NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-09-14

 Secretary of State John Kerry began talks with his Russian counterpart in Geneva today, saying the world is watching to see if two major powers can work together to rid Syria of chemical weapons. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports Kerry is testing how serious both Moscow and Damascus are about this diplomatic way forward.

Secretary Kerry has already raised concerns about the timetable for a plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons. Syria says it has 30 days to declare its arsenal¹ once it joins the Chemical Weapons Convention. But Kerry says there is nothing standard about this moment, and he says there are a lot of issues for the experts to iron out quickly.

“The technical challenges of trying to do this in the context of a civil war are obviously immense.”

But he says he thinks it can be done as long as there are consequences for Syria if it does not follow through. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Geneva.

Senate Majority Leader Harry² Reid says GOP lawmakers are wasting their time in trying to delay or defund the president's health care law. NPR's Craig Windham reports Reid's comments come after he met with House Speaker John Boehner and other congressional leaders as they try to head off a government shutdown in less than three weeks.

Conservative GOP lawmakers are demanding that any measure to keep federal agency's operating include a provision to defund or delay the health care law. Boehner acknowledges that is a key issue.

“For the sake of our economy we’ll continue to do everything we can to repeal³, dismantle⁴ and defund Obamacare.”

Boehner also wants the president to agree to more spending cuts in exchange for raising the nation's debt limit this fall. But Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray of Washington state says that is not going to happen.

“Democrats are not delaying Obamacare, [that] we certainly are negotiating over the debt limit and it’s insane to play partisan⁵ games with our nation's economy.”

Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

Emergency crews in the state of Colorado were dealing⁶ with extensive flooding from Colorado Springs to north of Fort Collins. It's after more than six inches of rain fell in some areas, leaving at least three people dead and some mountain communities cut off. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper says he's already looking for federal assistance.

“We have declared a disaster for the flooded areas and requesting emergency declaration from FEMA.”

Rain sent walls of water crashing down mountainsides in areas where ground cover had been stripped due to recent wildfires.

A federal judge has officially signed off on a plan by American Airlines parent company AMR to emerge from bankruptcy⁷, today's ruling by the judge in essence allowing for a proposed merger⁸ with US Airways⁹ to continue to move forward. But the airlines still face a Justice Department lawsuit¹⁰ seeking to block the marriage. While the carriers have originally proposed closing the merger deal this month to create the world's largest airline, a trial on Justice Department objections is now scheduled to November.

After two days of strong gains, stocks show modest declines. Today the Dow was down 25 points; the S&P 500 fell five points. This is NPR.

The special US envoy¹¹ has indicated any move by North Korea to restart a nuclear reactor¹² would be viewed as a very serious violation¹³ of United Nations Security Council resolutions. According to US research institutes, satellite pictures show what appears to be North Korea restarting a plutonium reactor--one of the country's nuclear facilities--that was shuttered in 2007. According to the US envoy, if true, such a move by the North could be a violation of previous commitments.

It's official Dell Computer is going private. As NPR's Steve Henn reports, Dell shareholders¹⁴ have approved a deal to sell the company to its founder¹⁵ Michael Dell and private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners.

This 25-billion-dollar deal was a long time coming. It faced stiff opposition¹⁶ of some of Dell's largest outside investors¹⁷ like Carl Icahn and big mutual¹⁸ funds. They argue Michael Dell and Silver Lake were not paying enough for what was once the largest personal computer manufacturer on the planet. But as the personal computer industry has contracted over the last few years, Dell has struggled. Earnings¹⁹ last quarter fell 72%. Michael Dell hopes to revamp the company, move away from the PC business and focus on providing services and high-margin equipment to big businesses. Dell is following in the footsteps of both IBM, which successfully sold its PC business years ago, and HP, which is in the midst of a similar transition. Steve Henn, NPR News.

Looks a bit like something out of the Disney-Pixar movie Up, in which Carl Fredricksen uses a multitude of helium balloons in his aerial adventure. Over this morning balloonist Jonathan Trappe lifted off from Caribou²⁰, Maine in a similar contraption--a set of conventional hot-air balloons. Trappe's goal is to cross the Atlantic, using hundreds of helium-filled balloons. He’ll become the first person to ever do that.

1 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

2 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。

3 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。

4 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

5 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。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

8 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

9 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

10 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。

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 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

13 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

14 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

15 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

16 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。

17 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

18 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

19 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

20 caribou   

n.北美驯鹿

参考例句：

• Afar off he heard the squawking of caribou calves.他听到远处有一群小驯鹿尖叫的声音。
• The Eskimos played soccer on ice and used balls filled with caribou hair and grass.爱斯基摩人在冰上踢球，他们用的是驯鹿的毛发和草填充成的球。