allowed to give to congressional candidates and political parties. The plaintiffs will argue contributions are protected as free speech. Several cases ask the high court to go against the president.

 

In Afghanistan, today was the deadline for candidates to register for next spring’s presidential election. More than two dozen candidates are now signed up. NPR’s Sean Carberry reports that surpassed expectations.  

 

Afghanistan's election office stayed open late into the night to accommodate the last-minute rush of candidates aiming to succeed President Hamid Karzai. He’s prohibited from seeking a third term. The field of contenders runs the gamut¹⁹ from ministers, parliamentarians and governors to technocrats²⁰, to a number of former warlords. Afghanistan has no formal party or primary system, hence the large field. Most analysts²² and officials expect the race to ultimately focus on no more than a half dozen top-tier hopefuls. One woman has registered to run for president and several other registered as vice²³ presidential candidates. Sean Carberry, NPR News, Kabul.

 

Gas prices are continuing a downward slide, according to industry analyst²¹ Trobi Lumberg. 

 

“The past two weeks, they fell 14 cents to an average $3.38 for regular, and in the past month they are down 20 cents per gallon.”

 

Lunberg attributes the decline to lower crude oil prices. The average for a gallon of regular is now $3.38.

1 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

2 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

3 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

4 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

5 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 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。

7 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

8 cramming   

n.塞满，填鸭式的用功v.塞入( cram的现在分词 )；填塞；塞满；（为考试而）死记硬背功课

参考例句：

• Being hungry for the whole morning, I couldn't help cramming myself. 我饿了一上午，禁不住狼吞虎咽了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She's cramming for her history exam. 她考历史之前临时抱佛脚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 dearth   

n.缺乏，粮食不足，饥谨

参考例句：

• There is a dearth of good children's plays.目前缺少优秀的儿童剧。
• Many people in that country died because of dearth of food.那个国家有许多人因为缺少粮食而死。

10 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

11 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

12 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

13 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

14 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

15 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

16 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

17 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

18 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 gamut   

n.全音阶，(一领域的)全部知识

参考例句：

• The exhibition runs the whole gamut of artistic styles.这次展览包括了所有艺术风格的作品。
• This poem runs the gamut of emotions from despair to joy.这首诗展现了从绝望到喜悦的感情历程。

20 technocrats   

n.技术专家，专家政治论者( technocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Few business barons remained. They were replaced by "technocrats," who became the heads of corporations. 企业巨头所剩无几，大多已被“技术专家”所代替，这些人成了公司的领导。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• However, bankers called the technocrats' bluff and proceeded to lend with gusto. 但是，银行家们称技术专家官员不过在虚张声势，并且还会乐观的继续借贷业务。 来自互联网

21 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

22 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

23 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。