NPR 2011-10-12

 The Republican presidential hopefuls are gathered tonight in Hanover, New Hampshire. The eight Republican GOP candidates for the nomination¹ embarking² on a wide-ranging discussion on the economy, what might be done to fix it. Mitt³ Romney, the current front-runner, bristled⁴ at one point when asked about whether he would support another Wall Street bailout.

 

"I'm not interested in bailing⁵ out individual institutions that have wealthy people that wanna make sure their shares are worth something. I am interested in making sure that we preserve our financial system, our currency, the banks across the entire country, and I will always put the interest of the American people ahead of the interests of any institution."

 

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, is the current front-runner. He opened tonight's debate sponsored by the Washington Post and Bloomberg, pledging to work across party lines. Earlier today he received the endorsement⁶ from New Jersey⁷ Governor Chris Christie.

 

President's jobs bill faced its first congressional test and it failed to get the votes needed to overcome a procedural hurdle⁸ in the Senate. As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, the opposition⁹ from Republicans was unanimous.

 

Two Democrats¹⁰ joined the Republicans in voting "no". As a result, the bill came up well short of the 60 votes needed to begin debate. The bill included a payroll¹¹ tax cut for workers and businesses, spending on infrastructure¹² projects and an extension of unemployment benefits. Republicans said these ideas were a rehash of failed policies. In a statement President Obama said the fight isn't over. He says he plans to work with Senate Democrats to bring individual proposals in the bill up for a vote. Tamara Keith, NPR News, the Capitol.

 

US government says it has thwarted¹³ a plot by the government of Iran to arrange the murder of Saudi Arabia's ambassador here in Washington. The alleged¹⁴ Iranian plan was to hire Mexican drug cartel to carry out the assassination¹⁵. NPR's Tom Gjelten says the Obama administration is promising¹⁶ to hold the government of Iran accountable for the alleged plot.

 

Attorney General Eric Holder¹⁷ did not say upper reaches of the Iranian government knew about the plot but he did point a finger at senior members of the Quds Force, part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. He described them as elements of the Iranian government.

 

"I think one has to be concerned about the chilling nature of what the Iranian government attempted to do here, and one of the things that our State Department will be doing. We'll be getting in touch with other of our allies and nations around the world."

 

Secretary Hillary Clinton says the US will be consulting on how to send a strong message to the government of Iran and how to deepen its international isolation¹⁸. Tom Gjelten, NPR News, Washington.

 

Announced flight reductions by American Airlines could cost some employees their jobs in the coming quarter. The Dallas-based airline says it will cut passenger capacity for the current quarter by roughly 3% compared to a year ago. Citing a weak economy, analysts¹⁹ say the cuts along with similar actions taken by other airlines show the industry is taking steps to control costs.

 

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 16 points to close at 11,416. The NASDAQ was up 16 points.

 

This is NPR.

 

One witness testifying at the trial of the accused underwear bomber²⁰, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, today described hearing a large pop after the Nigerian man tried to detonate a concealed²¹ explosive device after returning to his seat. Mike Zantow, a passenger on the flight, says he tried to move Abdulmutallab away from the burning seat. Prosecutors²² in opening remarks for the jury have said the Nigerian man was on a martyrdom mission for al-Qaeda.

 

Democrats in Wisconsin say they will begin gathering²³ signatures next month to try to recall Governor Scott Walker from office. Wisconsin Public Radio's Shawn Johnson reports it continues what's been a tumultuous year in the state.

 

Democrats have been talking about recalling Governor Walker ever since he introduced his plan to roll back union bargaining rights for public employees. November is the soonest as they can start. Once they begin circulating recall petitions they'll have 60 days to get the 540,000 signatures they need. State Democratic Party chair Mike Tate told MSNBC's "The Ed Show" that organizers would hit that goal.

 

"I think we can, you know, we saw people of Ohio get about a million signatures for an initiative there last month. We've done the math; we've done the number; we're very well-prepared."

 

If Democrats are successful, a special election for governor could be held as early as March. For NPR News, I'm Shawn Johnson in Madison.

 

A Los Angeles company's announced it's recalling more than 375,000 pounds of ground beef products shipped to restaurants in California and Nevada. That's because of a possible E. coli contamination. The announcement from US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection²⁴ Services comes after routine monitoring confirmed a positive test for E. coli in the meat sent by Commercial Meat Co. No illness has been reported so far.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

3 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。

4 bristled   

adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• They bristled at his denigrating description of their activities. 听到他在污蔑他们的活动，他们都怒发冲冠。
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。

5 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

6 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

9 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。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

12 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

13 thwarted   

阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
• Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。

14 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

15 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

16 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。

17 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

18 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

19 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

20 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

21 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

22 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

23 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

24 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。