CNN 2011-09-10

 Hey, it's the middle of the week, otherwise, known as Wensday. We are glad you decide to check in with us here at CNN student news. I'm Carl Azuz. 

We start up today in Texas where those wild fires we told you aboout yesterday just keep on burning. More than 180 fires have scorched¹ nearly 120,000 acres and that's all happened in past weekend. More than 700 homes have been destroyed just since Sunday. These fires are keeping thousands of people away from home, including one girl who told us that despite the destruction, she's choosing not to let it get her down.

Everybody else is in the same situaiton. There is no sound pity. There can't be because we are going to be better off than most. But the fact that what happened to our town was homeless. You can't really think about yourself right now.

The more than 2000 firefighters battling the blazes are also fighting against winds that were caused by tropical storm Lee. Wind can shift the direction of the flames that causes even more danger. And at the site of the largest fire near Austen, the winds slow dowm Tuesday. That helped a little bit, but those who've been fighting the fires day after day are struggling with fatique or weariness. And because of that, Texas officals are trying to bring in more firefighting help from aroung the country.

 

Let's head to Japan now where a storm known as Talas has caused severe flooding and lanslides like you see right here. Doozens of people have died as a result of the storm. It was a typhoon before it weakened and made a landfall as a tropical storm. Talas moved through west Japan on Saturday bringing record rainfall with it. Meantime, look at this inredible outer space view of hurricane over the Atalantic. As of yesterday evening, had weakened slightly but still a catergory 3 hurricane with winds as high as 115 miles per hour. The storm was heading north toward the island of Bermuda where a tropcial storm Walt was in effect. It's expected to stay away from the United States. But forecasters are saying Katia is likely to cause very stong surf and rip currents and swells² as high as 12 feet along the east coast.

 

Time for the Shoutout. Who's in charge of US postal³ service? If you think you know it, shout it out. Is is the Department of Commerce, postmaster general, secretary of the State, or Postal Service secretay? You've got 3 seconds, go! It's the postmaster general who has up the USPS. That's your answer and your shoutout.

 

US postal service in trouble right now, money trouble. Looks like who will have the cash for a multibillion dollar payment. It's supposed to make soon to a retiree health fund. There was a congressional hearing yesterday on how to save the postal service. Lisa Celvester tells us why things have gone down hill for the agency that brings us mail and what kind of change maybe delivered as a result.

The US Postal Service is projecting a 9 billion dollars deficit⁴ for this fiscal⁵ year. The agency is asking Congress to take immediate⁶ action, beginning lifting a mandate⁷ that requires the to make billions of surplus payments to retiree health fund. Without the legislative⁸ change, the Postal Servic will go into default. We sat with Postalmaster general Patrick Donahoe who explained what this will mean.

On Semptember 30th, if we do not have the relief from that fund, we will not be able to make a payment of 5.5 billion dollars to the Federal Government. We will pay our employees and we will pay our suppliers because we are going to continue mail.

But for how long, the reality is Email and Electronical bill payments have taken a heavy toll⁹ on the postal service. To close its budget gap, the Post master gernerl also is seeking Congressional permission to end Saturday delivery, to close 3700 postal locations, to let go of 120,000 emloyees, and to restructure workers' health benefits. There is strong pushback from postal workers' union whose contract includes a no layoff¹⁰ falls and ensures general health care benefits. The American Postal Workers' Union calls the cutting proposals a reckless assault on the postal service and postal emloyees.

Senator Tom Carper, Chairman of the subcommittee overseeing the postal service says something has to be done.

If we do nothing the postal service could literally¹¹ closer up their 15 billion dollar line of credit limit. And if we do nothing, then they'll run out of money. 

If Congress change the 2006 law that requires the postal service to fully¹² prefund the retiree health fund, that will take off some of the immediate financial pressure. The postal master general says his agency is the only government entity¹³ required to fund retiree health fund 75 years out. 

1 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

2 swells   

增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
• A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。

3 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

4 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

5 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。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

8 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

9 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

10 layoff   

n.临时解雇，操作停止，活动停止期间，失业期

参考例句：

• Finally, prepare an explanation about what led to your layoff.最后，要准备好一套说辞来解释你被解雇的原因。
• Workers were re-employed after the layoff.在暂时解雇不久后工人们又被再度雇用了。

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。