NPR 2009-10-01

President Obama meets for several hours this afternoon with military and diplomatic leaders as part of a reassessment of the US strategy in Afghanistan. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

 It’s a powerful assembly in the situation room as generals, ambassadors, cabinet secretaries and the vice² president weigh in on Afghanistan. President Obama is asking his advisors³ to rethink the assumptions underlying⁴ US strategy there. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says any decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan is several weeks away.

 "And the president is in the process of at doing exactly what he said he would do after the elections, and that is assess where we are. General McCrystal has been there for a couple of months, saw through his assessment¹ on the ground the situation that had deteriorated⁵ more rapidly than people had expected. "

 Last month, suspect election in Afghanistan has forced the US to reevaluate whether it has a reliable partner in the Afghan government. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 Indonesia's health minister is calling the strong magnitude 7.6 earthquake that rocked the island nation today “a high scale disaster.” Officials there are saying the earthquake claimed at least 75 lives while leaving thousands trapped beneath collapsed⁶ buildings.

 Officials in the Samoa islands now say the death toll⁷ there has risen to more than 100 after earthquake-spawned tsunamis⁸ roared ashore⁹ yesterday, flattening¹⁰ buildings and washing cars and people out to sea. New Zealand is sending tents, stretchers, and a temporary morgue to the region. Pentagon Press Secretary Jeff Marvell says the US is offering military bases in California, Hawaii, and Guam. “These are basically staging areas for operations to provide aid and assistance to those in American Samoa.” The quake was centered 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa.

 It was mixed news concerning some key economic indicators¹² today. NPR's Debbie Elliott has more.

 The Commerce Department update on the spring Growth Domestic Product indicates the economy was contracting at a slower-than- expected pace 0.7 percent, compared to a predicted 1.1 percent slide. That was seen as a sign the recession is ending, because it meant businesses and consumers didn't curtail¹³ spending as sharply as expected during the second quarter. But other news today is more somber¹⁴. There was a surprised drop in a key regional economic indicator¹¹, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index. It fell to 46.1 in September, far below an anticipated 52. That suggests a middle-western manufacturing sector¹⁵ that is weaker than analysts¹⁶ thought. Also out today, new figures on home foreclosures from US bank regulators. Foreclosures jumped 16 percent during the second quarter. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 29 points, ending the session at 9,712. The NASDAQ was down a point today.

 This is NPR News.

Penske Automotive is confirming / it has terminated its talks with General Motors about acquiring Saturn¹⁷. In a statement issued today, Bloomfield Michigan based Penske cites concerns directly related to the future supply of vehicles. Penske said an agreement with another manufacturer to continue producing Saturn vehicles after GM stop making them fell through. Penske had agreed in June to take over the Saturn brand and dealerships. The price of the deal was not disclosed. General Motors now says it will shut down the Saturn unit.

A senior US government official says Iran's nuclear program is of great concern. It will be the focus of discussions when the five permanent members of UN Security Council and Germany meet Iranian representatives in Geneva Thursday. More from NPR's Lisa Schlein.

The US and other western powers suspect Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies this. It claims its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes only. The senior government official acknowledges Iran has the right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program. But he notes Teheran's credibility is very low, especially since the discovery of a secret uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom. He says Iran was caught cheating and will have to come clean before it can be considered a reliable partner in these negotiations¹⁸. He urges Iran to open the Qom site for inspection¹⁹ by the International Atomic Energy Agency. For NPR News, I'm Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

According to a new report, Reno Nevada is among the hardest hit areas in terms of the downturn in construction and building related to the recession. Study from the Associated General Contractors²⁰ of America says Reno ranks 337th in the nation of percentage of construction jobs lost.

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 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。

3 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

4 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

5 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

8 tsunamis   

n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our oceans are alive with earthquakes, volcanoes, and more recently, tsunamis. 海中充满着地震、火山，包括最近发生的海啸。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• Please tell me something more about tsunamis! 请您给我讲讲海啸吧！ 来自辞典例句

9 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

10 flattening   

n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词

参考例句：

• Flattening of the right atrial border is also seen in constrictive pericarditis. 右心房缘变平亦见于缩窄性心包炎。
• He busied his fingers with flattening the leaves of the book. 他手指忙着抚平书页。

11 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

12 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

13 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

14 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

15 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

18 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

19 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

20 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》