NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-10-10

 The White House says President Obama will nominate Federal Reserve Vice¹ Chair Janet Yellen to succeed current Chair Ben Bernanke when he steps down in January. The president's expected to formally announce the nomination² at the White House tomorrow. Economist³ Diane Swonk with Mesirow Financial says Yellen brings vast experience to the job. 

 

She was once a Council [of] Economic Advisers⁴ chair under President Clinton. She also was a former Federal Reserve board member in the 1990s during the great boom, a very different era for the Federal Reserve, and she was president of the San Francisco Fed and actually took a cut in pay and her pension to join the board of the Federal Reserve at a critical time. 

 

Yellen, a 67-year-old former professor, if confirmed by the Senate, would become the Fed's first woman chair. Obama chose Yellen after another top candidate, former Treasury⁵ Secretary Larry Summers, took himself out of the running. 

 

President Obama says he regrets canceling his Asia trip in order to stay in Washington to deal with the partial government shutdown. NPR's Jackie Northam reports the president was to meet with Asian leaders to help cement a 12-nation trade deal.

 

President Obama had hoped to make some progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership⁶ during his Asia tour. Mr. Obama said he doesn't know for sure he would have been able to resolve issues surrounding the free trade talks, but that it didn't help, that he wasn't there to try. When asked at a White House press conference how he was reassuring⁷ foreign creditors⁸ like China and Japan worry whether the US is going to avoid defaulting on its debt, Mr.Obama would only say: “Obviously, my message to the world is, the United States always has paid its bills, and it will do so against.” Mr.Obama said he did not think there will be lasting⁹ damage internationally because of the current crisis. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington. 

 

Clear to respective sides in the shutdown fight appeared dug in in their positions, House Speaker John Boehner saying Republicans will not take part in what he termed “unconditional surrender.” 

 

Reports North Korea’s restarted a plutonium reactor¹⁰ at its main nuclear facility ratcheting up tensions in that region, North Korea threatened back in April to restart the reactor. 

 

Following this summer's acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of teen Trayvon Martin, Florida's legislature's considering changes to the state's Stand Your Ground law. NPR's Greg Allen reports a new bill would require statewide standards. 

 

Florida's Stand Your Ground law came under national scrutiny¹¹ after police in Sanford citing it as a reason why they waited for weeks to arrest and charge neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. In a rare show of bipartisanship in Florida’s Senate, the Republican author of Stand Your Ground teamed with the Democratic majority leader to suggest changes described as small but important. Democrat¹² Chris Smith said one area they agreed on was the need to send a message to neighborhood watch groups. 

 

“It'll let them know what is responsible behavior as a neighborhood watch.” 

 

Although the NAACP supports the bill and the NRA says it doesn't oppose it, the prospects¹³ for even these minor¹⁴ changes are uncertain. The chair of the House committee that would hear says he doesn't want to change “one damn comma of the law.” Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami. 

 

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A second team of chemical weapons inspectors¹⁵ is heading to Syria to help those who are already on the ground there. That was the announcement today from the chief of the global chemical watchdog group that is overseeing the destruction of the country's chemical weapons stockpile as mandated¹⁶ by the UN Security Council. The announcement comes as inspectors are seeking to destroy Syria's estimated 1,000 tons of chemical weapons in the midst of a civil war. 

 

When it comes to math, reading and computer skills, Americans lag behind their counterparts in 22 industrialized nations. NPR's Claudio Sanchez has the results of the first-ever international survey of adult competencies. 

 

Researchers with the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development tested 166,000 people in areas such as problem solving, literacy and numeracy. In literacy, the US trailed 12 countries with Japan, Finland and the Netherlands in the top three. In terms of math skills, US adults did worse than adults in 18 countries. Only Italy and Spain did worse. Researchers say these skills are critical for future job growth and the global economy. The survey also found that a majority of adult in countries that did well—Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands—were enrolled¹⁷ in job training and continuing education. Adults in poor-performing countries were more likely to be unemployed¹⁸ or working for minimum wage with little or no access to education and job training. Claudio Sanchez, NPR News. 

 

California judges ruled Japanese automaker Toyota will have to face trial over claims it failed to adequately warn the public about reports of unintended acceleration¹⁹ involving some of its vehicles. A US district court judge denied the company's motion to dismiss claims brought by the estate of a woman who lost control of her 2005 Camry after it sped out of control and then slammed into a school. 

1 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。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

8 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

10 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

11 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

12 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。

13 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。

14 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

15 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》

16 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

17 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

19 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。