NPR 2008-12-12

Giant Bank of America is the latest financial firm to announce major job cuts. The Charlotte-based bank which is in the process of merging¹ with Merrill Lynch, said today it plans to cut 30, 000 to 35, 000 jobs over the next three years. Tony Plath is a professor of finance at the University of North Carolina. He says while Bank of America hasn't said yet which jobs will be cut, some employees may be safer than others. “Bank of America is following on the heels of other big banks like JPMorgan and like Citigroup that have essentially² pared their operations and their administrative³ staffing areas. The areas that are behind the scenes and don't face the customer are the areas that are at greatest risk." In a statement, Bank of America blamed the job cuts on its merger⁴ with Merrill Lynch and on the weak economy. The company expects to identify which positions will be eliminated by early next year. All told BofA hopes to save around seven billion dollars to the job cuts.

US trade deficit⁵ widened unexpectedly in October. NPR's Giles Snyder has more.

Many economists⁶ had expected the trade gap to narrow because of lower oil prices. Oil prices did drop by a record amount, but that was offset⁷ by a record surge in the volume of oil imports. The Commerce Department says the gap for October grew to more than 57 billion dollars, that's 1.1% higher than September's imbalance. American farm products and manufacture goods took a hit overseas and even as overall imports fell in October, those from China increased 2. 8%. The politically sensitive trade gap with Beijing also set a record at 28 billion dollars. But in a sign the global recession is catching⁸ up with China's export-driven economy, government figures released this week show Chinese exports fell for the first time in almost seven years. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

President-elect Barack Obama calls the government short-term auto⁹ bailout bill an important step to prop¹⁰ up the struggling industry. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

The 14-billion-dollar federal loan to the auto industry faces an uphill battle in the US Senate. President-elect Barack Obama says he shares the frustration¹¹ many Americans feel with the mistakes the industry's made in the past. But he says the government should provide short-term relief for automakers. At the same time, it demands reform from the industry going forward. "At this moment of great challenge, for our economy, we can not simply stand by and watch this industry collapse¹². Doing so would lead to a devastating¹³ ripple¹⁴ effect throughout our economy." Mr. Obama noted¹⁵ that the Senate will be considering the auto rescue package at a time when US unemployment claims are at a 26-year high. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Chicago.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 196 points today ending the session at 8, 565. The NASDAQ lost 57 points to close at 507. The S&P 500 dropped more than 25 points.

This is NPR.

Pakistani intelligence officials say a suspected US missile strike has killed six people near the Afghan border. Officials say the identity of those killed was not immediately known. Intelligence officials are quoted as saying the missile was apparently¹⁶ launched from a pilotless drone and targeted militants¹⁷ at a part of Pakistan that has been seen as a sanctuary¹⁸ for members of al-Qaeda. It was the second suspected strike by a US drone this month. In the past three months, there have been a number of missile strikes by the US in tribal¹⁹ regions and nearby areas against suspected al-Qaeda targets.

Snow is making its way across the south. It's the latest in an active weather pattern for that region. From member station WBHM in Birmingham, Alabama, Andrew Yeager reports.

Houston has seen snow, as has New Orleans with several inches forecast. The storm will then rake over Mississippi, Northern Alabama and Northern Georgia. Sand trucks around Birmingham are gearing up to battle icy roadways. Jim Stefkovich with the National Weather Service in Birmingham says it is unusual to have snow this early. "We usually see it during the period of winter months especially as we get to January, February, not out of question, but pretty rare.” The region has already been dealing²⁰ with heavy rain, thunderstorms and tornadoes²¹, when tornadoes torn through an Alabama elementary school early Wednesday morning. But once the snow moves through though, it’ll be back to sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s and 60s by the weekend. For NPR News, I’m Andrew Yeager in Birmingham, Alabama.

Federal Reserve says US households will be pulling in the reins²² on their spending as they grappled with the worsening economy and fears of job loss. Fed said today households cut back on their debts for the first time on record in the third quarter with overall consumer debt levels falling 0. 8%.

1 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

4 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。

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

6 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

8 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

9 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

10 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。

11 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

12 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

13 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。

14 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 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。

17 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。

18 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

19 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。

20 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。

21 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

22 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。