NPR 2012-01-06

 The Obama administration is rolling out a new military strategy aimed at absorbing federal budget cuts. NPR's Tom Bowman reports President Obama unveiled a plan today that as the defense¹ secretary noted² was inevitable³ in a changing world.

 

 

 

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said there will be cuts in the size of the Army and the Marine⁴ Corps⁵. Both those services were increased to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the Pentagon officials said there will likely not be any large stability operations. In the future, there would need a large number of troops. So they can make tens of thousands of cuts in those forces. 

 

 

 

NPR's Tom Bowman.

 

 

 

Critics say the plan makes some American troops and the US more vulnerable to attacks. Penetta says while some risk is expected with a smaller military, national security will not be compromised. 

 

 

 

Well, the new head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says he’s not worried about the controversial way he came into the job through a presidential recess⁶ appointment. NPR's Tamara Keith reports Richard Cordray gave his public remarks today one day after becoming director of the bureau.

 

 

 

Richard Cordray, the new head of the consumer bureau, says he hopes to win over critics by doing well what the agency was created to do—protect consumers. Now the bureau is launching its program for supervising non-banks, something that had been on hold without a director.

 

 

 

“We will begin dealing⁷ face to face with payday lenders, mortgage servicers, mortgage originators, private student lenders and other firms that often compete with banks but have largely escaped any meaningful federal oversight⁸.”

 

 

 

Cordray says this will have a wide reach. For instance, some 20 million American households use payday lenders. Tamara Keith, NPR News, Washington.

 

 

 

Some encouraging news ahead of the release of the monthly jobs report tomorrow. Today a private payroll⁹ survey reveals 325,000 new jobs were added in December. The ADP report says it's the biggest change in a year. And as NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports, it's another positive sign in the jobs market.

 

 

 

The job gains came mostly from small and medium-sized businesses and mostly those in the service sector¹⁰. It also comes as the Labor¹¹ Department says firing activity has slowed. Although there is not always a direct correlation¹² between various surveys and reports on job gains, the ADP reports much larger than anticipated increases added to optimism ahead of the official government unemployment reports due out Friday. Economists¹³ are anticipating the jobless rate could rise 0.1% to 8.7% for the month on a gain of about 165,000 jobs. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

 

 

 

US stocks up slightly with the Dow gaining six points; it’s at 12,424. NASDAQ up 22 points at 2,670. 

 

 

 

This is NPR News.

 

 

 

In Chile, the National Education Council has ruled that the late dictator, Augusto Pinochet's government, would be called a military regime rather than a dictatorship in textbooks. NPR's Juan Forero reports that the new description is igniting more controversy¹⁴ in a country where Pinochet's government is accused of killing¹⁵ thousands of people.

 

 

 

It may sound like a minor¹⁶ change, but many in Chile are upset, saying the new description softens¹⁷ the image of Pinochet's government. After taking power in a 1973 coup¹⁸, Pinochet and his henchmen killed 3,000 people, jailed tens of thousands more and assassinated¹⁹ opponents overseas, killing one in a car bombing in Washington DC. His rule ended in 1990 with democracy restored. A digital newspaper Adilamo reported that the National Education Council had in December quietly opted²⁰ to stop calling Pinochet's dictatorship exactly that. Education Minister Harald Beyer acknowledged the change but said teachers could continue to call Pinochet's government a dictatorship, but he also defended the process that led to the council's new designation. Juan Forero, NPR News.

 

 

 

The Egypt prosecution²¹ is seeking the death penalty for former President Hosni Mubarak. The ousted²² leader’s charged with being complicit in the deaths of protesters during last year's uprising. In a hearing today, one of the prosecutors²³ also requested the death sentence for Mubarak's security chief.

 

 

 

More sectarian strifes have been reported out of Iraq. At least 67 people have been killed in a series of bombings targeting Shiite Muslims that included an attack in Nassiriya where 38 people were killed.

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 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

7 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。

8 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。

9 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 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。

12 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

13 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》

14 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

15 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

16 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

17 softens   

（使）变软( soften的第三人称单数 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• Iron softens with heat. 铁受热就软化。
• Moonlight softens our faults; all shabbiness dissolves into shadow. 月光淡化了我们的各种缺点，所有的卑微都化解为依稀朦胧的阴影。 来自名作英译部分

18 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

19 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

20 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

21 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

22 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。

23 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。