NPR 2009-03-15

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.

Finance officials from the world's top industrialized nations are pledging to take whatever actions are necessary to revive global economic growth and to restore the flow of credit. They've also agreed to take steps to help developing nations. NPR's Carol Van Dam has more.

The group of 20 leading economies said all fiscal¹ and monetary² policies will be used to attack the global economic downturn. The International Monetary Fund estimates only Saudi Arabia, Australia, China, Spain and the U.S. will introduce budgets that will boost their gross domestic product this year. U.S. Treasury³ Secretary Timothy Geithner says the U.S. economy will bounce back when the rest of the world's largest economies improve. "As President Obama said this week, a healthy U.S. economy requires a healthy and strong global economy. Our recovery will be stronger if the world is stronger." The World Bank warned this week the global economy will shrink this year for the first time since World War II and the U.S. said this week its trade deficit⁴ fell in January to the lowest level in six years. This weekend's meetings are taking place ahead of a full G20 summit with heads of states on April 2nd. Carol Van Dam, NPR News, Washington.

President Obama says the Chinese government and other foreign investors⁵ should have absolute confidence in the soundness of investments in the United States. The comment was a reference to concern expressed by China's prime minister about that country's holdings in U.S. government debt securities. Mr. Obama made his remarks after welcoming a visiting Latin American head of state to the White House as NPR's Allison Keyes reports.

As Mr. Obama took questions after meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the two leaders sparked what seemed to be nervous laughter from onlookers⁶ as the Latin leader explained through an interpreter why he's been praying for the U.S. president. "With just 40 days in the office, to suffer and to face such a terrible crisis the U.S. is facing today, I don't want to be in his position." "I tell you what, er, you sound like you've been talking to my wife." But President Obama turned serious during reporters' questions, stressing that America has the most dynamic economy in the world. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

The president says the Food and Drug Administration was understaffed and underfunded during the Bush administration, creating what he called "a hazard to public health" that he said was unacceptable. Mr. Obama today announced the formation of a Food Safety Working Group. "We're also strengthening our food safety system and modernizing⁷ our labs with a billion dollar investment, a portion of which will go towards significantly increasing the number of food inspectors⁸, helping⁹ ensure that the FDA has the staff and support they need to protect the food we eat."

Mr. Obama in his weekly address today announced that he will nominate former New York City Health Commissioner¹⁰ Margaret Hamburg to head the Food and Drug Administration. She is a bio-terrorism expert who served as an assistant health secretary during the Clinton administration.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Searchers in Canada have found what they believe is the wreckage¹¹ of a helicopter that crashed in the frigid¹² waters of the North Atlantic this week. Authorities say their main goal now is to recover the bodies of any of the remaining 16 victims that might be inside. One body was already recovered and one survivor¹³ rescued shortly after the crash. The aircraft was carrying workers to offshore¹⁴ oil platforms when it went down.

A new wine war is brewing¹⁵ in the south of France, this time not over lost subsidies¹⁶ but over proposed new European Union rules that would relax the techniques for making rosé wine. Frank Browning reports from Paris.

Real rosé is as old a wine as the Sonnet¹⁷ fields of Provence, where it has been historically produced. But the new market-driven rules proposed by the European Commission would permit any winemakers to produce the pink wine simply by mixing reds and whites. "A disastrous¹⁸ calumny¹⁹!" screamed the winemakers of Provence who say that such sloppy²⁰ tactic²¹ would destroy the growing taste for real rosé, which is made exclusively from red grapes that are separated from their skins only a few hours after they have been crushed; normal red wine rests with the crushed skins for three days or more. The European Commission says opening the market to any red-white blend would meet growing global demand for rosé, especially in China. But the Provençals say it would ruin the bright, sometimes ritzy, quality of the wine and destroy its hard-won reputation. For NPR News, I'm Frank Browning in Paris.

Good weather is forecast for tomorrow's scheduled launch of the space shuttle Discovery. NASA is still hoping that the repairs made will solve the hydrogen gas leak that force postponement²² of a launch attempt earlier this week.

1 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

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 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。

5 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

6 onlookers   

n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash. 在撞车地点聚集了一大群围观者。
• The onlookers stood at a respectful distance. 旁观者站在一定的距离之外，以示尊敬。

7 modernizing   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的现在分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• Modernizing a business to increase its profitability and competitiveness is a complicated affair. 使企业现代化，从而达到增加利润，增强竞争力的目的，是一件复杂的事情。
• The young engineer had a large share in modernizing the factory. 这位年轻工程师在工厂现代化的过程中尽了很大的“力”。

8 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》

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

11 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。

12 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

13 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

14 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

15 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

16 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 sonnet   

n.十四行诗

参考例句：

• The composer set a sonnet to music.作曲家为一首十四行诗谱了曲。
• He wrote a sonnet to his beloved.他写了一首十四行诗，献给他心爱的人。

18 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

19 calumny   

n.诽谤，污蔑，中伤

参考例句：

• Calumny is answered best with silence.沉默可以止谤。
• Calumny require no proof.诽谤无需证据。

20 sloppy   

adj.邋遢的，不整洁的

参考例句：

• If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎，我话说在头里，可要给你打不及格了。
• Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。

21 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

22 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。