NPR 2008-09-28

Negotiators on Capitol Hill say they're making progress toward agreement on a plan to rescue the financial system, a plan that includes the key elements proposed by Treasury¹ Secretary Henry Paulson. But House Republicans, including Eric Cantor of Virginia, say they do not like the idea of spending taxpayer² dollars on private industry. "It's important that we move. But it's important that we move with discretion³. I think the American people send us here to protect their tax money." And GOP Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania says public reaction to the proposal has been largely negative. "It is a gigantic figure, and the public response understandably is a why." But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the 700-billion-dollar deal could be completed as soon as tonight.

The Senate has passed a huge stopgap spending bill to keep the government operating until the next president takes office. The House approved the bill last week. NPR's Libby Lewis has details.

Lawmakers took up the spending bill on an emergency basis because the government's budget year ends on Tuesday. The bill includes a record budget for the Pentagon, 488 billion dollars. That's a 6% increase. In addition, the bill includes 70 billion dollars for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also includes about 23 billion dollars for victims of flooding in the Midwest and the recent hurricanes across the Gulf⁵ Coast. As part of the bill, senators agreed to lift a 26-year-old ban on drilling for oil off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. Libby Lewis, NPR News, Washington.

A car bomb exploded in Damascus near the Syrian capital's airport road today, killing⁶ 17 people and injuring dozens more. Dale Gavlak has the story.

Syria's state-run TV said a car packed with more than 400 pounds of explosives blew up on Mahlak Street, a road near the city's international airport. It said police have sealed off the area, blocking motorists and pedestrians⁷ from approaching as anti-terror units investigate the incident. Bombings of this kind are rare in Syria. But it is so far among the biggest to have taken place in the tightly-controlled country. Over the past years, Syria has also witnessed two prominent political assassinations⁸. For NPR News, I'm Dale Gavlak in Amman.

Academy Award-winning actor Paul Newman has died of cancer at his farm house in Westport, Connecticut. He was 83 years old. In a career that spanned more than half a century, Newman appeared in over 65 movies including "Cool Hand Luke".

"I laughed out loud once, they turned me in. But I got it here. Oh, come on, stop beating it, get out there yourself, stop feeding off me."

Newman is survived by his wife of fifty years actress Joanne Woodward, five children and two grandsons.

This is NPR News from Washington.

The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution that reiterates⁹ the Council's demand that Iran halt its uranium enrichment activity. But at the insistence¹⁰ of Russia, the measure includes none of the new sanctions the US had advocated. The resolution calls on Iran to comply fully¹¹ and without delay with previous UN Security Council resolutions concerning Iran's nuclear program.

Senator Ted⁴ Kennedy's doctors say a medication change as part of his ongoing¹² cancer treatment caused him to suffer a mild seizure¹³ yesterday. From member station WBUR in Boston, Shannon Mullen reports.

This was Kennedy's third reported seizure in five months. He's at home on Cape¹⁴ Cod¹⁵ today after a brief trip to the hospital yesterday. A statement from his office said Kennedy was looking forward to watching last night's presidential debate. GOP candidate John McCain mentioned Kennedy's scare and his support for the Lion of the Senate at the start of the debate. Kennedy has cancer and underwent brain surgery to remove a malignant¹⁶ tumor¹⁷ last spring. He has since had six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. And he's been making a gradual transition back to his public life including surprise trips to Washington in July to vote on a Medicare bill, and to the Democratic National Convention in August to speak in support of Barack Obama. Earlier this month, Kennedy announced plans to return to the Senate in January. For NPR News I'm Shannon Mullen in Boston.

The House has voted to approve an agreement that would allow the United States to provide nuclear materials to India. The Senate will take up the pact¹⁸ in the coming week. The measure was supported by the Bush administration. But critics argue that the deal would undermine efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

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 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。

3 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

4 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

9 reiterates   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Chinese government reiterates that the question of Taiwan is China's internal affair. 中国政府重申，台湾问题是中国的内政。 来自汉英非文学 - 汉英文件
• Wang Jianzhou reiterates a fact and a viewpoint in Davos. 王建宙在达沃斯重申一个事实和一个观点。

10 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 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。

13 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

14 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。

15 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。

16 malignant   

adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。
• He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。

17 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

18 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。