NPR 2008-09-24

Treasury¹ Secretary Henry Paulson pleaded with sometimes skeptical² senators today to approve his proposed 700-million-dollar bailout of the financial services industry. NPR's Brian Naylor has more.

Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke painted a gloomy picture of the economy if Congress fails to approve the bailout package. They said businesses and consumers may be unable to borrow to pay for expansions and new purchases. Members of the Senate Banking⁴ Committee questioned the officials about the plan, saying taxpayers⁶ will have to shoulder the cost of bailing⁷ out Wall Street. Paulson responded. "The taxpayer⁵ is already on the hook. The taxpayer already is gonna suffer the consequences if things don't work the way they should work. And so the best protection for the taxpayer and first protection for the taxpayer is to have this work." Vice³ President Cheney meanwhile met behind closed doors with House Republicans. Many of them say they can't support the bailout package. Brian Naylor, NPR News, the Capitol.

 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a speech at the UN today said Teheran will resist and defend its right to nuclear power. Speaking through an interpreter, the Iranian leader also said that while the Iranian nation is for dialogue, it has not accepted what he termed illegal demands. "A few bullying⁸ powers have sought to put hurdles⁹ in the way of the peaceful nuclear activities of the Iranian nation by exerting political and economical pressures against Iran." Ahmadinejad's remarks follow comments earlier today from President Bush when his eighth and final address to the UN called for a continued fight against international terrorism.

Georgia inmate¹⁰ Troy Davis received a stay of execution less than two hours before he was scheduled to die this evening by lethal¹¹ injection. NPR's Kathy Lohr reports.

After the Georgia Supreme¹² Court denied Troy Davis' request for a new trial, the US Supreme Court has stepped in with a last-minute stay of execution. Seven witnesses recanted their testimony¹³ in this case. There is no weapon or other evidence linking Davis to the 1989 murder of a Savannah police officer. Defense¹⁴ attorneys have been trying to get a court to hear the new evidence. And civil rights groups have been holding protest to call attention to the case. Amnesty International has collected more than 200,000 signatures on a petition calling for a new hearing. And thousands have written letters to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, asking the Board to grant clemency¹⁵. But earlier this month the Board said clemency was not warranted. Now the US Supreme Court is scheduled to discuss the case next week. Kathy Lohr, NPR News, Atlanta.

Through his investment arm Berkshire Hathaway, Billionaire Warren Buffett has announced plans to put a minimum of five billion dollars into Goldman Sachs. Under terms of a deal announced after the stock market had closed today, Berkshire will buy five billion dollars worth of so-called perpetual preferred stock that carries a 10% dividend¹⁶. The company will also receive warrants to buy five billion worth of common shares. Stock futures¹⁷ soared. However, the Dow closed down today 161 points.

This is NPR.

Senate lawmakers have passed legislation that would put in place a one-year patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax, a move that potentially will save more than 20 million taxpayers from falling under the tax. On a 93-2 vote, lawmakers included the AMT fix as part of a broader tax package. It will also include tax breaks for those investing in and reusing renewable energy. It renews dozens of short-term tax breaks that businesses and families have come to count on including tax relief for college tuition costs.

An Alabama's largest county is teetering on the edge of what could become the biggest municipal bankruptcy¹⁸ in American history. A former county official pleaded guilty today to obstruction¹⁹ of justice charges related to that case. From member station WBHM in Birmingham, Andrew Yeager reports.

In the mid-90s, Jefferson County, Alabama issued more than three billion dollars in bonds to upgrade its sewer²⁰ system. But about six years ago, the county swapped²¹ those bonds for variable and auction²² rate securities. When the county's bond rating dropped earlier this year, payments skyrocketed, forcing the county to possible bankruptcy. Mary Buckelew was a county commissioner²³ at the time those complex bond transactions were arranged. Now she's pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for lying to a grand jury about gifts she received from an investment banker. Federal prosecutors²⁴ say the banker bought her 4,000 dollars worth of items, including shoes, a purse and spa treatment which were intended to influence her decisions on the bond deals. Buckelew has agreed to work with prosecutors in the ongoing²⁵ corruption²⁶ probe. For NPR News. I'm Andrew Yeager in Birmingham.

Crude oil prices, after posting their biggest one day jump on record, eased a bit today. The near month contract for benchmark crude was down $2.76 a barrel to $106.61.

1 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。

2 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

3 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。

4 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。

5 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

6 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

7 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

8 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

10 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

11 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

14 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。

15 clemency   

n.温和，仁慈，宽厚

参考例句：

• The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题，将由国王决定。
• They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。

16 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

17 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。

18 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

19 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

20 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。

21 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

22 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

23 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

24 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

25 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

26 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。