NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-06-20

　　From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

 

　　Investors¹ are reacting to indications the Fed may curtail² its stimulus³ efforts. At last check on Wall Street, Dow was down more than 200 points at 15,113. The major US stock indexes all down more than 1%. Earlier Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank may soon be ready to start scaling back its sweeping⁴ bond-buying program aimed at boosting the economy and the pace of job creation. NPR's Craig Windham reports Bernanke says the Fed will start reducing its monthly purchases of bonds later this year and end them by the middle of next year if the unemployment rate drops to about 7% by then.

 

　　Bernanke emphasized that the bond buying will be scaled back only if the Fed's projections⁵ hold true.

 

　　”If the incoming data support the view that the economy is able to sustain a reasonable cruising speed, we will ease the pressure on the accelerator by gradually reducing the pace of purchases.”

 

　　Bernanke says the economy's fundamentals are looking better.

 

　　”In particular the housing sector⁷, which has been a drag on growth since the crisis, is now obviously a support to growth.”

 

　　The biggest impediment to growth of this year has been the federal spending cuts mandated⁹ by the sequester¹⁰. But despite that, Bernanke says the economy is still growing at a moderate pace. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington. President Obama and the First Lady depart Berlin this hour following a week of talks at the G8 summit and later in Germany over the Syrian crisis plans to launch negotiations¹¹ on a sweeping US-European Union trade deal and calls for reduced nuclear arsenals¹². FBI Director Robert Mueller tells Congress his agency uses drones to monitor activities on American soil. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports those drones are rarely deployed¹³.

 

　　In what could be his last appearance in the US Senate before his retirement¹⁴ in September, the FBI director answered questions about the bureau's drone technology. Robert Mueller told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee the FBI owns a small number of drones and they’re used for surveillance purposes.

 

　　“Well, it’s very seldom used and generally used in a particular incident, where you need the capability¹⁵.”

 

　　The FBI director said the agency's developing a policy those surveillance drones. They would spell out privacy protections for Americans. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also have drones. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　Afghan President Hamid Karzai is boycotting¹⁶ peace talks with the Taliban. He says he wants Afghanistan not the US to take the lead in those negotiations.

 

　　At last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 206 points; 1.3%, at 15,112; NASDAQ off 39 at 3,443; S&P 500 down 26 at 1,629. This is NPR News.

 

　　Tens of thousands of Brazilians continue to stage protests in cities across Brazil over high taxes, poor-quality public services and government corruption¹⁷. The mass demonstrations¹⁸ exploded acorss the nation after last week's 10-cent hike in public transportation fares. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports from S?o Paulo the protests now appear to be taking on a life of their own with the next big protest scheduled for tomorrow.

 

　　A lot of the concerns and a lot of the things that the protesters are asking for aren’t going to be resolved in a few days, a few weeks even a few years. Large-scale infrastructure¹⁹ projects, investment in health and education, these are things that take a lot of time. (until为口误) It's unclear exactly what the government can do to stop those protests now.

 

　　NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro.

 

　　Dolce & Gabbana, the famed designers behind countless²⁰ red carpet looks, are facing jail time. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli says a Milan court sentenced the dual⁶ today to a year and eight months in prison for failing to declare more than a billion dollars in income to authorities.

 

　　Lawyers for the celebrity²¹ designers said they would appeal, and under Italian law the sentence will be suspended, pending⁸ a final ruling which could take some years. Prosecutors²³ accused Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana (of) having evaded²⁴ taxes on their income through a Luxembourg-based company called Gado, an acronym²⁵ on their surnames, in an effort to defraud²⁶ the Italian state. One prosecutor²² said there was solid evidence that the designers had committed sophisticated tax evasion²⁷. The Dolce & Gabbana brand, one of the top names in Milan fashion, was founded in 1985, and employs more than 3,000 people, and has 250 shops in 40 countries across the world. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

 

　　US stocks trading lower before the closing bell following news from the Fed.

 

　　This is NPR.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

3 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

4 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

5 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

6 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

9 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。

10 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。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 arsenals   

n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成

参考例句：

• We possess-each of us-nuclear arsenals capable of annihilating humanity. 我们两国都拥有能够毁灭全人类的核武库。 来自辞典例句
• Arsenals are factories that produce weapons. 军工厂是生产武器的工厂。 来自互联网

13 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

14 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

15 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

16 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

17 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

18 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

19 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

20 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

21 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

22 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

23 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

24 evaded   

逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
• The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。

25 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

26 defraud   

vt.欺骗，欺诈

参考例句：

• He passed himself off as the managing director to defraud the bank.他假冒总经理的名义诈骗银行。
• He is implicated in the scheme to defraud the government.他卷入了这起欺骗政府的阴谋。

27 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。