NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-11-29

 From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack¹ Speer.  There is a new government warning and directive for U.S. airlines flying certain kinds of Boeing jets. The Federal Aviation Administration says some 787 and 747 planes with General Electric engines could experience icing problems that could lead to a forced landing. More from NPR’s Wendy Kaufman.  

 

The so-called airworthiness directive issued by the FAA focuses on lots of engine thrust and engine damage due to ice-crystal icing, a condition that can develop in some high altitude thunderstorms. The government is now ordering airlines not to operate certain Boeing jets in those conditions. The government is also ordering that flight manuals be changed to highlight the potential problem and the government is ordering post-flight engine inspections² should probably show up. The FAA cited nine instances this year where such problems did occur but there were no accidents. Both Boeing and GE say they are working closely with the FAA to address the problem. Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.  

 

On the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, President Obama and his family visited a Washington D.C. food bank. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports the first family helped pack and distribute food for needy³ children and seniors.  

 

The Thanksgiving service project is an annual tradition for the Obama family. At the Capital Area Food Bank, they passed out apples, carrots onions as well as White House eminence⁴. Earlier, in a White House ceremony, the president called Thanksgiving a quintessentially American holiday and the time to give thanks for those who show compassion⁵ to people in need.  

 

This is a reminder⁶ that this is a season not only be thankful for the incredible blessings⁷ that we have, but also to remember the neediest and generously serve those who are not as fortunate.  

 

The president was joined at the food bank by volunteers from a veterans organisation⁸ and he offered special thanks to those in uniform who are serving during this holiday period. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.  

 

Economy signs a recovery in the jobs market. The Labor⁹ Department says the number of people signing up for unemployment benefits fell again last week by 10,000. Gus Faucher is an economist¹⁰ at PNC Financial says the number is moving in the right direction. 

 

The general trend is we have a labor market that's improving, we have an economy that’s adding jobs and we will continue to see the job picture get a little bit better over the next few months.  

 

Weekly claims often a proxy¹¹ for layoffs¹² have now come down six of the past seven weeks.   

 

Key measure designed to predict the direction of the economy three to six months down the road showed a healthy increase in October. The non-profit business research group, the conference board, says its leading index of economic indicators¹³ rose 0.2% last month. It’s the sixth gain for the index in seven months, and follows big gains of previous two months.  

 

An update on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 24 points to close at 16,097; the NASDAQ was up 27 points ending the session above 4,000 at 4,044; S&P 500 rose four points.  

 

You are listening to NPR.  

 

The Italian Senate has approved the expulsion of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from parliament. That follows the conviction of the centre right leader on charges of tax fraud. Seventy-seven-year-old Berlusconi was sentenced in August to four years in prison, which was later committed to a year under house arrest for masterminding an illegal scheme to reduce the tax bill of his media company. The senate vote came after months of political wrangling¹⁴.   

 

The oldest book in America, a book of psalms¹⁶ printed by the Puritans in 1640 fetched more than $14 million at auction¹⁷ yesterday. That’s a new record as NPR’s Lynn Neary explains.  

 

Puritans were not known as an extravagant¹⁸ bunch. So if they were around today, they might raise an eye brower too at the price tag for the Bay Psalm¹⁵ Book, $14.176 million. The book is only one of 11 left out of the 1700 that were printed in 1640 just 20 years after the pilgrims first landed at Plymouth. The new owner of the most expensive book ever sold in auction is David Rubenstein of the investment firm, the Carlyle Group. He told that he doesn’t plan to keep the book from public view, but will lend it to libraries around the country. The book was sold by Boston’s historic Old South Church, which said it needs the money in order to maintain its current level of mission and programming. Lynn Neary, NPR News, Washington.  

 

And the winner of the dinosaur¹⁹ auction is the approximately $650,000 bid from a buyer from an unnamed institution, that’s how much the skeleton of the dinosaur known as Diplodocus, longest due to auction in England. Skeleton of the female dinosaur Misty²⁰ is roughly 55 feet long and 19 feet high.  

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

4 eminence   

n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家

参考例句：

• He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。

5 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

6 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

7 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

9 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。

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

11 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

12 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

13 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

14 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

15 psalm   

n.赞美诗，圣诗

参考例句：

• The clergyman began droning the psalm.牧师开始以单调而低沈的语调吟诵赞美诗。
• The minister droned out the psalm.牧师喃喃地念赞美诗。

16 psalms   

n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的)

参考例句：

• the Book of Psalms 《〈圣经〉诗篇》
• A verse from Psalms knifed into Pug's mind: "put not your trust in princes." 《诗篇》里有一句话闪过帕格的脑海：“不要相信王侯。” 来自辞典例句

17 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

18 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

19 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

20 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。