NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-09-15

 Heavy rains that caused severe flooding in parts of Colorado have subsided¹ somewhat, giving officials time to begin to assess the damage and rescue stranded² residents. As Nathan Heffel of member station KUNC reports, a new flash flood warning has been issued as more rain is forecast overnight.

Scores of area roadways are impassable or damaged by flooding across the Rocky Mountain foothills of Colorado. Mark Beckner, chief of police for the city of Boulder³, says flooding across the city was close to a 25-year event.

would call it a 35-year event because in my 35 years we've never had anything this significant. The waters that I've seen coming down the Canyon⁴ and the tributaries⁵ are, has been just tremendous amount of water. It's been traveling at a very fast, high rate of speed.?

Forecast for returning heavy rain may cause renewed flooding in areas where water had a chance to recede⁶ during the day. For NPR News, I'm Nathan Heffel in Denver.

The UN report detailing the August 21st chemical weapons attack in Syria is expected to be delivered to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon this weekend. Teri Schultz reports the investigative team working in The Hague expedited its research at Ban's request, determined⁸ as quickly as possible if poison gas was used on civilians⁹ outside Damascus.

The expert team led by Swedish professor Ake Sellstrom has finished its assessment¹⁰ of the chemical attack in Syria last month. Sellstrom says he'll deliver it from The Hague to UN headquarters in New York, where Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will receive a full briefing to pass on to UN members possibly as early as Monday. The UN investigators¹¹ were not tasked with concluding who's responsible for the attack. The US says it's definitely the regime, which deployed¹² sarin gas and killed more than 1,400 people. While Secretary General Ban has not blamed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad specifically for the chemical attack, he does say Assad has committed many crimes against humanity. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz.

Retail¹³ sales were up in August, the government announcing today Americans bought more cars, furniture and electronics last month. Commerce Department says spending at retail businesses was up 0.2%. Still that was the smallest gain in four months. Economist¹⁴ Huge Johnson says overall it抯 a pretty weak number.

his is a bit disappointing number suggesting that consumer spending remains¹⁵ on the south side, that back to school sales were a little bit lackluster, were not very strong, and overall consumer spending remains very, very subdued¹⁶.?

Modest gain was less than half of the July increase. Retail sales are closely tracked by economists¹⁷ since spending by consumers drives the bulk of overall US economic activity.

Prices at the wholesale¹⁸ level were up last month. However, the Labor¹⁹ Department reports excluding volatile²⁰ food and energy costs, wholesale prices were virtually unchanged in August. For the past year, prices at the wholesale level excluding food and energy had risen by just a scant²¹ 1.1%.

On Wall Street, stocks ended the week on an up note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 75 points to close at 15,376. This is NPR.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has upheld the conviction of former Giants slugger Barry Bonds on obstruction²² of justice charges, the Ninth US Circuit Court ruling that Bonds?response to a question about whether his trainer Greg Anderson had ever given him steroid injections was evasive and misleading. Bonds gave the answer during testimony²³ before a grand jury in 2003. The grand jury was investigating performance-enhancing drug use and sales amongst athletes.

California Governor Jerry Brown says he will sign a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses²⁴. NPR's Ted⁷ Robbins says that makes California the tenth state to allow that privilege.

California Governor Jerry Brown reversed himself, first saying he would veto the bill, then saying he sign it. Brown says giving undocumented immigrants driver's licenses will allow people to get to work safely and legally. He also said it will send a message to Washington that immigration reform is needed and overdue²⁵. Nine other states and the District of Colombia allow undocumented immigrants to apply for driver's licenses. The bill overwhelmingly passed both houses of the California Legislature. Ted Robbins, NPR News.

There been a few amount of discussion lately about the nation's aging workforce²⁶. However, at least one group of economists is finding aging boomers forced to stay in the workforce longer can make ideal hires. As a result about 200 employers, including Google and AT&T, have now signed an AARP pledge, recognizing the valuable applicants²⁷ and vowing²⁸ to consider those 50 years and older for positions at their companies. Experts cite the fact that older employees often outperform the younger ones in many matrix. While unemployment is lower in older workers, long-term joblessness is far higher.

1 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

3 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

4 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

5 tributaries   

n. 支流

参考例句：

• In such areas small tributaries or gullies will not show. 在这些地区，小的支流和冲沟显示不出来。
• These tributaries are subsequent streams which erode strike valley. 这些支流系即为蚀出走向谷的次生河。

6 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

7 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

11 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》

12 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

13 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

14 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。

15 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。

16 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

17 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》

18 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

19 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。

20 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

21 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

22 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

23 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

24 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

25 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

26 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

27 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

28 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。