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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has named his choice to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the US Senate. Blagojevich today picked former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris. Chicago Public Radio's Tony Arnold reports.
Blagojevich named Burris much to the chagrin1 of Senate Democrats2 and Illinois officials. Several have said Burris will make a fine Senator, but the appointment isn't Blagojevich's to make anymore. That's because federal prosecutors3 allege4 the governor tried to sell the Senate appointment in exchange for campaign cash and other political favors. Blagojevich has denied any wrongdoing and says Burris has nothing to do with the corruption5 case. "Please, don't allow the allegations against me to taint6 this good and honest man. " Burris now works as a consultant7 but served as a state comptroller in the 1980s. Senate majority leader Harry8 Reid has released a statement, saying the appointment will not stand. For NPR News, I'm Tony Arnold in Chicago.
israeli fighter jets pummeled Hamas targets in Gaza for a fourth day and rocket fire from Gaza militants10 reached into the Israeli city of Beersheba, the deepest attack yet into Israel. NPR's Eric Westervelt has more.
The Israeli air force expanded its targets in the last 48 hours to include homes of militant9 leaders and government buildings. Many residential11 areas are next to these structures. Gaza resident Hossam al Madhoun says now nowhere feels safe. "They started to target mosques12, they started to target the ministries13, the Ministry14 of Culture that was bombarded. So how come they would figure out what is the safe place anymore." Hamas rocket fire today struck Beersheba, an Israeli city some thirty miles from Gaza, the furthest Gaza rockets that have penetrated15 into Israel. No one was seriously injured. There's word the French have proposed a 48-hour cease fire to allow for vital food and supplies to enter bomb-battered Gaza. And there is strong diplomatic pressure from the UN and the EU to get a new truce16, but it's not clear that will happen and there's little guarantee a two-day lull17, if it's implemented18, would lead to a lasting19 calm. Eric Westervelt, NPR News, Jerusalem.
US home prices continue to fall with one key measure that examines prices in 20 large metropolitan20 areas showing prices falling by another 18% in October from the same period a year ago. The yearly drop in the Case-Shiller index is the biggest since tracking began some eight years ago. Patrick Newport is a housing analyst21 from Global Insight and says one main factor is pushing down house prices. "What's really driving the numbers right now are foreclosures and the foreclosure problem unfortunately is getting worse and it's bound to get worse next year and we're really not sure what to do to mitigate22 the number of foreclosures." According to the 20 city index, home prices are now down more than 23% from their peak in July of 2006. Three cities Phoenix23, Las Vegas and San Francisco have seen prices plunge24 by more than 30% compared with a year ago.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 184 points today to close at 8,668. The NASDAQ was up 40 points.
This is NPR.
The government has agreed to come to the aid of General Motors' embattled financial arm GMAC with a five-billion-dollar cash infusion25. In addition, the Treasury26 Department says it will also lend parent company GM as much as a billion dollars. The assistance comes at a time the world's largest automaker's seen a 41% plunge in November sales, in part due to the inability of some would-be car and truck buyers to obtain financing. GM says it will offer 0-4.9% financing on vehicle loans of up to five years on some 2008 models as well as other financing deals on its 2009 models.
New York Times is being sued by the lobbyist that linked to imprint27 of Senator John McCain amid the presidential primaries last February. Lobbyist Vicky Iceman is seeking 27 million dollars in the defamation28 of character suit. NPR's David Folkenflik has more.
The Times had reported that members of Senator McCain's inner circle became apprehensive29 about the frequent presence of lobbyist Vicky Iceman in the senator's company at the early stages of his 2008 presidential bid. The Times did not state a romantic affair occurred but cited instead several unnamed former campaign associates who said top advisers30 had become convinced one existed. Iceman lobbied on behalf of companies that did business before McCain's Senator Committee. In her lawsuit31, Iceman says she had no inappropriate involvement with McCain but suffered professionally and personally from the article's clear implications. In a statement the Times replied that the article was true and accurate saying it "raised questions about a presidential contender and the perception that he had been engaged in conflicts of interest." David Folkenflik, NPR News, New York.
1 chagrin | |
n.懊恼;气愤;委屈 | |
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2 democrats | |
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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3 prosecutors | |
检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 ); 告发人; 起诉人; 公诉人 | |
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4 allege | |
vt.宣称,申述,主张,断言 | |
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5 corruption | |
n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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6 taint | |
n.污点;感染;腐坏;v.使感染;污染 | |
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7 consultant | |
n.顾问;会诊医师,专科医生 | |
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8 harry | |
vt.掠夺,蹂躏,使苦恼 | |
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9 militant | |
adj.激进的,好斗的;n.激进分子,斗士 | |
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10 militants | |
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 ) | |
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11 residential | |
adj.提供住宿的;居住的;住宅的 | |
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12 mosques | |
清真寺; 伊斯兰教寺院,清真寺; 清真寺,伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 ) | |
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13 ministries | |
(政府的)部( ministry的名词复数 ); 神职; 牧师职位; 神职任期 | |
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14 ministry | |
n.(政府的)部;牧师 | |
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15 penetrated | |
adj. 击穿的,鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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16 truce | |
n.休战,(争执,烦恼等的)缓和;v.以停战结束 | |
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17 lull | |
v.使安静,使入睡,缓和,哄骗;n.暂停,间歇 | |
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18 implemented | |
v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 );执行;贯彻;使生效 | |
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19 lasting | |
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持 | |
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20 metropolitan | |
adj.大城市的,大都会的 | |
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21 analyst | |
n.分析家,化验员;心理分析学家 | |
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22 mitigate | |
vt.(使)减轻,(使)缓和 | |
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23 phoenix | |
n.凤凰,长生(不死)鸟;引申为重生 | |
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24 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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25 infusion | |
n.灌输 | |
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26 treasury | |
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库 | |
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27 imprint | |
n.印痕,痕迹;深刻的印象;vt.压印,牢记 | |
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28 defamation | |
n.诽谤;中伤 | |
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29 apprehensive | |
adj.担心的,恐惧的,善于领会的 | |
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30 advisers | |
顾问,劝告者( adviser的名词复数 ); (指导大学新生学科问题等的)指导教授 | |
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31 lawsuit | |
n.诉讼,控诉 | |
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