NPR 2009-03-26

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

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is beginning a two-day visit to Mexico where officials are welcoming a new Obama administration plan to combat drug trafficking across the border, she's been talking with leaders there. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports from Mexico City.

Mexico's Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa says the new program by the US to combat the Mexican drug cartels marks a new era of cooperation between the two countries. Obama administration officials have pledged to send more officers and technology to the border to impede² the flow of drugs into the US and to search for weapons and money heading back into Mexico. The plan has been widely praised here by government officials who say the US appears to be acknowledging its role in the drug war that's dominating Mexico. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets later today with President Felipe Calderon. In addition to the drug war, there are host of other issues on their agenda including immigration, trade and the environment. Clinton will spend the night in the capital before heading Thursday to the northern city of Monterrey. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Mexico City.

Treasury³ Secretary Timothy Geithner traveled to New York today where he reiterated⁴ the fact the administration wants Congress to move quickly to give the government power to seize non-bank financial institutions. Treasury Secretary also said he expects the dollar to remain the world's main currency. "I think the dollar remains⁵ the world's dominant⁶ reserve currency. I think that’s likely to continue for a long period of time. And as a country, we will do what's necessary to make sure we are sustaining confidence in our financial markets and in, and in the productive capacity of this economy and our long-term fundamentals." At one point Geithner sank the dollar down after he said he would be open to a proposal from China to increase the use of IMF’s Special Drawing Rights. Some thought that is a move away from dollar dominance so he clarified his comments.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told a Senate Committee today the bureau's resources are under strain as it tries to combat terrorism as also scramble⁷ to keep up with thousands of investigations⁸ related to the financial crisis. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston has more.

The director said that mortgage fraud cases had more than doubled than in the past three years and the bureau was now running more than 500 corporate⁹ fraud investigations. His concern is that is just the beginning. He worries about the next shoe to drop, assurgent fraud cases related to the government's multi-trillion-dollar bailout program. "The unprecedented¹⁰ level of financial resources committed by the federal government to combat the economic downturn lead to an inevitable¹¹ increase in economic crime and public corruption¹² cases." During the savings¹³ and loan crisis, the FBI had more than a thousand agents working those cases. That's about twice the number they have on hand today to deal with the current financial crisis. Dina Temple-Raston NPR News.

Computer maker¹⁴ IBM is expected to cut as many as 5,000 jobs. That’s according to reports by the Wall Street Journal which also say the company is shifting at least some of the work being done by its global services unit to India.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 89 points. The NASDAQ was up 12 points.

This is NPR.

After eight days linked to the International Space Station, the shuttle Discovery and a seven-member crew is headed back to earth. Following the successful installation last week of the final set of solar wings for the station, the shuttle's on track for a Saturday landing. The wings attached by the space-walking astronauts are expected to generate extra electrical power for the station and also increase the amount of research that can be done in various onboard labs. Russian’s Soyuz rocket launches tomorrow with two new station crew members as well as a billionaire space tourist along for the ride.

Historian John Hope Franklin died today at the age of 94. He was considered the preeminent¹⁵ authority in African American history. North Carolina Public Radio's Leoneda Inge reports.

John Hope Franklin is probably best known for his book "From Slavery to Freedom". It was first published in 1947 and is now in its 8th edition. In 2005, the statuesque Franklin educated and entertained friends at his 90th birthday celebration at Duke University where there's a synonym¹⁶ for him.

“When I was eight years old, um, people asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up. And I always replied that I wanted to be the first Negro president of the United States.” Franklin would later endorse¹⁷ President Barack Obama during his run. Franklin was a graduate of Fisk University and received his PhD from Harvard. In 1995, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For NPR News, I'm Leoneda Inge in Durham, North Carolina.

Vermont's governor is threatening to veto a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. Governor Jim Douglas said today if such a bill makes it through the legislature, he won't sign it. A bill has already cleared the state Senate that will replace the state's civil union's law with one that allows gay and lesbian couples to marry.

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 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

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 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

5 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。

6 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

7 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

8 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

11 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

12 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

13 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

14 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。

15 preeminent   

adj.卓越的，杰出的

参考例句：

• Washington was recognized as the preeminent spokesman of American Negroes by 1895. 到1895年,华盛顿被公认为美国黑人的卓越代言人。
• He is preeminent because his articles are well written. 他的文章写得很漂亮,卓尔不群。

16 synonym   

n.同义词，换喻词

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• The term 'industrial democracy' is often used as a synonym for worker participation. “工业民主”这个词常被用作“工人参与”的同义词。

17 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。