NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-01-18

　　From NPR news in Washington, I am Lakshmi Singh.

 

　　Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the turmoil¹ unfolding in North Africa underscores broader strategic challenge confronting the global community. In Mali, France is battling al-Qaeda-linked insurgents². And in neighboring Algeria, Islamist militants³ have kidnapped 41 people at an energy plant.

 

　　“The situation is very fluid. It’s in a remote area of Algeria near the Libyan border. The security of our Americans who are held hostage is our highest priorities, but of course, we care deeply about the other Algerian and foreign hostages as well.”

 

　　Reports of causalities during an attempted Algerian military rescue have not been independently verified.

 

　　Travel ? to mount for Boeing’s Dreamliner, the European Aviation Safety Agency, is the now the latest to ground the 787s. Investigators⁴ are concern lithium batteries in the planes can leak corrosive⁵ fluid and start fires.

 

　　The Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee next week will considerate its own chairman for a key Cabinet post. As NPR’s xx reports Senator John Kerry will face questions from his committee members regarding his peak as President Obama’s Secretary of State.

 

　　The Committee has set Senator Kerry’s nomination⁶ hearing for next Thursday at 10 am. The President chose Kerry after UN ambassador Susan Rice withdrew her name for consideration. Republican Senators indicated they will block her confirmation⁷ over her public statements regarding the attack on the US consulate⁸ in Benghazi, Libya. Kerry was a Democratic presidential nominee⁹ in 2004, and is chair of the Foreign Relations Committee since 2009. He is expected to win the approval of his committee as well as confirmation by the full Senate. xx, NPR news.

 

　　As flu continues to grow most of the US, there may soon be a way to speed up vaccine¹⁰ production. NPR’s Richard Knox reports federal regulators have approved a new type of vaccine that avoids the need to grow flu virus in eggs.

 

　　Ordinary flu vaccine is made by first going virus in eggs, then extracting killing¹¹ and purifying it. That can take many months. The new vaccine called flu block is made without eggs. Scientist put a flu virus gene¹² into a virus infected ?. The ? cells ? the virus protein to make vaccine. Protein scientists who develop flu block said the process making a new flu vaccine takes only 21 days. So a properly matched vaccine could be in production much faster. The US government has subsidized the new technology, because it could speed vaccine production when a new pandemic virus emerges. Some flu block should be available this spring. Its maker¹³ says five million dozes¹⁴ will be ready for next year’s flu season. Richard Knox, NPR news.

 

　　This is NPR.

 

　　Fewer homes are moving into foreclosure in the US evident by yet another decline posted in 2012. NPR’s David Mattingly has that story.

 

　　xx says foreclosure filings were down 3% last year to a level more than 1/3 of its peak. “The big picture ? is definitely downward. Looking back now over last three years we can see we peaked with this foreclosure crisis in 2010 with 2.9 million properties receiving foreclosure filings nationwide in that year.”

 

　　That number last year was lower by more than a million. Florida, Arizona, and Nevada had the nation’s highest foreclosure rates despite the improvements. David Mattingly, NPR news, Washington.

 

　　Fewer Americans have filed for unemployment insurance than any other time in the last five years. Labor¹⁵ Department reveals today benefit applications drop to 335,000 last week, the less ? for week average also fell. It’s under 360,000. However, the job figures tend to fluctuate at the start of the year as employers lay off workers who are hired just for the holidays.

 

　　Debates continue over the anti-gun violence proposals. President Obama announced yesterday the head of the National Rifle Association told CBS he has no problems with tighter background checks for gun buyers. The day xx says the administration should pay less attention to banning certain firearms and more attention on improving the country’s “broken mental health system.”

 

　　US stock trading high with the Dow gain 111 point at its 13,622. Nasdaq up 21, S&P 500 up 11. This is NPR.

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 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》

5 corrosive   

adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的

参考例句：

• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。
• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。

6 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。

7 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。

8 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

9 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

10 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

11 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。

12 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

13 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

14 dozes   

n.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的名词复数 )v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It'scratches, licks or dozes off. 有搔痒、舐毛、打瞌睡等动作。 来自互联网

15 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。