NPR 2008-09-30

On a day that House lawmakers handed the White House a major defeat ,shooting down the 700-billion-dollar financial rescue plan, Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd remained confident some kind of  bill will pass. The Senate Banking¹ Committee chairman said while it may take more time, he believes the respective sides will come to some kind of accord.

Our hope is that people will think about this over the next day and half. In the next day or so, it's gonna be impossible to act, but we can certainly work. And then our intention is to do that, to listen to people, and then hopefully come back Wednesday and get a different result from the one we had today.”

Dodd said up to some kind of financial rescue plan, it will not be just big banks and financial firms, but small businesses across the nation that will suffer as they are unable to obtain credit. House lawmakers today defeated the bill to help prop² up the nation's financial system by a vote of 228 to 205. Both President Bush and Treasury³ Secretary Henry Paulson expressed disappointment with the vote.

Not surprisingly, reaction on Wall Street was quick in coming. The market once worded the House vote leaked out, went into free fall today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its biggest single day point drop on record. The other major stock market indexes were also sharply lower with some investors⁴ fleeing into the safety of Treasuries⁵. But while the drop was dramatic, Sam Stovall, economist⁶, Standard and Poor's, said there have actually been more difficult days for the markets. "While it might feel like October 19th of 1987, we would actually have to a fallen more than 2, 400 points to equal the 22% one-day decline that we experienced more than 20 years ago.”

Financial markets had widely been anticipating passage of the plan which among other things would permit the Treasury to buy up bad mortgage debt from struggling banks.

On Wall Street, the Dow fell 777 points, a plunge⁷ of nearly 7%. The NASDAQ lost almost 200 points today.

The Justice Department inspector⁸ general has issued a scathing⁹ report on the mass firing of US attorneys two years ago. NPR's Nina Totenberg has more.

The report concludes that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and virtually all of his high command at the Justice Department abdicated¹⁰ their responsibility in the unprecedented¹¹ firing of nine federal prosecutors¹³ for political purposes. The report concludes that Gonzales and others misled Congress and federal investigators¹⁴, but Inspector General Glenn Fine said that without the power to convene¹⁵ the Grand Jury, he could not say whether criminal charges are warranted. Moreover, he said that top White House aides like Karl Rove refused to answer questions and that the White House itself refused to provide key documents. That prompted this response from Democratic senator Sheldon Whitehouse. "There is a cover-up, and it continues." Attorney General Michael Mukasey today appointed a federal prosecutor¹² to continue the investigation¹⁶, but questions remain about whether she will succeed in getting any more information. Nina Totenberg NPR News, Washington.

Crude oil futures¹⁷ fell $10. 52 a barrel today. This is NPR.

NASA has announced that it will postpone¹⁸ its scheduled mission of the space shuttle Atlantis to the Hubble space telescope until next year as due to an unexpected breakdown¹⁹ of the telescope. Atlantis with the crew of seven astronauts was scheduled to lift off in two weeks on a mission to upgrade the telescope. Over on Saturday, Hubble stopped sending science data. Now NASA says it had to regroup and perhaps consider sending up a replacement²⁰ part which could require additional training for the astronauts as on top of almost two years of training they've already undergone to make a series of upgrades the 18-year-old space telescope.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi today hailed the release of 19 people including five Italian tourists who had been kidnapped in Egypt. But Berlusconi advised Italian to stick to safer vacations sponsored at home. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli has more.

Egyptian officials announced that 11 European tourists and eight egyptians were released unharmed, but half of the kidnappers²¹ were killed. Ten days ago, kidnappers had seized five Germans, five Italians, one Romanian and eight Egyptians from a desert safari²² near Egypt's borders with Sudan and Libya and demanded a multi-million-dollar ransom²³. Officials say no ransom was paid. Sources say Egyptian forces ambushed²⁴ and attacked the kidnappers at dawn. The Egyptian Defense²⁵ Minister said half the kidnappers have been liquidated²⁶ without giving further details. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Italian Special Forces took part in the operation. In Rome Prime Minister Berlusconi said there are many beautiful sites in Italy that are perhaps preferable to seeking pass whether there is a high level of risk. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

Again in the reaction to failure of the House financial bailout bill, bailout bill've cleared the House rather, market plunged²⁷ 777 points.

1 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。

2 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

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 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 treasuries   

n.（政府的）财政部( treasury的名词复数 )；国库，金库

参考例句：

• Yields on Treasuries, Bunds and gilts can remain at historically low levels. 美国国债、德国国债和英国国债的收益率仍然可以维持在历史低位。 来自互联网
• Treasuries and gold rose in response but the dollar fell sharply. 接着，国债和黄金的价格上涨，而美元价格则猛跌。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

8 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

9 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 abdicated   

放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 退位，逊位

参考例句：

• He abdicated in favour of his son. 他把王位让给了儿子。
• King Edward Ⅷ abdicated in 1936 to marry a commoner. 国王爱德华八世于1936年退位与一个平民结婚。

11 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

12 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

13 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。

14 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

16 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。

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 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

19 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

20 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

21 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 safari   

n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队

参考例句：

• When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时，喜欢露天生火做饭。
• They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行，搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。

23 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

24 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 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。

26 liquidated   

v.清算( liquidate的过去式和过去分词 )；清除（某人）；清偿；变卖

参考例句：

• All his supporters were expelled, exiled, or liquidated. 他的支持者全都被驱逐、流放或消灭了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• That can be liquidated at market value any time. 那可按市价随时得到偿付。 来自辞典例句

27 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。