NPR 2009-11-26

President Obama plans to unveil his strategy for Afghanistan next week. He'll give an evening address from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The White House says he will first brief members of Congress. The president's senior military commander in Afghanistan is requesting tens of thousands of troops to be sent there, and the president is widely expected to agree to some of the request. Mr. Obama says he is confident once Americans hear his rationale for the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, they will support the mission.

 

There's more evidence today the U.S. economy continues to improve slowly. The number of new jobless claims fell last week to the lowest level in 14 months. NPR's James Rowley reports.

 

“The Labor¹ Department…

to international climate negotiations² there. Mr. Obama's participation³ and the U.S.' pledge reflect progress in talks with China and India. The president will visit Copenhagen on December 9th. That's one day before he accepts the Nobel Peace Prize in nearby Oslo. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.”

 

President Obama will address the nation next Tuesday night concerning his plans for Afghanistan. The president will travel to West Point to make the announcement after he briefs members of Congress about his decision earlier in the day. In addition to the anticipated announcement about whether he will send more troops to Afghanistan and if so, how many, Mr. Obama will also reportedly discuss eventual⁴ plans for withdrawal⁵ from the country. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today as U.S. begins its ninth year of military involvement in Afghanistan, “We are not going to be there another eight or nine years”.

 

Israel's Prime Minister is proposing a 10-month settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank. Benjamin Netanyahu says it is aimed at restarting stalled negotiations with the Palestinians. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports from Jerusalem.

 

“The settlement freeze would not include East Jerusalem or building projects already underway. According to a statement released by his office, Netanyahu told members of his cabinet that he's proposing the partial and temporary freeze to 'present the world with the simple truth the Israeli government wants to enter into negotiations and it is very serious about its intention to advance peace'. A spokesman for the Prime Minister tells NPR that this is the farthest any Israeli government has ever gone in curtailing⁶ settlement growth. The Palestinian authority has rejected the plan. It wants a complete settlement freeze especially in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians hope to have as the capital of their future state.  Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Jerusalem.”

 

There are reports of some delays at major airports today, though for the most part, things are said to be going relatively⁷ smoothly⁸ on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Passengers travelling by air this Thanksgiving are finding shorter lines and smaller crowds than past holidays. AAA is predicting roughly 38 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home this year.

 

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30 points to end the session at 10,464. The NASDAQ gained six points, closing at 2,176. The Standard&Poor’s 500 rose four points today.

 

This is NPR News.

 

In a sign that current recession is having a lasting⁹ pain for many Americans, new statistics show the number of bankruptcy¹⁰ filings in U.S. courts by businesses and individuals this year are up by a third. The numbers from the Administration's Office of the U.S. courts show there were around 1.4 million bankruptcy cases filed this fiscal¹¹ year. That's a 35% jump from a year ago.

 

The United Nations' effort to push a Rwandan Hutu-led militia¹² from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was being described as a failure. More from NPR's Gwen Tompkins.

 

“For several months now, the United Nations has been working alongside the Congolese army to vanquish¹³ a Rwandan Hutu militia called the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. The militia is more popularly known by its French acronym¹⁴ FDLR, and its leaders have been linked to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. But a group of experts commissioned by the UN to study the operation has found that the FDLR is still thriving in eastern Congo. The militia controls valuable mines in the region, and it's still exporting minerals illegally to international companies, but then saw many of the other militias¹⁵ that are operating in eastern Congo as well as some units of the army. That region is both blessed and cursed with unimaginable mineral wealth, which has made it a battle ground of competing interests. And each group preys¹⁶ on the civilian¹⁷ population. Gwen Tompkins, NPR News, Nairobi.”

 

Heavy rains are having a dire¹⁸ effect on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, known as the Hajj. According to officials in Saudi Arabia, the rains have caused huge traffic jams some 20 miles long, leaving many people trapped in Jiddah. The rainfall as much as 3 inches in some areas has also flooded roadways. That's as much rain as it gets in an average year.

 

I'm Jack¹⁹ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 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。

3 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

4 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

9 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

10 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

11 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

12 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

13 vanquish   

v.征服，战胜；克服；抑制

参考例句：

• He tried to vanquish his fears.他努力克服恐惧心理。
• It is impossible to vanquish so strong an enemy without making an extensive and long-term effort.现在要战胜这样一个强敌，非有长期的广大的努力是不可能的。

14 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

15 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

16 preys   

v.掠食( prey的第三人称单数 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生

参考例句：

• His misfortune preys upon his mind. 他的不幸使她心中苦恼。 来自辞典例句
• The owl preys on mice. 猫头鹰捕食老鼠。 来自辞典例句

17 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

18 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

19 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。