NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-10-07

 US special forces have carried out a counter-terrorism operation in Somalia against the leader of the Islamist group al-Shabab, but the Defense¹ Department is giving no further details. An official tells NPR the operation was aimed at capturing the terrorist leader.

 

Meanwhile, most of the Pentagon civilian² workers who were furloughed last week will soon be back on the job. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says he can recall them based on an interpretation³ of the Pay Our Military Act that Congress passed just before the shutdown.

 

Meanwhile, NPR’s Larry Abramson reports Lockheed Martin says it may have to furlough 3,000 workers next week because of the shutdown.

 

Lockheed says that 3,000 employees have been identified for furlough on Monday because the shutdown has made it impossible to work. That's either because the government facilities where they work are close or because government inspectors⁴ are not on the job. Lockheed says those workers have been told to use vacation leave, so they can be paid during their furlough. The Aerospace⁵ Industries Association says other companies are planning similar furloughs because the Pentagon’s Defense Contract Management Agency is not being funded and cannot approve government work. Larry Abramson, NPR News.

 

Both the House and Senate were in session today. The House approved a bill to provide back pay to the federal workers on furlough. The Senate is expected to follow suit. But the budget stalemate is heading into a sixth day, and its effects are rippling⁶ far beyond US shores. Teri Schultz reports US landmarks⁷ throughout Europe are closed, outraging⁸ a lot of tourists.

 

Thousands of tourists come every year to historic American sites in Europe, including Normandy with its numerous D-day memorials and Belgium's Flanders Field World War I Cemetery⁹, but visitors who traveled long distances to see these hallowed grounds are finding the gates locked, the information booths unstaffed and signs that blame at all on the Washington impasse¹⁰. The American Battle Monument Commission manages two dozen overseas military cemeteries¹¹ and 26 other memorials to the more than 200,000 Americans who lost their lives fighting abroad. But the commission has no option but to close the sites until as it says on its website: “A new funding measure is passed by Congress and signed by the President.” It says it regrets any inconvenience these temporary actions may cause. For NPR News, I’m Teri Schultz in Brussels.

 

Tropical Storm Karen is no longer expected to strengthen into a hurricane. The National Hurricane Center says the system is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression tomorrow. A tropical storm warning is in effect from Grand Isle¹², Louisiana to the Mississippi border. Still, Mark Butler in Florida's Panhandle says he’s not taking any chances.

 

“Oh, you hear from Ivan, Dennis, Katrina, so...at any storm that hits in the gulf¹³. We take them all seriously.”

 

The National Weather Service says a combination of storm surge and a tide will bring flooding to normally dry areas near the coast.

 

This is NPR.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

4 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

6 rippling   

起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的

参考例句：

• I could see the dawn breeze rippling the shining water. 我能看见黎明的微风在波光粼粼的水面上吹出道道涟漪。
• The pool rippling was caused by the waving of the reeds. 池塘里的潺潺声是芦苇摇动时引起的。

7 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

8 outraging   

引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

9 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

10 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

11 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

12 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

13 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。