NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-07-02

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

 

　　The remains¹ of 19 elite² firefighters are recovered from the Arizona mountains where they were killed by a fast-moving blaze yesterday in Yarnell, northwest of Phoenix³. Only one of the members of the Granite⁴ Mountain Hotshots managed to escape. Governor Jan Brewer⁵ compared this tragedy to others forever etched in the public's memory.

 

　　“Consider this: The Yarnell fire claimed the lives of more first responders than any single disaster since 9/11. Just as we honor the memory of the firefighters lost that day as they charged into the burning towers, we will remember the brave men of the Granite Mountain Hotshots.”

 

　　The lightning-sparked fire covered 13 square miles as of this morning. Hundreds of people in and around Yarnell have been evacuated⁶.

 

　　Well, today a lot of student borrowers are in for a rude awakening⁷. Interest rates on federally subsidized student loans are now double what they were Friday, climbing to 6.8% today. The House has passed legislation to bring rates back to where they were. But NPR's Craig Windham reports the Senate recess⁸ for the holidays without acting⁹ to head off the increase.

 

　　Demoncratic Senator Kay Hagan is one of the sponsors of a bill that would freeze rates at the previous 3.4% level for a year to allow lawmakers time to enact¹⁰ a more permanent solution. She says the new higher rate will be a burden for more than seven million students.

 

　　“This would effectively stick those students with an extra 1,000 dollars a year each at additional loan cost.”

 

　　Democratic Senator Joe Manchin agrees that student debt is a major problem.

 

　　“When you look at student loans, it's the second-largest debt this country has.”

 

　　Manchin is sponsoring a competing plan that would link student loan rates to financial benchmarks. The Senate will take up the matter when it returns on July 10th. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　European Union officials are raising concerns about reports of US spying on friendly embassies, including the EU's office here in Washington. NPR's Michele Kelemen has more on the latest diplomatic fallout from leaked documents on government surveillance.

 

　　The EU's ambassador here says he confronted the US government over reports about alleged¹¹ spying and eavesdropping¹² on EU premises¹³. And he’s eagerly awaiting clarification. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell would only say the US has been having private conversations with European officials. And he played down the dispute.

 

　　“As a matter of policy we've made clear that the US gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations.”

 

　　Asked about the fate of Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor¹⁴ accused of leaking classified documents, Ventrell says the US is still calling on Russia to expel him. Snowden is reportedly still in the Moscow airport transit¹⁵ area seeking asylum¹⁶. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　Before the close, Dow was up 65 at 14,975. This is NPR News.

 

　　Transit workers in the San Francisco Bay Area are on strike. KQED's Aarti Shahani reports commuters left home a lot earlier than usual to get to their jobs on time.

 

　　Workers announced the strike after midnight, and by 5:00 AM Doris Johnson was on the third leg of a morning commute¹⁷. That's usually simple. Her husband who walks for the King & Russ Brader was with her.

 

　　“He's trying to make sure that I’m safe because it's so early in the morning. He didn't want me out here alone. So we are walking all of the place, just trying to find a ride to get to work.”

 

　　Commuter[s] were turning to ferry boats and buses and hoping the bus workers don't go on strike too. Negotiations¹⁸ between Bay Area Rapid Transit and its unions fell apart, with each side fighting over salary increases, pensions and health care benefits. For NPR News, I'm Aarti Shahani in San Francisco.

 

　　The Vatican bank’s top two managers have resigned in the wake of an expanding money-laundering investigation¹⁹. This comes three days after a senior cleric at the center of a finance scandal was arrested. One senior, Nunzio Scarano, has close ties to a bank that's accused of plotting to smuggle²⁰ 20 million euros from Switzerland to Italy.

 

　　At Wimbledon, Britain's Andy Murray advances to quarterfinals after defeating Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6:4, 7:6, 6:1 today. And in another major upset at Wimbledon, defending champion Serena Williams is out. She lost in the fourth round to Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6:2, 1:6, 6:4.

 

　　US stocks trading higher. Before the close, Dow Jones Industrials up 64; it’s at 14,975; NASDAQ up nearly 1% at 3,434.

 

　　This is NPR News.

1 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。

2 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

3 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

4 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

5 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

6 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。

7 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

8 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。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

11 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

12 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

13 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

14 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。

15 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。

16 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

17 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

18 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

19 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

20 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。