NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-01-19

 President Obama says he is ending the program of a bulk collection of America’s phone data, as it currently exists. Mr. Obama is calling for more oversight¹ at the massive national security agency database. President is also calling for a review could lead the government no longer holding on that data. NPR’s Tamara Keith explains the president is also making commitment to foreign leaders. 

One of the most explosive revelations from the leaks by former NSA contractor² Edward Snowden was that the US government was spying on the phone calls of close allies, including German Chancellor³, Angela Merkel. President Obama says he doesn’t let there a compelling national security purpose, the US will not monitor the communications of heads of states, of close friends and allies. 

“Leaders of our close friends and allies deserve to know that I want to know what they think about an issue, I’ll pick up the phone and call them rather than turning to surveillance.”

But senior administration officials wouldn’t get into detail about which countries are considered close friends. Tamara Keith, NPR News, Washington. 

 

The Taliban are claiming responsibility for a suicide attack on a popular Lebanese restaurant in the Afghan capital of Kabul.That killed as many as 16 people, including the International Monetary⁴ Fund representative in Afghanistan. NPR’s Sean Carberry reports most of victims are foreigners. 

A little after 7 p.m. local time, an explosion shook a residential⁵ neighborhood of Kabul. Gunfire followed as police quickly cordon⁶ off the area, which is close to a number of embassies. Afghan officials say one attacker blew himself off outside Lebanese Taverna and 2 gunmen entered and began shooting the customers. Security forces eventually killed the 2 gunmen. So far the United Nation says they have personnel unaccounted for, as do other international organizations. The owner of this restaurant, who is a friend of internationalclient-tier, was killed. This attack is particularlystriking that theyindiscriminately targeted foreign civilians⁷. The Taliban generally targeted military or government personnel. Sean Carberry, NPR News, Kabul.

 

California governor Jerry Brown is now officially declaring a drought emergency in the state. The governor’s declarations today clear the way for financial assistances and other helps from the federal government after months of unseasonably dry conditions. 

“Today, I’m declaring a drought emergency in the state of California, because we’re facing perhaps the worst drought that California has ever seen since records began being captured about 100 years ago.”

Brown made announcement at San Francisco, formalizing that many Californians have been aware for months. 

 

Pack shipper UPS is warning Wall Street to expect a lower fourth quarter profits after the company says it was a difficult holiday shopping season. UPS also says it hired 30,000 more seasonal⁸ workers in plan to get those packages out on time. 

 

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 41 points to close 16,458; the NASDAQ fell 21 points. 

 

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Secretary of State John Kerry says he’s responding to calls from Canada for the US to make a decision on the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline⁹. Kerry says today he will not be pressured to making a snap judgment¹⁰ on whether to allow 7-billion-dollars pipeline project to go forward. Kerry has joined a conference with Canada 4 Minsters today said that there’s a lot of questions about the 1,700 miles pipeline, which is designed to carry oil from western Canada, US Gulf¹¹ Coast oil refineries¹². 

 

Opponents of voter identification requirement scored a victory in Pennsylvania today. A state judge struck down the 2-year-old voter photo ID law, considering to be one of the strictest in the nation. NPR’s Pam Fessler has that story. 

The identification law was enacted¹³ in 2012 along a strictly¹⁴ part line. Republicans said it’s needed to prevent voter flawed; Democrats¹⁵ and voting rights groups argued that was in efforts to suppress the votes from minorities and other voters who lack the required ID. Commonwealth¹⁶ Court Judge Bernard McGinley said his decision that the law, which was not enforced in the last election, could disfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters through no flaw to their own. He said it violated the state constitution. He also said there is no evidence that such a law is needed. The state has no immediate¹⁷ response, but the decision is expected to be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme¹⁸ Court. Pam Fessler, NPR News. 

 

Russian president Vladimir Putin says his country intends to do everything possible to ensure the safety of those who participating in an attending to 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Security concerns have been raised in light of recent terror attacks on city of Volgograd. Winter Games begins on February 7th. 

1 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

2 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 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。

5 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

6 cordon   

n.警戒线，哨兵线

参考例句：

• Police officers threw a cordon around his car to protect him.警察在他汽车周围设置了防卫圈以保护他。
• There is a tight security cordon around the area.这一地区周围设有严密的安全警戒圈。

7 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。

8 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

9 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

10 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

12 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

13 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

14 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

15 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》

16 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

17 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

18 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。