NPR 2012-06-19

 President Obama says the latest parliamentary vote in Greece offers a positive prospect¹ for restoring financial confidence in euro. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports Europe is the main focus of an economic summit meeting that Mr. Obama’s attending in Mexico.

 

President Obama says the results of the Greek election with a pro-eurozone party winning the most votes increased the chances for forming a new government in Greece, one that’s able to work with other European countries to stabilize² the continent’s shaky finances.

 

“In order that they can continue on the path of reform and do so in a way that also offers the prospects³ for the Greek people to succeed and prosper⁴.”

 

Any big agreement on the eurozone will likely have to wait, at least until a European summit later this month. But Mr. Obama and other world leaders gathered here in Mexico are looking for some assurances that Europe will not continue to be a drag on the global economy. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Los Cabos, Mexico.

 

As worries mount over Europe’s impact on the US economy, Republican Mitt⁵ Romney is placing full blame for the lagging recovery squarely on President Obama’s polices. He is on a six-day swing through territory that went President Obama’s way the last election. This time, Romney’s hoping to sway support among those voters who are frustrated⁶ with the pace of job growth.

 

“If there’s ever been a president who’s not been able to provide the American people a fair shot, it’s this president, and that’s why we’re gonna replace him with someone who will go to work to get us working again.”

 

Mitt Romney during a campaign stop in Wisconsin earlier today before his campaign bus rolled into Iowa.

 

Militants⁸ in Egypt’s Sinai Desert launched an attack today on Israel’s southern border, killing⁹ one Israeli. Daniel Estrin reports from Jerusalem that Israel also launched air strikes in Gaza, killing at least four Palestinians.

 

Israel’s military says construction workers were driving near the border when militants detonated a bomb and opened gunfire, killing one. Israeli troops returned fire, and a militant⁷ carrying a bomb blew himself up. Egypt’s Sinai Desert has become more volatile¹⁰ since the Egyptian president was ousted¹¹ last year. Israeli officials suspect the assailants slipped into Egypt from the nearby Gaza Strip. Also today Israel carried out air strikes in Gaza which killed at least four Palestinians. Islamic Jihad claims some of them [were] its members. Israel’s army said one of the air strikes targeted militants about to fire a rocket into Israel. For NPR News, I’m Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem.

 

A suicide bomber¹² has struck a Shiite funeral in the Iraqi city of Baquba, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 40. Authorities say several senior members of the military were among those paying final respects to a Shiite tribal¹³ leader when the bomber struck.

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow’s down 14 points at 12,753, NASDAQ up 27, S&P 500 gaining three points.

 

This is NPR.

 

More than 1,700 firefighters are up against an unrelenting wildfire burning in the mountains of Northern Colorado. It has grown to about 58,000 acres. Grace Hood¹⁴ of member station KUNC reports the fire’s been labeled the most destructive in Colorado history.

 

The fire was started over a week ago by lighting¹⁵ and began spreading quickly. Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith says hot-dry and windy conditions could complicate¹⁶ efforts, adding that fighting the fire isn’t a single battle but a campaign.

 

“This campaign is going to go on for sometime, and we’re gonna have some good days, and we’re gonna have some tough days.”

 

The High Park fire’s sharing heavy air tanker¹⁷ resources with two other wildfires in southern Colorado and Wyoming. For NPR News, I’m Grace Hood in Fort Collins, Colorado.

 

Federal safety regulators are expanding their investigation¹⁸ into possible fires that can occur in the doors of several Toyota models. NPR’s Craig Windham reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is adding 600,000 Camrys and other Toyota vehicles to the probe.

 

The Camrys added are from the 2008 and 2009 model years. The other vehicles include some Yaris subcompacts and Highlander¹⁹ Hybrids²⁰ that brings to 1.4 million, the number of Toyota vehicles included in the probe. All use the same power window switch in the driver’s side door. The safety agency says in some cases those switches can overheat and cause fires. Toyota and the government have received 161 complaints of such fires. Nine people have been hurt. An engineering analysis of the problem is underway, but so far there’s been no recall. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

1 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

2 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。

3 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

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 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

8 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

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 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

11 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

12 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

13 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

14 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

15 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

16 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

17 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

18 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。

19 highlander   

n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人

参考例句：

• They call him the highlander, he is Rory McLeod! 他们叫他寻事者，他是罗瑞·麦克劳德！ 来自互联网

20 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句