NPR 2008-10-29

Investors¹ jumped back into the market in a big way today. Bargain hunters moving into snap up stocks help propel both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broader S&P 500 to more than 10% gains. Michael Farr is with the investment firm Farr Miller³ & Washington. He says today's rally is fairly typical of a bear market, though he said there were some positives helping⁴ to drive stocks higher. "You see these sort of dramatic bear market rallies, they're unfortunately somewhat typical but fundamentally we saw credit easing up a little bit, things starting to trade on the bond markets and the Federal Reserve is meeting today and should announce a decision to cut rates tomorrow." Investors apparently⁵ looked past-week consumer confidence numbers. Today's gain for the blue chips was the second biggest one-day point gain in history. The Dow surged 889 points today closing at 9,065. The NASDAQ was up 143 points. The S&P 500 rose 91 points.

Appliance maker⁶ Whirlpool says it plans to cut 5,000 jobs by the end of next year. The Michigan-based company says the slowing worldwide economy will drag down demands for its products. From Michigan Radio Dustin Dwyer reports.

Whirlpool had already announced four plant closures this year. Now it will close an additional two plants, one in Jackson, Tennessee and another in Findlay, Ohio. The company also plans about 500 white-collar job cuts in North America and 1,900 job cuts overseas. The news comes as Whirlpool reported a 7% decline in profits for the third quarter. Whirlpool CEO Jeff Fettig said on a webcast that he expects demand to continue to drop so the company must cut costs. "While the decision to eliminate jobs and close facilities is very difficult, they're necessary to ensure our cost-effective business structure." Whirlpool has downgraded its earnings⁸ expectations for this year and the company has not put out an estimate for how it will do next year. For NPR News, I'm Dustin Dwyer in Ann Arbor⁹, Michigan.

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain is calling on Alaska Senator Ted⁷ Stevens to resign. That's after Stevens was convicted yesterday of trying to hide gifts from a wealthy oil contractor¹⁰. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

John McCain says it's clear that Stevens has broken his trust with the people and the Alaska Senator should now resign. McCain who's long sparred with Stevens over earmarks and the appropriation's process, also calls Stevens' conviction a sign of the corruption¹¹ and insider-dealing has become so pervasive¹² in the nation's Capitol. McCain's running mate Sarah Palin also called on Stevens to step aside. The Alaska Governor told CNBC the people of her state should have a chance to elect someone else. Stevens is up for re-election next week. Scott Horsley, NPR News, traveling with McCain Campaign.

Federal Reserve has announced a move to help prop² up the Central Bank of New Zealand with a 15 billion dollar cash infusion¹³. The federal describes it as a swap¹⁴ arrangement. It will provide dollars to the bank in exchange for the country's currency. This is NPR.

Troubled domestic automaker Chrysler is reported to be offering buyouts to its white-collar workers as a part of an incentive¹⁵ to get them to leave the company. The No.3 US automaker which is currently said to be in negotiations¹⁶ about a possible merger¹⁷ with GM is said to be offering workers up to $75,000 in cash as well as vehicle vouchers¹⁸ valued as much as $25,000. The offer was detailed¹⁹ in a memo²⁰ sent to employees. According to Reuters’ wire service which viewed the offer, Chrysler last week announced plans to cut as many as 5,000 white-collar jobs.

After 100 years the Christian²¹ Science Monitor's decided²² to end its daily print edition in favor of a web-only version. NPR's David Folkenflik reports.

The Boston-based Monitor was started by the founder²³ of the Christian Science church-Mary Baker²⁴ Eddy²⁵. She envisioned the newspaper that would quote "injure no man but bless all mankind." a vision prompted by the unrelenting crusader of newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer against Eddy and her new church. The Monitor is basically a secular²⁶ paper. It has reporters in eleven countries around the world and has won seven of the prizes named for Pulitzer. But an expensive bet on TV failed, paid circulation has plummeted²⁷ and cuts ensued. Editors say they will focus on a souped-up daily online edition and a less expensive weekly publication. It's been pretty bleak²⁸ for newspapers. The Gannett Company announced it would reduce its staff 10% and the Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey²⁹ just agreed to buy out 40%, that's 40% of its staff. David Folkenflik, NPR News.

The Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index which looks at housing prices in 20 US cities fell by a record 16.6% in August from a year ago. From their peak in July, prices are now down by more than 20%.

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 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

3 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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%。

9 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

10 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。

11 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。

12 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

13 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

14 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

15 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

16 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。

17 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

18 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

19 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

20 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

21 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

22 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

23 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

24 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

25 eddy   

n.漩涡，涡流

参考例句：

• The motor car disappeared in eddy of dust.汽车在一片扬尘的涡流中不见了。
• In Taylor's picture,the eddy is the basic element of turbulence.在泰勒的描述里，旋涡是湍流的基本要素。

26 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

27 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

29 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。