NPR 2011-05-21

President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met for more than 90 minutes at the White House today. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports it was a tense discussion on how to begin peace negotiations¹ between Israel and the Palestinians.

President Obama believes the starting point for negotiations over Palestinian-Israeli peace should be Israel's 1967 borders. Prime Minister Netanyahu says those borders are indefensible because they do not take into account changes on the ground over the last 44 years.

"Remember that before 1967, Israel was all of nine miles wide. It was half the width of the Washington's Beltway. And these were not the boundaries of peace; they were the boundaries of repeated wars, because the attack on Israel was so attractive."

Both men acknowledged their differences and said they share the goal of peace. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, the White House.

Now that lawyers have posted a million dollars bond, allowing former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn to be freed from a New York jail, there still appears to be some question about where he will ultimately wind up. Respective sides will back in court today to determine where Kahn will go. Condition of his release is that he'll be placed under house arrest with an armed guard. Strauss-Kahn has been held at Rikers Island. The 62-year-old former IMF leader faces charges he sexually assaulted a maid at a New York City hotel.

Demonstrations² were staged across Syria today, defying official predictions that unrest is dying down. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Beirut.

Familiar grim scenes were posted to the Internet by activists³ defying the regime's efforts to keep a lid on the continuing unrest. They showed tear gas and live ammunition⁴ being fired by security forces and fleeing demonstrators, some throwing stones. The videos could not be verified. Pro-regime analysts⁵ blamed the violence on armed gangs and said the fractured opposition⁶ with what they called "vague demands" was responsible for the delay in starting a dialog. Demonstrators reached by phone said their demands are clear that President Bashar al-Assad must go, and political reform must be implemented⁷. Peter Kenyon, NPR News.

Residents of southern Louisiana are waiting and watching to see where water flowing to the Morganza Spillway winds up. NPR's Jeff Brady says the small town of Krotz Springs has built two miles of temporary levees.

The Louisiana National Guard is patrolling the streets of Krotz Springs in sand-colored military trucks. They are also keeping curious residents off the levees. Town clerk Susann Bellow⁸ says the community is prepared but also on edge.

"I think people are anxious, you know, and worried, because they don't know, just like all of us, what that outcome is gonna be."

Krotz Springs sits next to the Atchafalaya River, which is expected to crest⁹ next week. Jeff Brady, NPR News, New Orleans.

On Wall Street, all the major indexes were dragged sharply lower today due to weak earnings¹⁰ reports from a number of major retailers¹¹, including the GAP. At the close, Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 94 points; the NASDAQ Composite down 20; the S&P 500 was down 10 points.

You're listening to NPR News in Washington.

An administrative¹² law judge is ordering a Los Angeles-based labor¹³ contractor¹⁴ to pay more than 340,000 dollars in fines and penalties for improperly¹⁵ treating Thai farm workers in Hawaii. Penalty announced by the US Department of Labor is just the latest blow to the company. It's also faced federal scrutiny¹⁶ for allegations involving human trafficking. In the 146-page legal decision, the judge ordered Global Horizons to pay 152,000 dollars in back wages to farm workers and 194,000 dollars in fines.

The president of Tokyo Electric Power is resigning. The company operates the Fukushima nuclear plant and is reporting massive losses in the aftermath of the March earthquake and tsunami¹⁷. Reporter John Matthews has that story from Tokyo.

Masataka Shimizu says he will be stepping down as TEPCO's president, in a practice common in Japan when taking responsibility for mismanagement or other mistakes. Shimizu, said to be replaced by a senior executive within TEPCO, has come under fire from critics for mishandling the nuclear crisis and failing to make a timely formal apology in person. Shimizu departs as TEPCO reports a record 15 billion dollars in losses this past fiscal¹⁸ year, with the utility responsible for victim compensation payments that could reach more than 100 billion dollars. The public spotlight¹⁹ is expected to stay on Tokyo Electric as it works to stabilize²⁰ its nuclear situation which it expects to resolve by January. For NPR News, I'm John Matthews, Tokyo.

Dozens of people suffered serious injuries while hundreds more banged around when a commuter²¹ train crashed while coming to a station in South Africa late yesterday. Officials say the crash involving a moving train and a stationary²² train occurred late Thursday at a rail station in Soweto. According to South Africa's railway safety regulators, 700 people total were injured.

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

5 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。

6 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。

7 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

8 bellow   

v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道

参考例句：

• The music is so loud that we have to bellow at each other to be heard.音乐的声音实在太大，我们只有彼此大声喊叫才能把话听清。
• After a while,the bull began to bellow in pain.过了一会儿公牛开始痛苦地吼叫。

9 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

10 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

11 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

12 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

13 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。

14 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

15 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

16 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

17 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

18 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

19 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

20 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

21 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

22 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。