NPR 2010-09-03

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

Traces of oil are stretching out from the site of a rig explosion today off the Louisiana coast, the second blast since April. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal says the platform operated by Mariner² Energy is still burning.

"The company has told us they strongly suspect what we see burning now are some of what was in storage on that platform. But again, we don't have any independent verification."

NPR's Kathy Lohr reports the platform is south of Vermilion Bay, about 200 miles west of April's BP oil rig blast.

The Coast Guard says about a mile-long oil sheen has spread outward from the Vermilion oil platform, which is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy. The platform is in about 340 feet of water, not as deep as the BP rig that gushed³ oil for more than three months. No one was killed in this accident. All 13 crew members were rescued from the water. The platform was undergoing maintenance work and was not producing oil at the time of the accident. A statement from Mariner says the company is working with regulatory authorities and response to the explosion and will begin an investigation⁴ into the cause. Kathy Lohr, NPR News.

The sound of wind and rough surf whipped up by approaching Hurricane Earl, a Category 3 storm now on track to reach North Carolina by overnight. People are being urged to evacuate⁵, but NPR's Jon Hamilton in South Nags⁶ Head says a lot of people are choosing to stay with their properties though, they're still worried.

They say they are quite concerned about it that many of them have been out at the edge of the ocean, looking at the storm surge. They're aware of what storm surge can do and they've seen their houses have water swirling⁷ around the pilings before, so I wouldn't say they're taking it lightly. They just believe that they're going to get through this one all right.

NPR's Jon Hamilton reporting.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders have begun a new peace process amid widespread skepticism. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports on the talks launched at the State Department today.

Middle East envoy⁸ George Mitchell says he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will go to the region later this month for the next round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. He says Israeli Prime Minister Banjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plan to meet every two weeks and set out a framework which he described as the fundamental compromises needed for a final peace deal.

"I felt that it was a very constructive⁹ and positive mood, both in terms of their personal interaction and in terms of the nature of the discussion that occurred."

Netanyahu and Abbas also met privately¹⁰ without US mediators and without their aids. Mitchell says the US will put its full weight behind the talks. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.

On Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average up 50 points at 10,320; in trading of about three billion shares at last check NASDAQ was up 23 at 2,200.

This is NPR News.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the controversial Arizona lawman has been sued by the Justice Department. NPR's Ted¹ Robbins reports the government says Arpaio's department failed to cooperate with a civil rights probe.

The Justice Department has been investigating Arpaio for more than a year among the allegations that his Maricopa County Sheriff's Department discriminates¹¹ against Hispanics and conducts unconstitutional searches and seizures¹². The government asked Arpaio's office for jail and arrest records. The two sides went back and forth¹³ for weeks over which records the sheriff would turn over. Arpaio has been successfully sued in the past by individuals over his jail procedures. He's probably best-known for putting inmates¹⁴ in pink underwear and now for his sweeps in the Phoenix¹⁵ area targeting illegal immigrants. Ted Robbins, NPR News, Tucson.

The Labor¹⁶ Department says initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped slightly last week but remain well above levels that are considered a sign of healthier economy. That report out today comes on the eve of the department's release of its monthly employment data. Productivity in the spring, meanwhile, fell by the largest amount in nearly four years while labor costs increase. Signaling, companies may have reached the limits of squeezing more work out of fewer workers. Labor Department says productivity dropped at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the April to June quarter. That's doubled 0.9 percent decline originally reported a month ago.

An update from Wall Street: Dow Jones Industrial Average up 50 points at 10,320 at last check; NASDAQ rising 23 at 2,200; S&P 500 up ten at 1,090.
 

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 mariner   

n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者

参考例句：

• A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.平静的大海决不能造就熟练的水手。
• A mariner must have his eye upon rocks and sands as well as upon the North Star.海员不仅要盯着北极星，还要注意暗礁和险滩。

3 gushed   

v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• Oil gushed from the well. 石油从井口喷了出来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Clear water gushed into the irrigational channel. 清澈的水涌进了灌溉渠道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 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。

5 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。

6 nags   

n.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的名词复数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的第三人称单数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• The trouble nags at her. 那件麻烦事使她苦恼不已。 来自辞典例句
• She nags at her husBand aBout their lack of money. 她抱怨丈夫没钱。 来自互联网

7 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

8 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

9 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

10 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

11 discriminates   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的第三人称单数 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• The new law discriminates against lower-paid workers. 这条新法律歧视低工资的工人。
• One test governs state legislation that discriminates against interstate commerce. 一个检验约束歧视州际商业的州立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

13 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

14 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。

16 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。