NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-01-07

 A life-threatening wind chill is griping states in the northern and central U.S. It is minus 21 in Grand Forx, North Dakota. Tauso, Oklahoma faces wind chills tonight of minus ten to twenty degrees. Authorities in nearly half (of) the country are warning residents to take precautions. Chicago's emergency management director Garry Shingkle is among them. 

 

This cold temperatures can cause frost bite and hazardous¹ situation within minutes. The elderly, the very young and the disabled can be especially affected² by extreme weather. 

 

Some areas will see temperatures 30 to 50 degrees colder than average. 

 

2014 is getting off to a dry start in California which depends heavily on winter rain and snowfall to fill reservoirs that supply farms and cities. NPR’s Kurk Sigler reports this is on top of last year which was one of California’s driest on record. 

 

The 2013 moisture totals are alarming in California. Los Angelis would normally get about 14 inches of rain, Oakland about 22 inches. But both cities for instance received less than four the entire year. The state drought manager Bill Croil says the situation in the Sier Anavana Mountains is even worse. 

 

"This is really a historic dry year for California. In Northern Siers it's the driest since [our annual] records were begun in 1905.” 

 

Like the rest of west California cities and farms depend on melting snow in the spring to fill the reservoirs, but snow pack levels across much of the Sire and Nevada are at just 20% of normal. Kurk Sigler, NPR News.

 

In Syria rebel groups have united in a new organization to push al-Qaeda linked fighters out of the country. NPR’s Dabbera Amers reports.

 

The unprecedented⁴ battle began on Thursday when a new rebel coalition⁵ called the Army of the Mujahidin issued a challenge on Facebook, “drop your weapons and leave Syria”. According to activists⁶, the rebel alliance has driven the al-Qaeda group out of two towns in the north and retaken a border-crossing on the Turkish frontier in two days of fighting. The al-Qaeda militants⁷ known as ISIS were once welcomed by rebels and civilians⁸ alike who saw them as experienced fighters in the battle to topple the Syrian regime. But as ISIS gained territory in the north, their brutal⁹ tactics alienated¹⁰ many Syrians. In a statement on its website, the new rebel coalition accused ISIS of “killing, stealing and storming our houses while we were busy fighting the regime". Dabbera Amers, NPR News, Beirut.

 

The US embassy in Beirut is telling Americans in Lebanon to avoid hotels, western-style shopping centers and social events where US citizens typically gather. The embassy calls the sites likely targets for terrorist attacks. The warning follows a series of deadly bombings and other violence in the Lebanese capital linked to the civil war in neighboring Syria. 

 

This is NPR.

 

Fighting continues in Iraq’s Ambar province as Iraqi government troops and tribal¹¹ leaders battled al-Qaeda linked fighters who are making gains in the strategic cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. Secretary of State John Kerry says the United State will help the Iraqi government but stressed not by providing troops.

 

A federal court has agreed to decide whether people arrested for crimes while they are in the US illegally can automatically be denied bail¹². NPR’s Ted³ Robins¹³ reports the case challenges an Arizona law. 

 

Arizona voters passed a law in 2006 which ordered state judges to deny bail if an undocumented immigrant was accused of a serious felony. The rationale was that those defendants¹⁴ would not show up in court if they were released. But lawyers for the ACLU say the law is really just an unconstitutional way to punish undocumented immigrants. They say judges should have the discretion¹⁵ to grant bail depending on individual circumstances. A three-judge penal¹⁶ of the nine Circuit Court of Appeal sided with the state. But now the full appeals court has agreed to hear the Arizona case. Ted Robins, NPR News.

 

Congress returns to session this week. The Senate is back tomorrow when it’s scheduled to vote on a three-month extension of long-term unemployment benefits. The program expired last weekend, leaving more than a million unemployed¹⁷ Americans without the supplement. The House gets back to work Tuesday. Majority Leader Eric Kantrer says the first order of business is a bill dealing¹⁸ with data security under the Affordable¹⁹ Care Act. Democrats²⁰ say they will press for a bill to extend jobless benefits and raise the minimum wage.

 

I’m Babra Klein, NPR News in Washington.

1 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 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》

7 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。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

10 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

12 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

13 robins   

n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书）

参考例句：

• The robins occupied their former nest. 那些知更鸟占了它们的老窝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Benjamin Robins then entered the fray with articles and a book. 而后，Benjamin Robins以他的几篇专论和一本书参加争论。 来自辞典例句

14 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

15 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

16 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

17 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。

18 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

19 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

20 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》