NPR 2009-05-06

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

 Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke expects the US downturn will end later this year with the economy beginning to grow again. Those comments came today in testimony² before Congress. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.

 Bernanke sounded cautiously optimistic in testimony before the Joint³ Economic Committee, economic contraction⁴ seems to be slowing, consumers are spending more and the all-important housing market in decline for three years may be bottoming. But commercial real estate is still in trouble, business spending is still depressed⁵ and Bernanke said the economic turnaround will not happen quickly.

 We expect that recovery will only gradually gain momentum⁶ and that economic slack will diminish slowly. In particular businesses are likely to be cautious about hiring, implying that the unemployment rate could remain high for a time even after economic growth resumes.

 The economic recovery can be sustained, Bernanke said, only if the financial system is stabilized⁷. Banks, he said, remain under considerable stress and consumer credit remains⁸ tight. Tom Gjelten NPR News, Washington.

 With signs the swine flu virus outbreak in the US is turning out to be milder than first thought, government health officials are now backing off their earlier calls to shut down schools for two weeks if suspected cases surface. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today even though hundreds of schools have been closed, government is now changing that advice instead simply urging parents to keep their sick children home. The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the US is now over 400. Meanwhile the number of deaths in the US attributed to this swine flu has risen to two. Texas Health officials have confirmed a woman who had underlying⁹ health concerns died this week after contracting the virus.

 Advocates of a health care system totally financed by the government said they are being left out of the health care debate in Washington. NPR's Julie Rovner has more.

 The event was actually a round-table organized by the Senate Finance Committee to discuss ways to cover the uninsured. But representatives of groups that support a single-payer health care system rose from the audience to confront panel chairman Max Baucus directly. This was Russel Mokhiber of single-payer action.

 "Let me get this straight here, there are 50 seats at the table and not one for single payer? Why is that? "

 Baucus, however, who said repeatedly that single payer can't pass his committee or the Congress, ignored the protest when another protestor said she needed a seat, he replied: “We want police.”

 The Capitol police say eight people were arrested and charged with unlawful conduct. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

 Nation's service sector¹⁰ continued to show signs of contraction in April. That's according to the Institute for Supply Management of purchasing managers group. According to the group its service sector index was at 43. 7 in April, a bit better than March's reading but still showing the service sector that is shrinking.

 On Wall Street today the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16 points to close at 8410; the NASDAQ was down 9 points today.

 This is NPR.

 Two financial industry workers have been charged with insider trading by the government's major Wall Street watchdog group. Securities and Exchange Commission today accused a securities salesman at Deutsche Bank of tipping off a former portfolio¹¹ manager in 2006 by possible changes in terms of a bond that being issued by a Dutch publishing firm. According to the SEC, the tipped-off portfolio manager who was employed at the time by Millennium¹² Partners to make 1.2 million dollars, first of its kind case dealt with what are known as "credit default swaps¹³".

 Comedian and celebrity¹⁴ chef Dom DeLuise has died. The bearded, rotund actor did just about everything, plays on and off Broadway, TV and movies, even opera. NPR's Elizabeth Blair has this appreciation¹⁵.

 Dom DeLuise was a screwball comic who starred in a lot of screwball comedies. He worked with Mel Brooks¹⁶ in movies like "Blazing Saddles" and "Robin¹⁷ hood¹⁸: Men in Tights". And he played Burt Reynolds sidekick in "Cannonball Run". "I'm really sorry, I'm late. But one of my hamsters had an anxiety attack, I couldn’t leave him. "

 Raised in Brooklyn, the son of Italian immigrants, Dom DeLuise attended Manhattan's High School for the Performing Arts and then Tufts University. With his exaggerated ethnic¹⁹ accent, his heft and encyclopedia²⁰ of hilarious²¹ expressions, Dom DeLuise became a household name in the 1960s and 70s. He also wrote children's books and popular cookbooks. He often joked about his battles with his weight, saying things like "I made friends with the enemy - celery." Dom Deluise died in Los Angeles, he was 75. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

 Crude oil futures²² fell 63 cents a barrel today, ending the session at $53. 84 a barrel in New York.

 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 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 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。

4 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

5 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 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。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

12 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

13 swaps   

交换( swap的名词复数 )； 交换物，被掉换者

参考例句：

• He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。

14 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

15 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

16 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

18 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

19 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

20 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

21 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

22 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。