NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-11-28

 Tensions could be escalating¹ in the East China Sea between the United States and China. Two U.S. military aircraft flew over an area China claims as its new airspace defense² zone without first notifying the Chinese. NPR’s Tom Bowman has more. 

 

The two B-52 warplanes flew a routine training mission over disputed island chain claimed by both Japan and China. Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman said the mission was planned before China declared the new zone. He said the American pilots followed what he called normal procedures. They did not file flight plans, radio ahead or register their frequencies. Warren said there was no Chinese response. The Chinese government announced a new defense zone last weekend and said it has the right to identify, monitor and possibly take military action against aircraft entering the area. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called the move a destabilising attempt to alter the status quo in the region.  Tom Bowman, NPR News, Washington.

 

Supreme³ Court’s agreeing to weigh in the contentious⁴ debate over a sensitive aspect to President Obama’s new health care law, namely whether businesses can cite religious objections as an excuse for not in hearing to a requirement that help plans cover birth control for employees. Justice is announcing today that they would take up the issue that has divided lower courts with only in 40 lawsuits⁵. One involves the company Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma based arts and crafts chain with 13,000 employees. The other is Conestoga Wood Specialties⁶, a Pennsylvania cabinet maker⁸ that employs 950 people. 

 

The sentencing of a Somali American man convicted of trying to bomb a holiday tree-lighting  in 2010 is on hold. NPR’s Carrie Johnson reports the Justice Department recently notified the man he’d been picked up on secret surveillance. 

 

The judge says Sulaiman Abu Ghaith made to FBI agents during a long flight to New York are fair game. Authorities in Jordan intercepted⁹, Abu Ghaith, then al-Qaeda spokesman during a stopover early this year. They extradited him to the U.S. to face conspiracy¹⁰ and other charges. The decision by U.S. District Judge Louis Kaplan paves a way for a trial next year for Abu Ghaith who’s married to one of Osama Bin⁷ Laden’s daughters. He appeared in al-Qaeda propaganda after 9/11. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

 

U.S. home builders last month who planed to build new single family homes and apartments at the fastest pace in five years. Commerce Department says permits for construction rose by 6.2% from the previous month to an annual rate of just over 1 million units. Nearly all the increase was for multifamily homes, a permit shut up by double digit¹¹ a month. Government did not say how many of those projects actually were started though, since that information was delayed by last month partial government shutdown. 

 

Stocks continued to upward momentum¹² today, propelled higher by better earnings¹³ from luxury retailer¹⁴ Tiffany and a rising home building stocks. The Dow gained a fraction of a point, to close at 16,072; the NASDAQ closed above 4,000 for the first time since 2000, rising 23 points.

 

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CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Lara Logan and her producer have been ordered by the network to take a leave of absence. That’s on the hills that investigation¹⁵ into October story on the attack on a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya. Internal review of the coverage¹⁶ is critical of network’s handling of the October story on the raid. Show during its coverage of the story relied on an interview with the security contractor¹⁷, who claimed he was at the U.S. mission the night, Libya, it was an attack, but whose story later came into question. CBS Chairman Jeff Fager, also the executive producer of “60 Minutes” ordered Logan to take the leave of absence. 

 

Labor¹⁸ activists¹⁹ say they win a close vote to establish a $15 an hour minimum wage in and around Seattle International Airport. NPR’s Martin Kaste has more.

 

The minimum wage was on the ballot²⁰ in the small suburb of SeaTac, home to the airport of the same name. Election day was three weeks ago, but ballot count has been closed. At one point, the two sides were just 19 votes apart. Now the gap has widened to a little more than 1%. And at a press conference in the airport, Labor Leader David Rolf declared victory. 

 

The voters have spoken, they said that the people who put fuel in these jets ought to be able some day afford to buy a ticket on one of them. 

 

But opponents say they will pay for a recount and they’ve sued to block the $15 wage which they say violates state and federal laws. Martin Kaste, NPR News, Seattle. 

 

Motorola says it will begin selling its new lower cost smartphone in the U.S., roughly a month earlier than planned. The company announcing today, because it was able to produce its Moto G phones faster than expected. They will go on sale Tuesday. New cheaper phones will sell for $179 without a contract that compares with more than $600 or more people typically pay for high-end phones without a traditional two-year agreement. 

1 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

5 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

6 specialties   

n.专门，特性，特别；专业( specialty的名词复数 )；特性；特制品；盖印的契约

参考例句：

• Great Books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. 名著绝不引经据典，艰深难懂，而是通俗易读。它们不是专家为专业人员撰写的专业书籍。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Brain drains may represent a substantial reduction in some labor force skills and specialties. 智力外流可能表示某种劳动力技能和特长大量减少。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

9 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

10 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

11 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。

12 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

13 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

14 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

15 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。

16 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

17 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

18 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

19 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。