NPR 2009-02-26

Details of the Obama administration's budget blueprint¹ scheduled to be released tomorrow are beginning to trickle² out. Among other things, the plan is expected to set a goal of cutting the blooming budget deficit³ in half by the end of the president's first term. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says unlike past spending plans, it will also try to clearly outline the price tag of the US war in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I think you'll see in the president's budget that he considers honest and transparent⁴, while it may not be a perfect accounting⁵ of what one might ultimately find, I think you'll find an effort, a good effort, to denote in that budget that there will be costs." Budget package is also expected to include a tax hike for the wealthiest Americans, families earning more than $250, 000 a year, in part by letting some of the tax cuts put in place under the Bush administration expire.

The Obama administration confirmed today that it's ready to begin a so-called "stress test" to gauge⁶ the health of the nation's banks and whether they have sufficient capital to withstand additional shocks to the economy. While speaking on Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke seemed to throw cold water on the idea of nationalizing banks. When asked about that, Bernanke said nationalization generally involves seizing banks and zeroing out shareholders⁷, and he said we don't plan on anything like that.

The Justice Department says it has dealt a crushing blow to one of the biggest drug cartels in Mexico. NPR's Michele Kelemen has more.

Attorney General Eric Holder⁸ says more than 750 people have been rounded up in the US and Mexico in a crackdown on the Sinaloa drug cartel. He said authorities confiscated⁹ an enormous amount of weapons and drugs including 12,000 kilos of cocaine¹⁰. "Mexican government has been courageous¹¹ during the last two years to directly confront the drug trafficking cartels and I stand before you today to say that we're ready and willing to continue the fight." Holder called the battle against drug cartels a US national security concern. The Sinaloa cartel, he added, had infiltrated¹² many communities across the US. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

The former head of Qwest Communications Joe Nacchio is again facing prison time after an appeals court upheld his insider trading conviction. NPR's Jeff Brady reports.

The full 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has reaffirmed a 2007 jury conviction that found Nacchio guilty of 19 counts of insider trading. Prosecutors¹³ said he sold 52 million dollars of Qwest stock all the while knowing the company was in big trouble. Qwest has since recovered, though its share price has remained in the low single digits¹⁴. Nacchio is expected to appeal to the Supreme¹⁵ Court. He faces six years in prison and more than 70 million dollars in fines and forfeited¹⁶ gains. Jeff Brady, NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 80 points today. The NASDAQ was down 16 points.

This is NPR.

At least nine people were killed today when a Turkish Airlines jet crashed into a muddy field while landing at Amsterdam's main airport. Officials say the Boeing 737-800 was en route from Istanbul and it broke into three pieces after hitting the ground just short of the runway. Among those killed in the crash were the plane's two pilots and an apprentice¹⁷ pilot. Investigators¹⁸ have found the plane's data recorders and begin trying to figure out what went wrong. At least 50 others were injured in the crash. The plane which was reportedly (be) carrying a total of 135 people was relatively¹⁹ new.

An international tribunal has convicted three former rebel commanders in Sierra Leone of multiple war crimes for their role in the 11-year-old civil conflict in the West African nation. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports.

The verdict was the third collective judgment²⁰ handed down by the UN-sponsored Special Court for Sierra Leone, which was set up to try those accused of the most serious crimes against humanity in a war that's killed 50, 000 people. The court heard how the rebel leaders committed atrocities²¹, including the killing²², rape²³, and mutilation of civilians²⁴. They were also found guilty of forced marriage, namely making sex slaves of young girls. The judges concluded that the rebel chiefs significantly contributed to a joint²⁵ criminal enterprise with former Liberian President Charles Taylor. He stands accused of using the illicit²⁶ trade of Sierra Leone's so-called "blood diamonds" to fuel the war effort on both sides of the border. Taylor is also on trial, indicted²⁷ for masterminding the conflict in Sierra Leone. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Harare.

1 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

2 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

5 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

6 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

7 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

8 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

9 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

10 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

11 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

12 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

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 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

16 forfeited   

（因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Because he broke the rules, he forfeited his winnings. 他犯规，所以丧失了奖金。
• He has forfeited the right to be the leader of this nation. 他丧失了作为这个国家领导的权利。

17 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

18 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》

19 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

20 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

21 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 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。

23 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

24 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

25 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

26 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

27 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。