美国有线新闻 CNN 2012-12-12

 Our first story on this Monday edition of our show. Every 48 minutes, someone in the U.S dies in a car wreck¹ that involves a driver who is either drunk or in some way alcohol-impaired, works out to more than 10,000 debts every year.

 

Police say Jerry Brown Jr. is one of them, he was the linebacker on the Dallas Cowboy's practice squad² who is killed in a car crash early Saturday morning. Brown was a passenger, police said the car he was in hit a curb³, flipped⁴ and caught on fire. Officiers believed that alcohol was a contributing factor in the crash. Cowboy's nose tackle Josh Brent was behind the wheel, he's been arrested on suspicion of intoxication⁵ manslaughter. Brent and Brown were teammates in college too, Brent pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in 2009 while he was in school. The charge he is facing now could lead to a 10,000-dollar fine and a potential prison sentence of 2-20 years.

 

Every month the U.S government reports on the national unemployment rate and the number of the jobs added or lost for November, 146,000 jobs added, unemployment at 7.7%. That's a drop from the month before and it's the lowest unemployment rate has been in nearly four years. These numbers can be a little tricky⁶, the unemployment rates only counts people actively⁷ looking for a job. Experts say that's the main reason the rate went down, is because some people just gave up and stopped looking. The big number to keep in mind, 12 million. That's how many Americans were counted as unemployed⁸ in November.

 

The state legislation in Michigan is getting ready to vote on a right to work law. A big part of this story has to do with labor⁹ unions. Right to work laws say the workers don't have to join unions or pay union dues. People who support these laws say they can make a state more attractive to businesses and can bring in more money for the state economy. Critics of the laws say they make unions weaker and can keep wages lower for workers. On this map, the states in blue have a right to work law. There are 23 of those including Indiana which just past its legislation this year. Poppy Harlow got the perspective from both sides of the debate over the possibility of a right work law in Michigan.

 

A labor representative told me this legislation is anti-worker, saying that it gives workers less of a voice. What do you say to that?

 

That's backward. This is about being pro-worker. Again, giving workers the choice, the freedom to choose, that's fundamental.

 

So governor Snyder's legislation is anti-worker, it's gonna end up, you know, being a devastating¹⁰ blow to middle class here.

1 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

2 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

3 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

4 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

5 intoxication   

n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning

参考例句：

• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。
• Predator: Intoxication-Damage over time effect will now stack with other allies. Predator:Intoxication,持续性伤害的效果将会与队友相加。

6 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 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。

9 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。

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。