NPR 2010-06-06

The government reaffirmed today that oil will continue to leak from a broken well in the Gulf¹ of Mexico at least until August. NPR's Joe Palca has more.

 

Officials from both the federal government and the oil company BP say the only way to stop the flow of oil leaking into the Gulf is to seal shut the leaking well. To do that, BP is now drilling two wells that are intended to punch into the existing well at about 16,000 feet below the sea bottom. The plan is to cement shut the leaking well, so no more oil can reach the wellhead. But those so-called "relief wells" won't be completed until August. In the meantime, BP succeeded in placing a cap over the wellhead that captured 6,000 barrels in its first full day of operation. The number may go higher but not high enough to recover all the oil that's gushing² out. Joe Palca, NPR News.

 

President Obama says his administration will make sure BP pays every single dime³ owed to the people along the Gulf Coast. Also today, the president named his choice to be director of national intelligence. It's retired⁴ Air Force General, James Clapper, the Pentagon's top intelligence official.

 

Israeli forces have seized an Irish ship trying to bring hundreds of tons of supplies into Gaza. Nine people were killed in a similar incident on Monday. Today's raid was peaceful. The BBC's Andrew North reports the passengers and crew of the Rachel Corrie are now in Israeli custody⁵.

 

We've been told by the Israeli authorities that they will be questioned. The expectation is that they will be deported⁶, and that the Israelis say also the cargo⁷ will be searched, and then if those things in there that they approve under the terms of their embargo⁸, they would take those, then to Gaza.

 

The BBC's Andrew North. The Israeli government says the blockade is necessary to keep weapons out of Gaza.

 

Financial policy makers⁹ from leading economic powers have completed two days of meetings in South Korea. Treasury¹⁰ Secretary Timothy Geithner is representing the US at the meeting. Steve Beckner of Market News International provides this wrap-up.

 

G20 finance ministers and central bankers declared that their response to the financial crisis has brought about a global recovery, but their communiqué acknowledged that recent financial market volatility¹¹ due to the European debt debacle shows the recovery still faces significant challenges as debt-ridden countries like Greece have taken austerity measures; Germany and others have also moved to reduce their budget deficits¹³. But even before he arrived here, Geithner was urging such nations to go slow on deficit¹² reduction until the world economy is stronger. The G20 agreed that members' fiscal¹⁴ policies should remain growth-friendly and tailor to their individual needs. Geithner failed to get backing for a tax on big banks to pay for future bailouts, but the G20 did say banks should help bear the burden. For NPR News, I am Steve Beckner in Busan.

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

Defense¹⁵ Secretary Robert Gates said today the US is considering additional options to hold North Korea accountable for the sinking of a South Korean warship¹⁶ last month. He would not elaborate. Pyongyang has denied any involvement. Gates told an international security summit in Singapore that for such an unprovoked attack to have no consequences would set a very bad precedent¹⁷.

 

In South Africa, the United States enjoyed its final rehearsal¹⁸ for the 2010 Soccer World Cup with a 3-1 win over Australia. Next stop, the US opening World Cup match against England on June 12th. Vicky O'Hara reports from Johannesburg.

 

The game took place at a nearly full 15,000-seat stadium west of Johannesburg. The spectators, no matter what flags they were waving, were in a good mood. The weather was sunny and warm. The vuvuzela, the plastic trumpet¹⁹ that's the signature of South African soccer, was fully²⁰ employed. The sound was deafening²¹, but no one seemed to mind. The US scored in the opening minutes in what turned out to be a confidence-building match for the Americans, ranked 14th for the World Cup. Soccer is an up-and-coming sport in the US as demonstrated by the fans coming here for the tournament. The majority of foreign visitors are Americans despite the time and expense of travel from the US to South Africa. Tomorrow, the US players host 350 children at a practice session in Pretoria. For NPR News, I am Vicky O'Hara in Johannesburg.

 

In women's tennis, Francesca Schiavone won the French Open today, beating Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6. She became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title.
 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

6 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

8 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

9 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

11 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

12 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。

13 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

16 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

17 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

18 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

19 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

20 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。

21 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。