美国国家电台 NPR 2012-08-23

 The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the economy will keep recovering at a modest pace for the rest of this year with unemployment lingering above 8%. But NPR's Craig Windham reports the CBO is warning the economy will suffer if Congress takes no action to avoid the so-called “fiscal¹ cliff” - the tax increases and automatic budget cuts set to take effect on January 1st.

 

The Director of the Budget Office Douglas Elmendorf says the economy is weaker than the CBO predicted earlier this year. So the spending cuts and tax increases would have a major impact.

 

“That would be a significant tightening² of fiscal policy and would probably lead to a recession early next year.”

 

Unless the Congress acts, the CBO predicts economic output would decline and the unemployment rate would rise to just over 9% by the end of next year. The CBO says the uncertainty³ about the fiscal cliff is already depressing economic growth. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been urging lawmakers to delay at least some of the impending⁴ budget cuts and tax increases. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

The abortion⁵ issue continues to dog the GOP's Romney-Ryan campaign, which has been trying to keep its message focused on the economy. This comes in the wake of controversial remarks Republican Missouri Congressman⁶ Todd Akin⁷ made about abortion and rape⁸. Akin says he intends to stay in the Senate race, even though he is under pressure by party bosses to drop out. Meanwhile, a Democratic politician from Minnesota is under pressure from his own party to step down for a sexual scandal involving a 17-year-old. But state legislator Kerry Gauthier reportedly tells Northland's NewsCenter in Duluth he will stay in the race for reelection.  

 

One expert is calling this year's West Nile virus outbreak one of the worst in more than a decade. Federal health officials are reporting triple the usual number of cases for this time of year: more than 1,100 illnesses, including at least 41 deaths nationwide; majority of reported cases in Texas. 

 

The International Monetary⁹ Fund Chief Christine Lagarde is in Egypt to restart talks concerning a 3.2-billion-dollar financial aid package. NPR's Leila Fadel reports the loan is needed to cover budget deficits¹⁰ and aid the nation's struggling economy.

 

Lagarde is scheduled to meet with President Mohammed Morsi and his newly appointed cabinet for two days of talks. Egypt's military leadership originally rejected the loan, saying it didn't want to put the country into more debt. But the new finance minister has said not only do they need the loan, they want even more - 4.8 billion dollars to cover budget deficits. Morsi and his government are facing an imminent¹¹ financial crisis due to a drop in tourism and foreign investment revenues. Foreign reserves have plummeted¹², and financial experts say the economy needs a quick shot of cash to stop the currency from devaluing. 

 

Leila Fadel reporting.

 

This is NPR.

 

The Afghan government says it's reviewing all files on its soldiers and police to try to identify anyone who may be considered rogue¹³. This comes in the wake of increasing attacks on coalition¹⁴ forces by Afghan personnel they've trained.  

 

Tropical Storm Isaac is getting better organized as it enters the Caribbean with maximum sustained winds of about 45 miles per hour. Phil Latzman from member station WLRN in Miami reports the direction of the storm remains¹⁵ uncertain as to its possible effects on Florida and the Southeastern US. 

 

Issac is likely to become a hurricane by tomorrow, forecast to skirt Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti on its way through the Caribbean. It's been expected to cross Cuba over the weekend and head towards Florida. But National Hurricane Center forecaster Todd Kimberlain says there are still many variables.

 

“The track could be anywhere from the Bahamas to the east coast of Florida into the Gulf¹⁶ of Mexico. So we’re telling interests in Florida and anywhere in the Southeastern US to monitor the progress of Issac very closely.”

 

The center of the new forecast track now follows along Florida's west coast, which could bring new concerns to Tampa as it prepares for the Republican National Convention next week. For NPR News, I'm Phil Latzman in Miami. 

 

Former Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon¹⁷ of the Oakland A’s has been ordered to sit out 50 games after he tested positive for testosterone, same punishment Major League Baseball handed to the San Francisco Giants' Melky Cabrera a week ago. In a statement, Colon apologized to the fans and his team.

 

Before the close on Wall Street, Dow was down 31 points at 13,173 in trading of 2 billion shares; NASDAQ was up six at 3,074; S&P 500 up a fraction of a point. 

1 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。

2 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

5 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

6 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

8 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

9 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

10 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

11 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

12 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 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。

16 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

17 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。