NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-06-26

　　From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

 

　　President Obama is out with a far-reaching plan to fight climate change. In a speech at Georgetown University, Obama announced his administration would launch the first-ever federal regulations to limit carbon dioxide emissions¹ from existing power plants. He's also calling for a boost in renewable energy production on federal lands and means of preparing localities to address global warming. Republican critics in Congress call the president's proposals a job killer². Obama also shed more light today on how his administration is deliberating the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline³ from Canada to Texas.

 

　　“Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing so would be in our nation's interest. And our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate⁴ the problem of carbon pollution.”

 

　　The pipeline has been under review for more than four years.

 

　　The US Supreme⁵ Court has struck down part of the Voting Rights Act that had required federal monitoring of states with the history of racial discrimination. In a 5-4 ruling today, the justices said Congress needed to update its formula for deciding which states and localities still require pre-approval before changing voting laws. NPR's Carrie Johnson has been following this case.

 

　　Chief Justice John Robert writing for the majority said that the coverage⁶ formula under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is unconstitutional because it's based on outdated⁷ data, election turnout data and other data back from the 1960s and 1970s.

 

　　NPR's Carrie Johnson reporting.

 

　　Civil rights activists⁸ worry the heart of the Voting Rights struck down. There will be far less protection for minority voting groups.

 

　　In other news, the government’s latest data for the month of May show new homes selling at their fastest pace in five years. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports the Department of Housing and Urban Development says that's a much faster rate than last year.

 

　　New homes are selling at a seasonally⁹ adjusted annual rate of 476,000. The last time they were selling at that pace was in July of 2008. Demand for new homes is up 2% from April and up to 29% from the same period last year. Year over year the data show median home prices are up about 10%. This is consistent with other economic readings on housing, which show demand is up, supply is down, and that prices are rising annually¹⁰ by double digits¹¹. Economists¹² say higher demand is driven in part by rising interest rates as consumers try to log in while rates are still close to historic lows. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　US stocks continue to trade higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 115 points at 14,772; NASDAQ up 24 at 3,344; S&P 500 up 15 points. This is NPR News.

 

　　The winds have died down a little in Colorado's southwestern mountains where wildfires burned 124 square miles. It's about four miles away from South Fork, which was evacuated¹³ last week.

 

　　German prosecutors¹⁴ say they have uncovered a plot to use model airplanes to carry out terrorist attacks. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports from Berlin that police carried out nine raids in Germany and Belgium in connection with the plot but arrested no one.

 

　　Authorities say they're investigating a number of men of Tunisian origin living in Munich and other southern German cities as well as in Belgium. They add the pre-dawn raids were to gather evidence. The men were not identified, nor whether alleged¹⁵ targets. Prosecutors say two of the men are suspected of preparing for an Islamist attack with explosives, using the planes. They add that neither the men nor the plot appeared to be linked to known terrorist groups. It's not the first time authorities have uncovered alleged plots involving toy aircraft. Last November a US man was sentenced to 17 years in prison over a plan to fly remote-controlled model planes packed with explosives into the Pentagon and US Capitol. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson NPR News, Berlin.

 

　　The US continues to press Russia to extradite former NSA contractor¹⁶ Edward Snowden, who is charged with leaking classified information. Russian President Vladimir Putin says Edward Snowden is still in the transit¹⁷ area of the Moscow airport, which means he has not formally entered Russia. Chinese authorities allowed Snowden to fly to Russia on Sunday, triggering strong criticism from the US.

 

　　US stocks higher with the Dow up more than 100 points.

 

　　I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

2 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

4 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

7 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

8 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》

9 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

10 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

11 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 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》

13 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。

14 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。

15 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

16 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

17 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。