美国国家电台 NPR 2012-08-31

 Tropical storm Isaac's winds are down to 40 miles per hour and has slowly moved out of Southern Louisiana. But it's still causing tremendous problems across the wide swathe of the US Gulf¹ Coast. NPR's Christopher Joyce tells us that thousands of people along the Louisiana, Mississippi border are under orders to evacuate² from regions along the Tangipahoa River, due to potential flooding. 

Tropical storm Isaac caused water to rise to the top of the dam in southern Mississippi near the border with Louisiana. Tangipahoa Parish President  Gordon Burgess says residents need to get out immediately.

They are sending over buses, whatever we need for transportation, we got the aircraft from the way over. So we are going to be evacuating³ people as soon as possible. 

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindul plans to visit the region today to assess evacuation efforts. Authorities are considering whether to purposely breach⁴ the dam to relief some of the pressure. Otherwise a dam collapse⁵ could rise the river several feet above flood levels. Christopher Joyce, NPR News, New Orleans.

 

 

In New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu says the city's levees and pumps that were improved after Hurricane Katrina seven years ago, have held up under Isaac. But with nearly a million people without power across the state. Landrieu says New Orleans' residents need to realise their troubles not over yet.

If you go back and look at every storm that we had, there is a day when everybody thinks that is not a easy shortcoming. So we let our guard down. Today is a very serious day. 

 

 

Along lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans, a lot of buses and high water vehicles have been deployed⁶ to evacuate about 3,000 people from the rising flood waters. In one case, a coast guard helicopter had hoisted⁷ a couple and their dogs from their home today.

 

 

Mitt⁸ Romney is preparing for his big moment tonight on the stage of the Republican National Convention, where he will formally accept his party's nomination⁹. He spent part of the day with extended family while also lobbying for campaign donations. 

 

 

A new study finds that women who have multiple abortions¹¹ may be at higher risk for poor birth outcomes when they do have their fist babies. But as NPR's Julie Rovner reports the risk remains¹² relatively¹³ small. 

The study of more than 300,000 first-time mother comes from Finland which keeps detailed¹⁴ records of both births and abortions. It found that one abortion¹⁰ has relatively little impact, but two in particularly three or more increases the risk for first babies being born either prematurely¹⁵ or at low birth weights . The researchers caution that the study can not demonstrate conclusively¹⁶ that abortion is the cause of the poor birth outcomes. It could be a lifestyle or socioeconomic factor they could not control for. But they warn that women and doctors should at least be aware of the increased risk that comes with multiple abortions. The study appears in the European Journal, Human reproduction. Julie Rovner, NPR News.

 

 

Dow is down 80.

This is NPR.

 

 

Supporters of Texas Voter ID Law have suffered a setback¹⁷. A federal appeals panel in Washington has ruled that the law places unforgiven burdens  on the poor and also disproportionately affects minorities. 

 

 

The International Atomic Energy Agency is expressing increasing frustration¹⁸ with Iran. NPR's Mike Shuster reports the UN's nuclear watchdog agency is concerned about the cleanup of military base Parchin, which is about 30 miles outside of Tehran. 

The IAEA has information that explosive tests related to nuclear weapons development may have taken place there over the past eight years. The agency wants its inspectors¹⁹ to visit, but Iranian officials won't permit them. In recent months, satellite photos showed the demonising of some buildings, the removal of power lines, fences and paved roads and most recently, the shrouding²⁰ of a main building with plastic sheeting. All of this according to a new report from the IAEA. The agency also reports that Iran continues to expand its uranium enrichment at a deeply buried facility at Fordo. The agency is especially concerned about the continuing production of 20% enriched uranium for which Iran does not have a use at the moment. Mike Shuster , NPR News.

 

 

Syrian activists²¹ are reporting a military plane has been shot down over the northern province, Idlib. No confirmation²² of a down plane though from the Syrian government. 

 

 

The latest employment numbers indicate hiring is still strong enough to lower the jobless rate in the US. The Labor²³ Department says the less volatile²⁴ four-week moving average of unemployment claims remains below 375,000. Last week, the number of new claims people filed remained unchanged from the week before. 

1 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。

2 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

3 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

4 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 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。

7 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

8 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

9 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

10 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

11 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

14 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

15 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

16 conclusively   

adv.令人信服地，确凿地

参考例句：

• All this proves conclusively that she couldn't have known the truth. 这一切无可置疑地证明她不可能知道真相。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• From the facts,he was able to determine conclusively that the death was not a suicide. 根据这些事实他断定这起死亡事件并非自杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

19 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 shrouding   

n.覆盖v.隐瞒( shroud的现在分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The mist shrouding the walley had lifted. 笼罩山谷的雾霭散去了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A dark stubble was shrouding his strong jaw and dimpled chin. 硕大有凹陷的下巴上满是深色的短须。 来自互联网

21 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

23 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。

24 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。