美国国家电台 NPR 2012-10-02

 Investors are bolstered¹ by the latest upbeat economic news. Institute for Supply Management's index on manufacturing rose to 51.5 in September ending a three-month-long contraction² over the summer. At last check, Dow was up 119 points at 13,555, NASDAQ gaining six at 3,125, and the S&P 500 up eight points at 1,449.

 

The US jobless rate remains³ high though, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says he doesn't foresee the economy growing fast enough to make a big difference.

 

"(If) the economy is growing at trend or less, you're just not going to see much progress on unemployment. So the real question is not there's something wrong with the labor⁴ market. I don't think there's anything, in particular, wrong with the labor market. I think the question is why isn't the economy growing faster?"

 

But Bernanke says he doesn't think the US is headed for another recession.

 

Two days before his first debate with President Obama, Republican former Governor Mitt⁵ Romney is calling for a new strategy toward the Middle East. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports Romney is using a Wall Street Journal op-ed to continue his foreign policy attacks on the president.

 

The column extends Mitt Romney's critique that "our country seems to be at the mercy of events rather than shaping them." He talks about the attacks in Libya that killed a US ambassador, about Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and about the US relationship with Israel. Romney argues that President Obama is letting US global leadership wane⁶. While the column calls for a new Middle East strategy, Romney does not offer specific policy details. This Wall Street Journal piece comes days before a crucial debate that will focus on domestic not foreign policy. The Romney campaign has been talking more about foreign policy in recent weeks. They see it as a growing Obama administration weakness since the White House admitted that attacks in Libya were an act of terrorism by people with the connection to al-Qaeda. Ari Shapiro, NPR News.

 

The German Social Democratic candidate who will challenge Chancellor⁷ Angela Merkel in elections next year is accusing her government of failing to tackle the underlying⁸ causes of Europe's debt crisis. Details from NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

 

As soon as Peer Steinbrück was nominated today as his party's top candidate, he said Angela Merkel's government is fighting off the symptoms, but not the underlying causes of the eurozone crisis. Europe's financial sector⁹ must be fully¹⁰ overhauled¹¹, he said, as he called for greater regulation of banks and hedge funds. In further contrast with the stringent¹² austerity policies of the Merkel government, Steinbrück said that while heavily indebted Greece must stick to its bailout commitments, it should be given more time. And he did not rule out a third rescue package for Athens. Steinbrück said Greece will struggle to borrow from the markets for seven to eight years and will have to help for this period. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Berlin.

 

Dow was up more than 100 points.

 

This is NPR News.

 

A New Mexico company is expanding its recall of its peanut butter products. Sunland's decision affects multiple brand names after salmonella illnesses were linked to Trader Joe's Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter. Federal health officials are saying 30 illnesses have now been reported in 19 states.

 

Minnesota Orchestra musicians are facing a lockout possibly after their contract talks with management collapsed¹³ yesterday. The Associated Press is reporting today no new talks are scheduled. Last week management threatened to lock musicians out once the contract expired. At midnight the musicians had rejected an offer that would have cut salaries in average of 34%.

 

"Hotel Transylvania" is the top draw at theaters in the United States as well as Canada, earning an estimated 43 million dollars in ticket sales. NPR's Trina Williams reports "Hotel Transylvania" sets a new record high for September debuts¹⁴.

 

Higher ticket prices helped "Hotel Transylvania" top "Sweet Home Alabama" which had held the record for ten years. "Sweet Home Alabama" actually sold more tickets. Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez are voices featured in "Hotel Transylvania."

 

"I want to go out and see the world."

 

"Wowowow honey, you're too young."

 

"I'm 118 years old."

 

"Don't give me the pouty¹⁵ bat face."

 

The 3D animated¹⁶ movie also jolts¹⁷ the box office back to life after a late summer dip. Appealing to action fans, "Looper" opens strongly at number two, providing a further boost to the box office. Last weekend's winner "End of Watch" drops to third place, "Trouble with the Curve" is fourth, and "House at the End of the Street" closes out the top five. The weekend's other new wide release "Won't Back Down" debuts at No. 10. Trina Williams, NPR News.

1 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

2 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 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。

5 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。

6 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

7 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

8 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

9 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。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 overhauled   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A mechanic overhauled the car's motor with some new parts. 一个修理工对那辆汽车的发动机进行了彻底的检修，换了一些新部件。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

13 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

14 debuts   

演员首次演出( debut的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never really debuts the idea of taking money from his parents any longer. 他从此就再也没有认真起过向父母要钱的念头。
• This young soprano debuts next month at the metropolitan opera. 这位年轻的女高音歌唱家下个月将在纽约大都会歌剧院举行首演。

15 pouty   

adj.撅嘴的，容易生气的

参考例句：

• She also gave up green locks, pouty lips and cheekbones of a supermodel. 她同时放弃了绿发，翘起的嘴唇，还有超级模特般的颧骨。 来自电影对白

16 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

17 jolts   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He found that out when he got a few terrific jolts, but he wouldn't give up. 被狠狠地撞回来几次后，他发觉了这一点，但他决不因此罢休。
• Some power bars are loaded with carbohydrates or caffeine for quick jolts. 有些能量条中包含大量的碳水化合物和咖啡因，以达到快速提神的效果。