NPR 2008-12-24

An internal review prepared by the staff of President-elect Barack Obama acknowledges that one member of his transition team Rahm Emanuel had a discussion with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich about Mr. Obama's vacant Senate seat. However, according to that report issued today, the talk did not involve any deal concerning whom the governor should appoint to fill the seat. Greg Craig is incoming White House counsel. "All these conversations were completely innocent, they were completely appropriate, no one was approached with any kind of deal." The report did note that Emanuel and one other top-aide to Mr. Obama Valerie Jarrett have been interviewed in connection with the federal investigation¹. Federal authorities have charged Blagojevich with seeking to sell President-elect Obama's vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder². Blagojevich has denied any wrongdoing and resisted calls for his resignation.

The founder³ of an investment fund linked to disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff was found dead in his New York City office this morning. Officials are still determining the cause of death but believe it was a suicide. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports.

Paramedics were called to the Madison Avenue headquarters of Access International Advisors⁴ at 7:30 local time. Once they arrived, they found investor⁵ Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, he had no pulse. De la Villehuchet ran a number of investment funds, one of which, Alpha Lux, had fed money to Madoff. Madoff was arrested last week accused of running a 50-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Officials familiar with the case say De la Villehuchet slit⁶ his wrists, and may have bled to death. It's unclear whether authorities found a suicide note. The New York Medical Examiners Office has yet to examine the body. They expect to announce an official cause of death on Wednesday. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News, New York.

Buyers are staying out of the real estate market and that's contributing to a record drop in home prices. NPR's Tamara Keith reports.

Existing home sales fell 8.6% in November from a month before, and sales are down more than 10% from November 2007. The nation's medium home price was dragged down to 181,000 dollars. Foreclosures and other distrust properties are keeping prices low. And there's a significant lack of demand. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist⁷ with the National Association of Realtors says people are worried about the economy and the stock market slump⁸, they are worried they could lose their jobs, and so they are reluctant to make a huge purchase like a home. "Buyers are not motivated and there's a hesitancy. You know, as long as housing market struggles, it will be very difficult for the economy to recover." At the current pace of sales, there's enough inventory⁹ on the market to last just over 11 months. Tamara Keith, NPR News Washington.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 100 points to close at 8419 today, the NASDAQ was down 10 points, the S&P 500 lost 8 points.

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 Another day of frigid¹⁰ temperatures blowing snow and freezing rain is causing headaches for travelers ahead of the Christmas holiday. In Chicago, weather led to upwards¹¹ of 250 flights being cancelled out of the city's two major airports. And icy conditions caused a tractor trailer accident of I-64 in southwestern Illinois that led to part of the highway being shut down. Some Amtrak passengers were also stuck in Chicago unable to get to New York. Winter storms have caused problems as far west as Seattle and as far east as New Hampshire.

Health officials say the cholera¹² epidemic¹³ in Zimbabwe has spread to all parts of that country and killed nearly 1200 people. NPR's Jon Hamilton has more.

The epidemic began in August in a suburb of Zimbabwe's capital Harare. Clogged¹⁴ and broken sewer¹⁵ lines apparently¹⁶ contaminated drinking water allowing cholera to spread. Since then, infected people have carried the disease to all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe as well as across the borders to South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia. Cholera is caused by bacteria that grow in the intestine¹⁷ and cause severe diarrhea. Without treatment, people can die of dehydration¹⁸ in less than a day. Officials from UNICEF say 1174 people have died so far and at least 23000 have been infected. They expect the epidemic to worsen now that the rainy season has begun. Rain water transports the bacteria to new drinking water supplies. Jon Hamilton, NPR News.

Shareholders¹⁹ of two big regional banks, PNC Financial Services Group of Pittsburgh and Cleveland-based National City have approved the merger²⁰ of the two banks. National City is being acquired by PNC for around 5.6 billion dollars. The combined bank will have around 2700 branches.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 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。

3 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。

4 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

5 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

6 slit   

n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂

参考例句：

• The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
• He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。

7 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

8 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

9 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

10 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

11 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

12 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

13 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

14 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

15 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

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 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。

18 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

19 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

20 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。