NPR 2010-06-23

The top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, is in hot water with the White House for some derogatory comments he made during an interview for a magazine article. The remarks were controversial enough to have him summoned to the White House. NPR's Jackie Northam reports McChrystal will also have to face Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates.

Secretary Gates said he read with concern the profile of General McChrystal which will appear in the upcoming edition of Rolling Stone magazine. In the article, McChrystal and some of his aides criticize and mock senior officials in the Obama administration, including Vice³ President Joe Biden and National Security Advisor⁴ Jim Jones. Gates said McChrystal made a significant mistake and exercised poor judgment⁵ in some of his comments. Gates said McChrystal apologized to him and to others named in the article, and says he will meet personally with McChrystal to discuss the matter. But the defense secretary does not say one way or the other whether McChrystal will stay in his job. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

A big legal setback⁶ for the White House today: a federal judge in New Orleans has struck down the Obama administration's six-month moratorium⁷ on new deepwater oil wells. White House says it'll appeal. We've got the latest from NPR's Scott Horsley.

US District Judge Martin Feldman ruled the administration hadn't provided an adequate reason for its drilling moratorium, saying the failure of one deepwater rig does not justify⁸ halting others. President Obama pushed the pause button on deepwater drilling to allow a study commission time to investigate what went wrong with BP's deepwater well triggering the nation's worst oil spill. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs argues it's too risky¹⁰ to restart drilling before that study is complete.

"Continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense."

The moratorium was challenged by people whose livelihoods¹¹ depend on offshore¹² drilling rigs. They argue the Gulf¹³ Coast region already reeling from the oil spill can't afford to lose any more jobs. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

South Carolina is holding a runoff election today. It'll determine the state's Republican gubernatorial candidate for November.

An army of firefighters is still trying to get control of a 10,000-acre fire near Flagstaff, Arizona. So far it's about 10% contained. Hundreds of people have been evacuated¹⁴, but Kim Ott, spokeswoman for the city of Flagstaff, says there're still some holdouts.

"It's still voluntary, you know, mandatory¹⁵ and that we are asking people to leave, but nobody has been taken away by force. I guess it’s one thing. There are some folks that do choose to stay in their home, but we are encouraging people to leave."

A nearby highway that was closed because of thick smoke has reopened.

Last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones industrials down nearly 150 points at 10,293, NASDAQ losing 27, 2,262.

This is NPR.

As of today, the words "light", "mild" and "low tar²" disappear from cigarette labels and tobacco advertisements. As NPR's Brenda Wilson explains, those descriptions and a host of new rules are in effect one year after the Food and Drug Administration assumed authority to regulate tobacco.

Under the new regulations, tobacco companies must stop labeling cigarettes as "light", "mild" or "low tar". Health officials say many Americans mistakenly believe light and low-tar cigarettes are safer than regular cigarettes. Most of the new rules, however, are aimed at industry tactics that the FDA says appeals to young people, such as free samples, gifts with logos and brand name sponsorship of music and sporting events. All are now outlawed¹⁶. Cigarette vending¹⁷ machines will be allowed only in adult facilities. Cigarettes can no longer be sold in smaller quantities than 20 cigarettes. The tobacco industry says it already has packs of cigarettes on the shelves that do not have the descriptors, but the FDA is concerned about inserts in the new packs that say "Your Marlboro Lights pack is changing, but your cigarette stays the same." Brenda Wilson, NPR News.

Energy chiefs have been criticizing President Obama's six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling that a federal judge in New Orleans has since rejected. At a conference in London today, participants argued the ban would severely¹⁸ affect costs and threaten security of supply. The president of Transocean, which owned the BP-leased rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April and led to the spill, says White House could have taken more immediate¹⁹ steps that would have allowed drilling to resume. When a BP executive spoke⁹, protesters heckled him and held up a banner that showed the BP logo splattered with black paint.
 

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

7 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

8 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？

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

11 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

12 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

13 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。

14 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

15 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

16 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

17 vending   

v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明

参考例句：

• Why Are You Banging on the Vending Machine? 你为什么敲打这台自动售货机？ 来自朗文快捷英语教程 2
• Coca-Cola had to adapt almost 300,000 vending machines to accept the new coins. 可口可乐公司必须使将近三十万台自动贩卖机接受新货币。 来自超越目标英语 第5册

18 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

19 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。