NPR 2011-10-03

 In the grips of a deep recession and an unrelenting debt crisis, the Greek cabinet has approved a budget for parliamentary consideration. The spending plan includes a decision to cut civil service staff by 30,000 by the end of the year. The next installment¹ of a critical bail-out loan depends upon this new budget.

 

A big headache in New York City this weekend for the financial district and for anyone trying to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday. Police say roughly 700 protesters were arrested as they shut down a lane of Brooklyn Bridge traffic for several hours. They face charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Occupy Wall Street demonstrators are railing against corporate² greed, global warming and social inequality among other grievances³. 

 

British Prime Minister David Cameron is warning the eurozone crisis risks harming Britain’s economy and staunching global growth. Speaking on the opening day of his Conservative Party’s annual conference, Cameron said that he would stick to his coalition’s deficit-cutting plans despite signs that the British economy is stalling. 

 

A day after President Obama chastised⁴ the Republican presidential hopefuls for allowing an audience out at a debate to boo a gay soldier, NPR’s Allison Keyes tells us GOP candidate Herman Cain says he should have defended that soldier. 

 

Cain says it wasn’t the intent of anyone on stage of the GOP debate to disrespect the soldier who asked the candidates a question. But he tells ABC’s This Week the heat of a debate with 60 seconds to answer the moderator was not the time to try to figure out why the crowd was booing. 

 

“I happen to think that maybe they were booing the whole ‘don’t ask/don’t tell’ repeal⁵ more so than booing that soldier, but we didn’t know that.” 

 

In a separate interview, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain also said the GOP candidate should have defended the soldier because men and women in the military should be treated with the highest regard. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

 

In a bid for Conservative support, GOP presidential candidate Mitt⁶ Romney is promising⁷ to appoint Conservatives Supreme⁸ Court justices if he becomes president. The former Massachusetts governor spoke⁹ on Mike Huckabee's Fox News show this weekend. 

 

US Chief Justice John Robert and five other justices attended the traditional Red Mass in Washington held annually¹⁰ the day before the first Monday in October. Washington Cardinal¹¹ Donald Wuerl officiated at St. Matthew's Cathedral.

 

“We come together to solute and to pray for all of those who have such a significant role in the administration of justice in our nation.”

 

Not attending the mass today at St. Matthew's are the three women on the Supreme Court. 

 

This is NPR News.

 

A Syrian state-run newspaper Al Baath is warning American ambassador Robert Ford¹² against meddling¹³ in Syrian affairs if he wants to avoid more “rotten eggs” attacks. The publication is charging that Ford has been supporting armed anti-government groups in Syria. Supporters of President Bashar al-Assad pelted¹⁴ Ford with eggs on Thursday as he visited a prominent Syrian opposition¹⁵ figure. 

 

The man behind the lens who helped to create the Beatles’ public image has died. Larry Miller¹⁶ looks back on photographer Robert Whitaker's work.

 

Robert Whitaker shot many of The Beatles’ most well-known photographs and album covers. 

 

“I've just seen a face. I can't forget the time or place”.

 

Perhaps his best-known cover was the one few saw withdrawn¹⁷ after an uproar¹⁸. In a controversial “butcher” cover of the 1966 American version of “Yesterday and Today”, Whitaker posed The Beatles in white coats surrounded by decapitated dolls and slabs¹⁹ of raw meat. He would later explain the picture was a meditation²⁰ on fame and an attempt to shake up the band’s teeny-bopper image. Whitaker got the job with The Beatles after photographing manager Brian Epstein for the Jewish News. Epstein was so impressed that he hired him. Robert Whitaker died of cancer aged²¹ 71. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London. 

 

Hurricane Ophelia is strongly positioned in the northern Atlantic and moving toward Newfoundland. It’s expected to weaken slightly as it approaches land. 

 

Rescuers are struggling to reach those stranded²² in the northern Philippines after a second Typhoon in less than a week. 

1 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 chastised   

v.严惩（某人）（尤指责打）( chastise的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He chastised the team for their lack of commitment. 他指责队伍未竭尽全力。
• The Securities Commission chastised the firm but imposed no fine. 证券委员会严厉批评了那家公司，不过没有处以罚款。 来自辞典例句

5 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

6 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

7 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

11 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

12 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

13 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

14 pelted   

（连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮

参考例句：

• The children pelted him with snowballs. 孩子们向他投掷雪球。
• The rain pelted down. 天下着大雨。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 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。

17 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

18 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

19 slabs   

n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片

参考例句：

• The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块，大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句

20 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

21 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

22 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。