NPR 2008-12-20

The Bush administration today announced a more than 17-billion-dollar rescue plan for troubled Detroit automakers Chrysler and GM. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

President Bush said that under ordinary circumstances he would have let the automakers fail, but he said, in the midst of financial crisis, allowing the US auto¹ industry to collapse² is not a responsible course of action. Incoming President Barack Obama warned the automakers though not to expect a blank cheque. “I do want to emphasize to the Big Three automakers and their executives that the American people's patience is running out, and that they should seize on this opportunity over the next several weeks and months to come up with a plan that is sustainable. " In exchange for emergency loans, the automakers will be required to show the government that they are restructuring and lowering costs. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich issued a brief statement today that he will refuse to take any questions about his arrest on federal corruption³ charges. Speaking at a downtown state building in Chicago, Rod Blagojevich would only say he's not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing and will "fight the charges against him every step of the way". The Illinois governor, among other things, is alleged⁴ to have sought to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder⁵.

Winter storm is hitting much of the northeast, causing flight cancellations and treacherous⁶ road conditions. Craig Moure reports.

Snow started falling this morning and is expected to continue tonight mixing with some sleet⁷ and rain. Twelve to 15 inches of snow accumulation is expected in parts of Connecticut and New York. Lieutenant⁸ Paul Vance of Connecticut state police say they've assigned additional manpower to watch the roads and what's likely to be a tough commute⁹ home. "This is the first big one, and we wanna everyone to be prepared and certainly serve as a reminder¹⁰. If you do not need to go out, stay home, stay off the road. " Connecticut Governor Jody Reil ordered a staggered release of non-critical state workers throughout the day. More than 500 flights have been cancelled at New York City-area airports. The weather is expected to clear by tomorrow but another storm is expected to roll in on Saturday night. For NPR News, I'm Craig Moure in Fairfield, Connecticut.

The man who helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein crack the Watergate scandal has died, former FBI official Mark Felt dying yesterday. Woodward says initially¹¹ both men were shaken by Felt's public disclosure but said they later came to terms with it. "Carl Bernstein and I were kind of horrified¹² at that time but we came to realize that it actually was good because he, Felt, was able to do his own book with his lawyer. It kind of cleared the air on the whole issue of who he was and why he spoke¹³ to us. " Watergate scandal ultimately led to President Nixon's resignation. Mark Felt was 95.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25 points.

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In the latest indication, he has no sign of surrendering powers. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said today that "Zimbabwe is mine" and only citizens of the country can wrest¹⁴ it away from him. Mugabe, who's been in power for nearly three decades made his remarks after the top US envoy¹⁵ to Africa called for him to step down. The 84-year-old leader who's ruled the country since its 1980 independence from Britain refused to leave office following disputed elections in March. He's faced renewed criticism amid a humanitarian¹⁶ crisis that has pushed thousands of Zimbabweans to the point of starvation.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling lawmakers back into a special session to deal with the state's multi-billion-dollar budget gap. More from NPR's Ina Jaffe.

Democrats¹⁷ pushed through a plan to plug an 18-billion-dollar budget gap on Thursday, but Schwarzenegger said he'd veto it. The Democrats' plan lacked rollbacks in labor¹⁸ and environmental rules that Schwarzenegger wanted as part of his economic stimulus¹⁹ package. Like the Democratic majority in the legislature, Schwarzenegger wants a plan that includes spending cuts and revenue increases, but his fellow Republicans have refused to vote for any tax hikes of any kind. Speaking in Fresno, Schwarzenegger slammed lawmakers for failing to compromise. "Even in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, as we freefall towards a fiscal²⁰ Armageddon, the legislators still can't cross the special interests and do what is right for the state of California. Schwarzenegger said he's convinced that lawmakers can come up with a budget solution before Christmas. Ina Jaffe, NPR News.

Crude oil futures²¹ prices fell $2. 35 a barrel today, ending the session at $33. 87 a barrel in New York.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 bidder   

n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder.电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。
• The bidder withdrew his bid after submission of his bid.投标者在投标之后撤销了投标书。

6 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

7 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

8 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

9 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

10 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

11 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

12 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 wrest   

n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲

参考例句：

• The officer managed to wrest the gun from his grasp.警官最终把枪从他手中夺走了。
• You wrest my words out of their real meaning.你曲解了我话里的真正含义。

15 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

16 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

17 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》

18 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。

19 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。

20 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

21 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。