NPR 2009-11-24

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Jack¹ Speer.

 

President Obama says the nation’s economy is in good shape for the long term. He pointed² to what he saw as the economy’s core strength such as universities innovation and dynamic workforce³. Meanwhile, there were some better-than-expected housing numbers out today. The real estate industry’s main trade group says sales of previously⁴ owned home shot up a record 10.1% last month. That was their biggest jump in some two and half years. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist⁵ for the National Association of Realtor, says much of the rise came as buyers sought to get in ahead of a federal tax credit that had been set to expire at the end of this month.

 

“The tax credit dollar amount, 8,000 dollars, yet carries a bigger weight in the Midwest, the affordable⁶ region of the country. So we are beginning to see prices actually turned up in the Midwest.”

 

Another big reason sale’s been up is lower mortgage interest rates and attractive home prices. Nationally the median sales price for the average home was 7.1% below a year ago at 171,100 dollars.

 

Iraq’s Parliament has passed a new version of the election law that was vetoed last week. But it’s unclear whether this will allow national elections to proceed as planned in January. NPR’s Corey Flintoff reports from Baghdad.

 

Word from the office of Iraqi Vice⁷ President Tariq Al-Hashimi says he may veto this new version of the law as well, arguing that it still doesn’t give fair representation to Sunni Arabs like himself. The law is essential in setting up national parliamentary elections which were supposed to be held before the end of January. Iraq’s Election Commission has suspended preparations for that vote until the law is clarified so it may not be ready to hold January elections even if the law escapes Hashimi’s veto. General Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, has said that the drawdown of American troops could begin about 60 days after the election is held. It’s still not clear when that election will take place. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Baghdad.

 

Hate crimes based on sexual orientation⁸ and religion rose in 2008. That’s according to the FBI. NPR’s Ari Shapiro reports.

 

Race-based hate crimes have always been the most common and that remains⁹ true in 2008. But crimes based on religion and sexual orientation both increased by about 10% from the previous year. Three quarters of the race-based hate crimes were committed against African-Americans. Two thirds of the religion-based hate crimes were committed against Jews. And 58% of the hate crimes based on sexual orientation were against gay man. This year, Congress passed a new hate crimes law that lets the FBI track crimes based on gender¹⁰ and gender identity. This is an incomplete picture and the FBI discourages year-to-year comparisons. State and local officials report hate crimes to the federal government voluntarily, but many places do not report or they report zero hate crimes which experts in the field say is not accurate. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

 

On Wall Street the Dow rose 132 points.

 

This is NPR.

 

A federal agency has released preliminary results of tests in imported Chinese drywall. The Consumer Products Safety Commission says it found that emissions¹¹ from the toxic¹² drywall corrodes¹³ metal pipes in homes where it’s used. From Miami, NPR’s Greg Allen reports.

 

The federal finding confirms what earlier tests conducted by private firms have already established. The Consumer Products Safety Commission says a study of 51 homes determine that Chinese drywall emits hydrogen sulfide gas, which corrodes air conditioning coils, copper¹⁴ pipes and ground wires in homes where it’s present. Between 2004 and 2007, about a half billion pounds of Chinese drywall was imported and used in the construction of thousands of homes nationwide. Home owners complain that the odors and gas emitted by the drywall cause headaches and sore throat, forcing many to move out of their homes. Members of Congress from Florida and Louisianan pressured the CPSC to investigate. The agency says federal researchers are still looking at whether there may be long-term health and safety issues. The CPSC says it’s also working on developing a low cost test for home owners who suspect they may have toxic drywall. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

 

Speculation¹⁵ that British candy maker¹⁶ Cadbury may be the objective of a bidding battle helped to lift the company’s share price today. So far Kraft Foods is the merger’s major bidder¹⁷ though there are reports of other global confectionary players including US-based Hershey. And Switzerland’s Nestle may also be considering making a play for Cadbury. Craft has bid 16.4 billion dollars in cash and stock for Cadbury.

 

The number of people traveling by air of this Thanksgiving is expected to be down. That’s according to the Air Transport Association. Due to the weak economy the group is forecasting a 4% decline from a year ago in the number of airline passengers.

 

I’m Jack Speer, NPR News, in Washington.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 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。

6 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

7 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。

8 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

11 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

12 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

13 corrodes   

v.使腐蚀，侵蚀( corrode的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Corruption corrodes public confidence in a political system. 腐败可削弱公众对政治制度的信心。
• Iron corrodes unless it is greased or kept clean. 如果不涂油或保持清洁铁便会腐蚀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

15 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

16 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

17 bidder   

n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder.电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。
• The bidder withdrew his bid after submission of his bid.投标者在投标之后撤销了投标书。