NPR 2009-10-02

President Obama is calling today’s talks between US officials and Iranian diplomats¹ concerning the country’s disputed nuclear program “a constructive² beginning”, though the president also said Iran must match its promises of cooperation with deeds. And Mr. Obama said “Talk is no substitute for action.” as he called on the country to allow international inspectors³ to look at a recently revealed nuclear plant. “If Iran does not take steps in the near future to live up to its obligations, then the United States will not continue to negotiate indefinitely. And we are prepared to move towards increased pressure.” President’s remarks follow a meeting in Switzerland involving Iran and six world powers. Mr. Obama also called on Iran’s leaders to take steps to show the country’s nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and not designed to pursue the development of nuclear weapons.

 The death toll⁴ from an earthquake in Sumatra surged today as rescuers searched the rubble⁵ of a densely⁶ populated city. United Nations puts the number of fatalities⁷ there more than 1, 100 as Indonesia intensifies⁸ aid operations. Chard Bushard reports from Jakarta.

 Indonesian officials fear hundreds of people may still be trapped in a wreckage⁹ of toppled hotels, schools and a shopping plaza¹⁰ more than a day after the quake decimated the regional capital of Padang. Relief operations kicked into gear as the country’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived from the G20 summit in the US to oversee¹¹ the response. Tens of thousands of tents and blankets were flown into the region, but survivors¹² reported widespread food and fuel shortages as they faced another night without electricity. Makeshift hospitals stopped performing critical operations on patients due to a lack of power for key medical equipment. The mayor of Padang begged for help from outside in a radio broadcast. The country approved 26 million dollars to pay for initial relief effort. For NPR News, I’m Chard Bushard in Jakarta.

 Facing Congressional unease over proposals to make the Federal Reserve a super-regulator for the financial system, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke today offered a more nuance¹³ to approach on Capitol Hill. NPR’s John Ydstie reports.

 The Obama administration has proposed that the Fed take a central role in spotting and eliminating threats to the financial system along with an advisory¹⁴ council of regulators chaired by the Treasury¹⁵. Opponents say the Fed shouldn’t get more powers since it failed to head off the current crisis. Before the House Financial Services Committee, Bernanke sought to defuse opposition¹⁶ by describing a system of shared responsibility. “The Treasury ought to be a share of the council and the council ought to have the overarching responsibility, but underneath¹⁷ the council, you still need agencies to perform specific task.” The Fed’s task would be to regulate all kinds of systemically important institutions. It already regulates large bank-holding companies. Congress hopes to pass the financial reform bill by the end of the year. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

 On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 200 points today. The NASDAQ lost 64 points.

 This is NPR.

Drugstore chain CVS says it plans to offer vouchers¹⁸ for free flu shots to as many as 100, 000 unemployed¹⁹ people beginning next week. CVS announced today it will hand out the vouches²⁰ which can be redeemed²¹ at CVS pharmacies²² that are running flu shot clinics at one-stop career centers sponsored by the US Labor²³ Department. CVS says it plans to hand out the vouchers for the free flu shots at the One-Stop Career Centers located in 16 states, including California, Georgia, Michigan, and Washington D.C.

Americans say they are less supportive of abortion²⁴ than they used to be and the issue is less important than in previous years. That’s according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life. The poll suggests the number of people opposing abortion is nearly as many as those in favor of it, NPR’s Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports.

Support for abortion has been dropping, but until this year, a comfortable majority supported abortion in most or all cases. But when Pew researchers polled more than 4, 000 people in August, they found that 45% of Americans now wanna make abortion illegal while 47% want to keep it legal. The shift appears across most demographic groups, but is particularly pronounced among non-Hispanic Catholics who attend Mass weekly and Democratic men. What’s happened, pollsters believe, is that liberals have become less concerned about restrictions²⁵ on abortion since the election of Barack Obama, a pro-choice president. The conservatives have been galvanized, saying they worry that President Obama will change laws to make abortions²⁶ easier to obtain. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR News.

Crude oil futures²⁷ prices rose today. Oil was up 21 cents a barrel to close at $70.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

3 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

7 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

10 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

11 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

12 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

13 nuance   

n.(意义、意见、颜色)细微差别

参考例句：

• These users will easily learn each nuance of the applications they use.这些用户会很快了解他们所使用程序的每一细微差别。
• I wish I hadn't become so conscious of every little nuance.我希望我不要变得这样去思索一切琐碎之事。

14 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

15 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。

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

17 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

18 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

19 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

20 vouches   

v.保证( vouch的第三人称单数 )；担保；确定；确定地说

参考例句：

• Who vouches for your good conduct?" 谁是你的保人？” 来自子夜部分
• This paper vouches for the authenticity of the painting. 这份文件担保这幅画的可信赖姓。 来自互联网

21 redeemed   

adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She has redeemed her pawned jewellery. 她赎回了当掉的珠宝。
• He redeemed his watch from the pawnbroker's. 他从当铺赎回手表。

22 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

23 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

24 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

25 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

26 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

27 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。