NPR 2009-04-01

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

World leaders including President Obama have converged² on London for the G-20 meeting scheduled for this Thursday. It marks the first official foreign tour for the president since taking office. Even as leaders were gathering³, however, the US was acknowledging that other countries are not necessarily going to go along with the US-style stimulus⁴ package. The president meets tomorrow with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and with Queen Elizabeth.

Congress has passed legislation that triples the number of slots in the AmeriCorps Service Program and funds more volunteer opportunities for Americans of all ages. NPR's Audie Cornish reports.

The National Service Bill will fund summer programs for teens, fellowship programs for retirees and more short-term Peace Corps⁵ positions. It also creates specialized⁶ service programs focused on healthcare, education, energy efficiency and service to veterans. California Democrat⁷ George Miller⁸ says the bill could not come at a better time. "Families are losing their income, our public infrastructure⁹ is crumbling¹⁰ and communities are losing revenues and vital services. Our public needs are growing while our resources for meeting them are disappearing. This bill will help meet some of those very urgent needs." President Barack Obama called for passage of the service legislation in his first speech to Congress and it heads next to his desk. Audie Cornish, NPR News, the Capitol.

Testifying today before a Senate committee, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius said if she is confirmed as the country's next Health and Human Services Secretary, healthcare reform will be "her mission". The governor also told lawmakers inaction in terms of healthcare reform is not an option. Calling the status quo unacceptable, Sebelius said the high healthcare cost for the families are a drag on the economy.

Ford¹¹ and General Motors have both launched plans to cover the monthly payments of customers who lose their jobs after they purchase a car. Jerome Vaughn of Member Station, WDET has more.

Ford announced that it will make car payments for customers who lose their jobs for a period of up to a year. The automaker says the plan will provide up to 700 dollars per month. Later in the day, General Motors said it would make payments of up to 500 dollars per month for a period of nine months for customers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Both automakers are following the lead of Korean automaker Hyundai which allows customers to return cars within a year if they become unemployed¹³. The GM and Ford offers are being launched as the auto¹² industry suffers from a dramatic slumping¹⁴ vehicle sales generated by falling consumer confidence and tight credit. GM is in the midst of restructuring effort required by the federal government to receive billions of dollars in bridge loans. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.

The government is warning people not to eat pistachios or any foods containing pistachios. The Food and Drug Administration says California-based Setton Pistachio, the nation's second largest pistachio processor has agreed to voluntarily recall more than 2 millions pounds of roasted nuts. Two people called the FDA complaining of illnesses associated with nuts, though the link has not been confirmed.

On Wall Street, the Dow closed up 86 points today.

This is NPR.

Speaking ahead of the start of this week's G-20 Summit Meeting in London, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on his counterparts to discuss creation of a modern currency system. In a joint¹⁵ news conference with German Chancellor¹⁶ Angela Merkel, the Russian leader said the current system is not ideal. The two will join other leaders from the world's largest industrial nations to discuss the current state of the global economy and what might be done to fix it.

Meanwhile, the world economy will shrink at a much faster pace than predicted just a few months ago. That's according to forecasts from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Anita Elash explains.

The OECD says government stimulus measures will stop the economic crisis from reaching the depth of the Great Depression. But it says the situation will likely get worse before it gets better. It predicts the gross domestic product of its 30-member countries including the US will drop by an average of 4.3% this year before it gradually picks up through next year. The report also forecasts unemployment will reach double digits¹⁷ by next year and peak at 10.5% in the US. The report comes just ahead of the G-20 Summit in London and includes recommendations for policies to ensure recovery. It says countries must come up with a coherent strategy to tackle what it calls the mess in financial markets. For NPR News, I'm Anita Elash in Paris.

Another major daily newspaper has announced it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy¹⁸. The Chicago Sun Times which also owns dozens of suburban¹⁹ papers said the decline in ad revenues as the reason for its filing. With the filing by the Sun, both of Chicago's major dailies are now in Chapter 11. The Tribune Company, parent company of the Chicago Tribune and the LA Times filed for bankruptcy in December.

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 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

9 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

10 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

11 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

12 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

13 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。

14 slumping   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的现在分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Hong Kong's slumping economy also caused a rise in bankruptcy applications. 香港经济低迷，破产申请个案随之上升。
• And as with slumping, over-arching can also be a simple postural habit. 就像弯腰驼背，过度挺直也可能只是一种习惯性姿势。

15 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。

16 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

17 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》

18 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

19 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。