NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-03-05

　　From NPR news in Washington, I am Louise Schiavone.

 

　　President Obama is introducing three new appointees to his new cabinet, of greatest interest in sequester¹-worried Washington. Sylvia Mathews Burwell's appointment to lead the Office of Management and Budget. As former deputy budget director under President Clinton, Mr. Obama says that Burwell has what it takes.

 

　　“I am confident that my nominee² for OMB director, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, is the right person to continue Jeff‘s great work”. Opening the first meeting of his second term cabinet, the President said he continued to seek out Republican partners to reach a deal to end the sequester, 85 billion in budget cuts now launched. The President has also appointed air quality expert Gina McCarthy to lead the EPA and nuclear physicist³ Ernest Moniz to head the Department of Energy.

 

　　It's been two years since BP oil well exploded in the Gulf⁴ of Mexico taking the deep water horizon oil rig with it along with several lives. As NPR’s Jeff Brady reports, a civil trial in New Orleans is entering its second week.

 

　　Attorneys for the plaintiffs and companies that helped drill the Macondo well grilled⁵ BP’sMark Bly about his investigation⁶. A lawyer for rig-owner Transocean questioned Bly about apparent gaps in the report including a call made to shore just before the accident. Transocean says its employees did not receive the information they needed from BP to operate safely. BP maintains the accident was the result of a series of failures by multiple parties. This trail aims to figure out what happened and who was at fault. It is expected to last through May unless the parties settled the case before then.

 

　　Jeff Brady, NPR news.

 

　　At least 42 Syrian soldiers have been killed in Iraq near the border with Syria. NPR’s Nicole Beemsterboer says Iraqi forces were escorting the soldiers back to Syria.

 

　　The convoy⁷ of Syrian soldiers had fled the town of Yaarubiyeh near the border, after opposition⁸ forces took control of the government base there. Dozens of soldiers took refuge in Anbar province of Western Iraq, a predominantly Sunni area that one time was heaven for al-Qaeda-linked militants¹⁰. Iraqi officials tell the Associated Press authorities were transferring the Syrian soldiers back to Syria when militants ambushed¹¹ the convoy in a well-coordinated the attack. No one has claimed responsibility for that attack. Sunni Muslims in Iraq’s Anbar province have in the past few months risen up and support a Syria’s anti-government movement.

 

　　Nicole Beemsterboer, NPR news, Beirut.

 

　　Fresh from a visit to North Korea, former NBA star Dennis Rodman reports that Kim Jong Un wants President Obama to call him. White House spokesman Jay Carney. "The United States has channels of communications directly with DPRK and these are the channels we choose to employ".

 

　　On Wall Street, the Dow now up 33 point. The NASDAQ up 8. This is NPR.

 

　　There are conflicting reports about the reported death of a senior al-Qaeda-linked jihadi leader in Northern Mali. NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports the authorities in Chad announced he had been killed by their troops on Saturday but others including France are urging caution.

 

　　If confirmed, the killing¹² of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, and before him al-Qaeda’s number 2 regional commander Abou Zeid would eliminate the Franchises¹³ leadership in Mali, although Belmokhtar split from al-Qaeda to set up his own Signed in Blood brigade last year. Chad claimed its forces killed both militants in Mali. But US-based site service reported and identified militant⁹ chat website participant posting a message on several forums¹⁴ saying Belmokhtar was alive and well and leading battles himself. The head of France’s Joint¹⁵ Chiefs of Staff AdmGuillaud couldn’t confirm whether Belmokhtar was dead or alive but said AbouZeid’s death was very probable.

 

　　Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR news in Dakar.

 

　　Due to repeated cycles of drought and flooding, millions of Africans stand to face severe food shortages. The assessment¹⁶ of the International Federation¹⁷ of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the global humanitarian¹⁸ body, identified Angola, Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe is the hardest hit by crop failures, life-stock loss and contaminated water supplies.

 

　　Major General Michele Johnson breached¹⁹ the military’s Brass²⁰ Ceiling. She has now become the first woman to command the air force academy in Colorado Springs.

 

　　I am Louise Schiavone, NPR news, Washington.

1 sequester   

vt.使退隐，使隔绝

参考例句：

• Everything he owned was sequestered.他的所有财产都被扣押了。
• This jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months.预计这个陪审团将至少被隔离两个月。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

4 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。

5 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

6 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。

7 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

10 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

11 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

13 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

14 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

15 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

16 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

17 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

18 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

19 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

20 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。