美国国家电台 NPR 2012-09-05

 Thousands of delegates are preparing for tonight's big event in North Carolina, where the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte will be called to order in about an hour. But there was some tension near the site between police and protestors, two of whom were arrested today. A vote will be held on the party's platform, which includes a call for an end to certain Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, supports women's right to an abortion¹ and backs same sex marriage. The document says the party also supports the freedom of religious institutions to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.

 

President Obama says he expects to get misty² when his wife speaks tonight on the opening night of the convention. NPR's Scott Horsley reports Mr. Obama plans to watch the first lady's speech from the White House along with the couple's two daughters. 

 

Campaign ads say they expect Michelle Obama's speech will be both personal and passionate³ from the woman who knows the president best. Speaking to supporters in Virginia today, Mr. Obama called the first lady the star of the Obama family and he promised she will get the convention off to a speedy start. 

 

You know, this is just like a relay, and you start off with the fastest person.

 

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro joins the first lady in prime time tonight. Castro is a rising star in the Democratic party, who is dubbed⁴ as the keynote speaker. Scott Horsley, NPR News.

 

While the Obama campaign works to convince voters, the economy though still sluggish⁵, is better off now than it was four years ago. The Republicans are attacking the incumbent⁶ hard on that front. The GOP's vice⁷ presidential candidate Paul Ryan.

 

They can't look at the suffering families, or the jobs lost, or the debt crisis that's hanging over our economy and honestly say that we were better off than we were four years ago.   

 

Ryan campaigned today in Ohio while presidential candidate Mitt⁸ Romney keeps a low profile this week in preparation for a debate. 

 

A just released book about American special operations raid to kill Osama Bin⁹ Laden¹⁰ contains classified information, but officials have not decided¹¹ whether to take legal action against the book's author, a former Navy SEAL who took part in that raid. Details now from NPR's Tom Bowman. 

 

The book is called 'No Easy Day', and it's written by a former SEAL under the pen name Mark Owen. Some 400,000 copies are heading to bookstores. Pentagon spokesman George Little says officials are still reviewing the book, but they are already concerned that the book will reveal government secrets.

 

Sensitive and classified information is contained in the book.

 

Little would not say what if any action might be taken against Owen or the publishers,  Penguin Putnam. The Pentagon says that Owen failed to abide¹² by a non-disclosure agreement. They requires him to submit any materials for review. His lawyer says he was not required to do so, in nature, the book did not include classified information. John Bowman, NPR News, Washington.

 

Before the close, Dow was down 55. 

 

This is NPR.

 

Sales of organic food have been growing quickly pushing pass $29 billion in annual sales. But as NPR's Allison Aubrey reports a new analysis by researchers at Stanford University finds a little evidence of health benefits from eating organic.   

 

One reason that consumers are willing to pay a premium¹³ for organic foods is that they are grown without the synthetic¹⁴ pesticides¹⁶ or fertilisers. But whether this translates into healthier or more nutritious¹⁷ food is unclear. Researchers at Stanford reviewed more than 200 studies, in general, they found that eating organic may reduce exposure to pesticide¹⁵ residues¹⁸. But they conclude that there is not clear or consistent evidence that organically grown foods contain more nutritions, such as vitamins or minerals. As yet, there are no long-term studies comparing the health of people eating organic to those eating congenitally grown food. This means it's not yet possible to say what the effects or potential health benefits may be over a lifetime. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

 

Home prices in the US still climbing. CoreLogic reporting today, prices rose 3.8% in July, the most in six years. But it says home prices are still far below where they were before the recession. 

 

Manufacturing activity down for the third straight month. The Institute for Supply Management reporting today its rating fell slightly to 49.6 in August. The trade group also found the pace of hiring at factories take down. 

 

Before the close, US stocks mixed, with the Dow off 55 points at 13,036; NASDAQ up eight points at 3,075; and the S&P 500 off two points at 1,405. 

1 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。

2 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

3 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

6 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

7 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。

8 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。

9 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

10 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

13 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

14 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

15 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

16 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

18 residues   

n.剩余，余渣( residue的名词复数 )；剩余财产；剩数

参考例句：

• pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables 残留在水果和蔬菜中的杀虫剂
• All organic and metallic residues on the wafers must be removed. 片子上所有的有机和金属残留物均必须清除。 来自辞典例句