NPR 2012-01-14

 President Obama wants to consolidate¹ six different government agencies that deal with trade and commerce into one. NPR's Scott Horsley reports it's part of a broader streamlining effort for which Mr. Obama is seeking a congressional green light.

 

President Obama is asking Congress for a fast-track authority to reorganize government agencies in a way that boosts efficiency and cuts cost. He complains responsibility for trade and commerce is currently spread across six different government agencies.

 

"No business or non-profit leader would allow this kind of duplication or unnecessary complexity² in their operations."

 

The White House says combining the agencies would save three billion dollars over ten years or making it easier for businesses to navigate³ the system. While waiting for Congress to act, Mr. Obama has elevated the Small Business Administrator⁴ to a cabinet-level position. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 

In news that analysts⁵ say it doesn't bode⁶ well for job growth, the US trade gap has widened for the first time in five months. Today the Commerce Department said that the deficit⁷ hit 47.8 billion dollars in November. Exports dropped and imports were higher, driven by greater demand for oil and foreign-made cars.

 

Three people are dead from a shooting at a North Carolina lumber⁸ company this morning. Greg Collard of member station WFAE in Charlotte reports the suspected gunman may have been a disgruntled employee.

 

The shooting occurred early Friday morning in Star, North Carolina. That's about 70 miles east of Charlotte. Montgomery County Sheriff Dempsey Owens says the gunman shot four people, killing⁹ three, then went home and shot himself. The shooter left a note but the sheriff would not reveal what it said. He and his injured victim are being treated at a hospital. The Sheriff says witnesses reported that the shooter was a disgruntled employee of McBride Lumber Company. It’s a family-owned business that makes pallets for the furniture industry. For NPR News,I’m Greg Collard in Charlotte.

 

Well, astronomers¹⁰ still talking about finding a real estate boom in the cosmos¹¹. One of three studies released this week reveals that in the Milky¹² Way most stars have planets, and with about 100 billion stars in our galaxy¹³, well, that's a lot of planets. NASA researcher John Johnson is at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He says the data from the Kepler mission led to the discovery of three tiny planets orbiting a star beyond our Sun.

 

"I don't believe that these planets can support life. They are, well, they have a solid surface on which a life form could live. The planets are far too close to their central star and therefore they are too hot."

 

The studies were released in the journal Nature and at the American Astronomical¹⁴ Society's conference in Texas this week.

 

US stocks down with the Dow falling more than 100 points since the open at 12,368.

 

You are listening to NPR News.

 

The International Space Station has dodged¹⁵ space junk that, though small, could have damaged the outpost because it was traveling so fast. NASA says the station moved about 1000 feet higher. Had it knocked down so, the debris¹⁶ from an old US private communication satellite would have come within three miles of the orbiting outpost.

 

In South Korea, a photographer has been arrested for re-tweeting content from a North Korean account. NPR's Louisa Lim had profiled the man before his arrest.

 

Twenty-four-year-old Park Jong-kun is now in police custody¹⁷ after South Korean prosecutors¹⁸ issued a warrant for his arrest. He's fallen foul¹⁹ of the country's draconian²⁰ National Security Law, this after re-tweeting content from a North Korean account, sharing North Korean videos on YouTube and possessing a North Korean book. According to Park, his re-tweets were satirical and aimed at lampooning²¹ North Korean leaders. He told NPR that he believes South Korea's National Security Law is evil and inimical to free thought. That his case is going ahead shows that Seoul is not backing down despite criticism of its increased use of the six-decade-old law. Louisa Lim, NPR News.

 

A Peruvian court has sentenced Joran van der Sloot to 28 years in prison for the murder of a young woman that he met at a Lima casino. He has been accused of involvement in the disappearance²² of an American teenager Natalee Holloway. She went missing in 2005. And this week, a judge had declared Holloway had died.

1 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

2 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

3 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

4 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

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 bode   

v.预示

参考例句：

• These figures do not bode well for the company's future.这些数字显示出公司的前景不妙。
• His careful habits bode well for his future.他那认真的习惯预示著他会有好的前途。

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 cosmos   

n.宇宙；秩序，和谐

参考例句：

• Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
• Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

12 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

13 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

14 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

15 dodged   

v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He dodged cleverly when she threw her sabot at him. 她用木底鞋砸向他时，他机敏地闪开了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He dodged the book that I threw at him. 他躲开了我扔向他的书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

17 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

18 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。

19 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

20 draconian   

adj.严苛的；苛刻的；严酷的；龙一样的

参考例句：

• You can't expect the people to obey such draconian regulations.你不能指望人民服从如此严苛的规定。
• The city needs a draconian way of dealing with robbers.这个城市需要一个严苛的办法来对付强盗。

21 lampooning   

v.冷嘲热讽，奚落( lampoon的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Larry Ellison is a prime choice for such lampooning because-married, thrice-divorced multimillionaire is larger than life. 拉里·埃里森写那么一篇讽刺性的文章的初衷是因为他生活无羁，且是一个三次结婚三次离婚的亿万富翁。 来自互联网

22 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。