NPR 2011-10-15

 A federal appeals court is putting new restrictions¹ on which parts of Alabama's strict new immigration law can't be enforced. NPR's Debbie Elliot reports on a mixed ruling today from the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

 

The appeals court is temporarily blocking two provisions of Alabama's law: one that makes it a crime to be illegally present in the state and another that require schools to record the immigration status of new students. But a three-judge panel left intact other parts of the law considered to be the toughest to the nation. That means police can detain suspects on a reasonable suspicion they're in the country illegally. The Justice Department and civil rights groups had asked the 11th Circuit to block the law while they challenged its constitutionality that after a Birmingham federal judge left much of the law intact. Debbie Elliot, NPR News.

 

President Obama is in a Detroit suburb this afternoon, touring a GM plant with South Korea's president and applauding energy-efficient cars.

 

"Plants like this are churning out groundbreaking fuel efficient cars like the Chevy Sonic, the only one of its kind that's made and sold in the United States of America."

 

GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry is promising² to expand US energy production if elected to office, and he says that will create more than a million jobs. He’s drawing a distinction between his proposals and President Obama's policies.

 

"The president would kill domestic jobs through these aggressive regulations, while I would create 1.2 million American jobs through safe and aggressive energy exploration right here at home."

 

Perry spoke³ today at a steel mill near Pittsburg. 

 

Greece's parliament is discussing a bill that would retire 30,000 people from the public sector⁴ and reduce pay for many of those who remain. From Athens, John Psaropoulos reports the austerity measures are part of a program to bring the Greek budget into the Black next year.

 

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos called tax evasion⁵ a national crime now amounting to 42 billion euros in lost income to the state. He appealed to the patriotism⁶ of the Greeks in honestly declaring their income. But at the same time, the government is using new weapons to home in on large tax evaders. It recently declassified⁷ banking⁸ transactions, and the minister today revealed some of the results for 2009 income. Fewer than 9,000 individuals remitted⁹ 4.9 billion euros to bank accounts overseas, he said. Almost half of them declared an income of less than 20,000 euros that year. The government has assembled a new task force to audit¹⁰ 1,000 biggest companies and is retaining private sector services to help it track down large tax evaders. For NPR News, I'm John Psaropoulos in Athens.

 

On Wall Street, stocks buoyed¹¹ today by world retail¹² sales were up more than expected in September. The Dow was up 127; NASDAQ up 37; S&P up 16.

 

This is NPR.

 

Lawmakers are holding a hearing today on whether the Energy Department broke the law when it agreed to restructure Solyndra's debt back in February. The maker¹³ of solar panels eventually closed its doors in August. The Obama administration restructured a half-billion-dollar loan so that private investors¹⁴ moved ahead of taxpayers¹⁵ for repayment¹⁶ on part of the loan in case of a default. Administration officials say without the infusion¹⁷ of cash, Solyndra would have faced immediate¹⁸ bankruptcy¹⁹, putting 1,000 people out of work.

 

A cave in South Africa has yielded what may be the oldest evidence of paint-making. NPR's Christopher Joyce reports on a 100,000-year-old paint shop.

 

The Blombos Cave in South Africa was home to early humans for millennia²⁰ and has turned up lots of ancient artifacts. A team of scientists now say they found tools with ochre in them inside the cave. Ochre is an iron oxide²¹ material dug from the earth and is used as a pigment²². The discovery reported in the journal Science includes abalone shells containing ground pigment as well as stones used as grinding tools. The scientists note that the recipe for making the paint was complex and represents higher-order thinking and planning. Decorating people or objects with paint also suggest these people used markings as symbols perhaps to identify friend from foe²³. Christopher Joyce, NPR News.

 

There's a new Apple in town, a faster iPhone with an improved camera went on sale today. Eager shoppers camped out in front of some Apple stores to be the first to buy one. A man in Manhattan says the event is like a remembrance to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs who died last week. Some joke the new model 4S means “for Steve.”

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

6 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

7 declassified   

adj.解密的v.对（机密文件等）销密( declassify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thousands of classified documents have now been declassified. 数以千计的保密文件现在被解密了。
• The software used for Siemens S7-300 encryption logic block declassified. 此软件用于对西门子S7-300加密逻辑块解密。

8 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

9 remitted   

v.免除（债务），宽恕( remit的过去式和过去分词 )；使某事缓和；寄回，传送

参考例句：

• She has had part of her sentence remitted. 她被免去部分刑期。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fever has remitted. 退烧了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

11 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

13 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

14 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

15 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

16 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。

17 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

18 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

19 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

20 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

21 oxide   

n.氧化物

参考例句：

• Oxide is usually seen in our daily life.在我们的日常生活中氧化物很常见。
• How can you get rid of this oxide coating?你们该怎样除去这些氧化皮？

22 pigment   

n.天然色素，干粉颜料

参考例句：

• The Romans used natural pigments on their fabrics and walls.古罗马人在织物和墙壁上使用天然颜料。
• Who thought he might know what the skin pigment phenomenon meant.他自认为可能知道皮肤色素出现这种现象到底是怎么回事。

23 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。