NPR 2008-09-22

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the administration's proposed $700 billion financial bailout plan lacks necessary safeguards to prevent abuses in the future. She wants better oversight¹ provisions, limits on the pay of Wall Street executives and protections for home owners. GOP Senator Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking² Committee, agrees with that last point. "This doesn't do anything for the home owner. This is doing something for the banks and if they get any relief, it'd be incidental. " But Treasury³ Secretary Henry Paulson says the whole reason for the plan is to help tax payers and home owners. "We're not doing this to protect our financial institutions in and of themselves. We're doing it to protect the financial institutions because that's what is needed to protect the American tax payer and unfortunately the American tax payer is right now at risk if there's a tough situation in the economy. " Paulson was on Fox News Sunday.

Democratic presidential nominee⁵ Barack Obama says he agrees with congressional leaders that an independent overseer is needed for the bailout plan. He says much of the responsibility for the financial crisis lies with the policies of the Bush administration and congressional Republicans including his opponent John McCain. Obama made the statement at a rally today in Charlotte, North Carolina as Julie Rose of member station WFAE reports.

The Obama campaign had a busy week in Charlotte, starting with visits from vice⁶ presidential candidate Joe Biden and Michelle Obama and culminating in an outdoor rally with Barack Obama and an audience of thousands. The visits are further evidence that Obama is treating North Carolina as a battleground even though the state hasn't elected a Democrat⁴ for president in more than 30 years. Obama peppered his speech with references to North Carolina's economy and job losses. "I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that shift jobs overseas. I am gonna give tax breaks to companies that create good jobs right in North Carolina. " Republican Senator John McCain maintains a lead over Obama in the latest polls of North Carolina. But margins⁷ vary widely between one point and 20. Neither McCain nor running mate Sarah Palin has visited North Carolina during the general election campaign. For NPR News, I'm Julie Rose in Charlotte.

Two US Defense⁸ Department employees are among the victims of the suicide truck bomb attack that devastated⁹ a hotel in Islamabad yesterday. At least 53 people were killed. NPR's Philip Reeves says a security camera inside the hotel caught images of the explosive-laden vehicle as it approached the building. "A dump truck rammed¹⁰ into the security barriers outside the hotel. The guards there initially¹¹ ran away and then they returned. There was a small explosion then the truck caught fire. And for a while there was an attempt by several guards to try to put out the flames inside this truck and then the truck finally detonated. "

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Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has formally resigned amid investigations¹² of alleged¹³ corruption¹⁴ in his administration. The country's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is hoping to form a new coalition¹⁵ government. She has 42 days to do so.

Iran's President Mohammad Ahmadinejad says Iran will break the hand of any nation that targets Iran's nuclear facilities. He said the statement today at a parade in Teheran, a parade that featured a banner that read Israel should be eliminated from the universe. Ahmadinejad will travel to New York this week to attend the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis arrived at the Kennedy Space Center today for a final training before their October launch. The astronauts will perform NASA's final repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Pat Duggins of member station WMFE has more.

The training session at the Kennedy Space Center is called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration¹⁶ Test. It's the last chance for commander Scott Altman and his six crew mates to practice inside the shuttle on the launch pad before blastoff set for October 10th. The astronauts will install new parts on Hubble but also try to repair two instruments on the telescope that have stopped working. Altman says his crew is ready to go. "I definitely feel that the crew has come together. Everybody knows their jobs and we're ready to execute and looking forward to heading down to the Cape¹⁷, launching and getting to work on the telescope. " NASA's still assessing the impact of Hurricane Ike on mission control in Houston. That plus some delays in preparing Atlantis could delay the launch date by a day or two. For NPR News, I'm Pat Duggins in Orlando.

The United States has upset Europe to win the Ryder Cup, the most prized team trophy¹⁸ in golf. It's the first time American golfers have won the Cup since 1999.

1 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

10 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

13 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

14 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。

15 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

16 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

17 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

18 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。