NPR 2010-06-21

President Obama's chief of staff says there is a political opportunity for the White House to pass a robust¹ new energy bill following the Gulf² Coast disaster. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports.

Rahm Emanuel, never known for mincing³ words, says there is a chance now for the president to act upon campaign promises to pass an energy bill with the support of industry and environmentalists. And he made it clear he believes the Republicans have fumbled⁴ badly by defending BP in the face of government demands for accountability. Emanuel said on ABC's This Week that the attitude displayed by Texas Republican Joe Barton who had retracted⁵ an apology to BP last week was indicative of a larger party philosophy.

"Other members of the Republican leadership have come to the defense⁶ of BP and attacked the administration for forcing them to set up an escrow account and fund it to the level of $20 billion. These aren't political gaffes⁷."

Emanuel said it would be "dangerous" if such viewpoints came to control Congress after the fall election. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

The man, who is overseeing the compensation fund for people damaged by the Gulf oil spill, is urging anyone affected⁸ to come forward. Kenneth Feinberg says the program would provide relief within weeks rather than going to court which could take years. He told NBC he'll make sure every eligible¹⁰, legitimate¹¹ claim will be paid.

"The president of the United States has instructed me, 'Get these claims paid, get them paid quickly.' When I met with Governor Barbour, he told me frankly¹², 'Ken⁹, time is the enemy.' And he's so right here."

Feinberg also rejected Republican Congressman¹³ Joe Barton's characterization of the fund as a "government shakedown". Barton later backed away from that statement.

A Californian man is under arrest for a wildfire burning near downtown Flagstaff, Arizona. NPR's Allison Keyes reports that crews continue to battle the 350-acre blaze and have managed to get half of it under control.

Flagstaff city spokeswoman Kimberly Ott says there is positive news today: first, the fire has only consumed half the area officials first thought; secondly¹⁴, she says cooler temperatures and reduced winds are making it easier to fight the blaze.

"We have three aircraft – one fixed-wing, two helicopters – that will be working the fire today, along with a number of personnel on the ground, and we do have excess heavy air tankers¹⁵ if we needed."

Ott says officials strongly urged people in the 170 household in the fire's path to evacuate¹⁶. And most did, though a few remained in their homes. The fire started yesterday near the Little America Hotel, sending billowing smoke through parts of the city and backing up traffic on a nearby highway. So far, Ott says, the fire is not contained, but no buildings have been destroyed. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring tropical storm Celia in the Pacific off southern Mexico. It's expected to strengthen into the first hurricane but is not expected to threaten land.

This is NPR News.

Israeli officials announced today a loosening of the land blockade of Gaza. They said effective immediately all goods will be allowed into Gaza except those items that could have a military use. For the past three years, Israel permitted only basic humanitarian¹⁷ supplies. The situation in the Middle East is likely to come up at the White House June 29th during a visit by Saudi King Abdullah. That visit was announced today.

Britain's new government will be announcing its first budget this week, and widespread cuts are expected. As Larry Miller¹⁸ reports from London the British are braced¹⁹ for the worst.

The David Cameron-led coalition²⁰ government says its inherited public spending is so out of control, drastic measures are necessary. Giving Britain the budgetary bad news on Tuesday will be the head of the Treasury²¹, George Osborne.

"I don't see it as badness. I see it as decisive action to deal with Britain's record budget deficit²², the country in Europe with the largest budget deficit of any major economy at a time when markets and investors²³ and businesses are looking around the world at countries that can't control their debts."

Among the likely measures are multibillion-dollar tax on banks, national sales tax above 18%, capital gains tax at 40%, a cut in welfare benefits, a public sector²⁴ pay and pensions freeze and the elimination²⁵ of thousands of government jobs. For NPR News, I am Larry Miller in London.

France's World Cup team refused to train today to protest the expulsion of a player who'd been booted off the team for screaming profanities at the coach. Now today, the team director has quit in disgust. Today, Paraguay beat Slovakia 2-0. New Zealand and Italy tied 1-1, and Brazil was ahead of Ivory Coast 3-0 after 78 minutes.

I am Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

2 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。

3 mincing   

adj.矫饰的；v.切碎；切碎

参考例句：

• She came to the park with mincing,and light footsteps.她轻移莲步来到了花园之中。
• There is no use in mincing matters.掩饰事实是没有用的。

4 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

5 retracted   

v.撤回或撤消( retract的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回

参考例句：

• He made a false confession which he later retracted. 他作了假供词，后来又翻供。
• A caddy retracted his statement. 一个球童收回了他的话。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 gaffes   

n.失礼，出丑( gaffe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

10 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

11 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

12 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

13 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

14 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

15 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

16 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

17 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

18 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

19 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

21 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。

22 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。

23 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

24 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

25 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。