美国国家电台 NPR 2012-11-06

 The Presidential campaigns are blitzing states most influential¹ in the outcome of tomorrow's election, including Virginia. In 2008, President Obama became the first Democrat² since 1992 to carry the commonwealth³. This election, Virginia, with 13 electoral votes is a tossup. Vice⁴ President Joe Biden was in Sterling⁵, where he drew on the unity⁶ shown during hurricane recovery in the northeast, is an example of what he says, can be achieved again in Washington.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, that's how people are responding in the crisis now. And that's how we have to go back, what we have to go back to again. 

 

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan started tapping to an economically weary voter base in Nevada which has the country's highest unemployment rate at 11.8%. 

 

The President sounded great four years ago. He made all these wonderful promises and the hope and change sounded good to a lot of people. 

 

As the New York Times noted⁸ the state has been slowed to rebound⁹ since President Obama won there four years ago. But the Obama camp is looking for a strong boost from Latino voters.

 

Tens of millions of Americans have already voted either in person or by mail in advance of election day. NPR's Craig Windham reports there has been a final flurry of early voting today in the battleground states of Ohio and Iowa.

 

Nearly 30 million ballots¹⁰ nationwide have already been cast. Andrew Kouhut, President of the Pew Research Center, tells NPR that early voting is a significant factor in this election. 

 

We are guesstimating that anywhere from 35% to 40% of the elector will vote before election day.

 

That's up from 30% in the previous presidential election, in all except one of the battleground states, Colorado, registered Democrats¹¹ have cast more ballots than registered Republicans in early voting this year. But Republicans have made bigger gains than Democrats in getting out the early voting in this election compared to 2008. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington. 

 

More than 1 million storm victims still don't have electricity, down from over 8 million at the peak. NPR's Elizabeth Shogren has more. Many of the people still without power live in the areas the storm hit hardest. And electric companies say it won't be easy to get their electricity flowing again. The Long Island power authority says that about 100,000 of their customers without power live in the most severely¹² flooded areas on the south shore. It would be unsafe to restore power to many of these homes and businesses. An electric company in New Jersey¹³ says a significant number of customers will not be able to receive service until damaged roads, infrastructure¹⁴ and homes are rebuilt. Con⁷ Edison, the Utility in New York City and Westchester County, says it is expected to have electricity turned back on for most of its customers by the end of next weekend. Elizabeth Shogren, NPR News.

 

Dow is up six points. 

 

This is NPR.

 

The U.S. Attorney General is launching an investigation¹⁵ into price gouging¹⁶ at gas stations in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Eric Schneiderman said today his office had received hundreds of complaints from consumers across the state who said they were forced to pay much higher than usual prices for not only gasoline but also emergency supplies, food, water as well as hotel rooms. 

 

Disney's Wreck-It Ralph is the top draw at the box office in the United States and Canada. NPR's Trina Williams reports the 3D features, the biggest opening for Disney animation¹⁷.  

 

Wreck-It Ralph, about a video game character debuts¹⁸ with an estimated $49.1 million in ticket sales outpacing expectations. It may have benefited from weary Sandy victims looking for a distraction¹⁹. The No. 2 movie Flight starring Denzel Washington also surpassed expectations opening with an estimated $25 million. Last weekend's top movie Argo falls to third place, while Kong Fu feature, the Man With the Iron Fists debuts at No. 4. Taken 2 closes out the top five movies on the chart. Trina Williams, NPR News.

 

Well, storm battered²⁰ victims in the northeast, are being warned to brace²¹ yet another tough storm this week. The National Weather Service says the nor'easter is expected to generate some strong winds, heavy rain and possible flooding this Wednesday or Thursday. 

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

6 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

7 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

10 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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》

12 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

13 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。

14 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。

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

16 gouging   

n.刨削[槽]v.凿( gouge的现在分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Banks and credit-card companies have been accused of gouging their customers. 银行和信用卡公司被指控欺诈顾客。 来自辞典例句
• If back-gouging is applied, grinding to bright metal is required. 如果采用火焰气刨，则应将其打磨至可见光亮的金属表面。 来自互联网

17 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

18 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。

19 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

20 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

21 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。