NPR 2009-05-19

The nation's top military officer says his goal is to turn things around in Afghanistan within the next 12 to 24 months, though Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint¹ Chiefs of Staff, says he expects violence will increase in the short term. NPR's Mary Louis Kelly has more.

Admiral Mullen says violence is already up this year that the Taliban is much better organized than in the past. But speaking at the Brooklyn Institution in Washington, Mullen said it’s "absolutely critical" that elections slated² for this August go well. And he said the 10,000 US marines now headed to southern Afghanistan will have a big impact on security. "I'm hopeful that we can in the next 12 to 24 months really stem the trends which have been going very badly in Afghanistan the last three years. It is going to be a more violent year in 2009 and 2010." That's because more troops are joining the fight and because of where in Afghanistan they're headed. Mullen says an awful lot of the bad guys are in the south. Mary Louise Kelly, NPR News, Washington.

Pakistan today denied US assertions the country is expanding its nuclear arsenal³. At a Congressional hearing last week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said there is evidence that Pakistan is adding to its nuclear weapon system. However Pakistan's Information Minister today said the country does not need to expand its current arsenal and will maintain what he calls "a minimum nuclear deterrence⁴". Growing insurgency⁵ in Pakistan tied to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban has raised fear the militants⁶ might get a hold of Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

North Carolina-based home improvement retailer⁷ Lowe's beat analysts⁸' expectations in its latest earnings⁹ reports. From member station WFAE in Charlotte, Scott Graf reports.

For the three-month period that ended on May 1st, Lowe's says it earned 476 million dollars on sales that totaled $11.8 billion. Sales were down 1. 5%, earnings were off 22%. Per share earnings were 32 cents, down from 41 a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson－Reuters had predicted profits of 25 cents a share. The company says sales of big ticket items remain slow as consumers take a wait-and-see attitude with the economy. But officials add they have seen consumer confidence improved in recent weeks. Lowe's says when spring arrived, its sales were strengthened by smaller outdoor projects. Lowe's is the second largest home improvement retailer in the US behind Home Depot¹⁰. That company is scheduled to report earnings tomorrow. For NPR News, I am Scott Graf in Charlotte.

Treasury¹¹ Secretary Timothy Geithner said today he thinks the US economy is showing signs of stabilizing¹². The Treasury Secretary made his remarks at a lunch hosted by Newsweek magazine. He said even with some signs the economy is righting itself, however, unemployment would likely continue to rise as the country recovers from recession.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 235 points to close at 8,504.

 

This is NPR.

Heavy equipment maker¹³ Caterpillar¹⁴ is announcing more reductions. The bulldozer and earthmover company said it plans to cut the hours of almost a thousand of its workers at a plant in Lafayette, Indiana by half. It's the second major work reduction of the plant this month as the company deals with slowing sales. Officials with Caterpillar say the entire plant will not close, but the company needs to reduce worker hours to remain competitive in the global market place.

Toyota unveiled a new generation of its Prius gasoline-electric hybrid¹⁵ car in Japan today. Toyota hopes the new model will give it an edge in its competition with rival automaker Honda. NPR Anthony Kuhn reports from Beijing.

The new Prius was introduced to reporters by none other than executive vice¹⁶ president Akio Toyota, who next month will take the helm of the company his grandfather founded. Toyota said that his company had received more than 80,000 pre-orders in Japan and that Toyota aims to sell 10, 000 units a month of the third generation Prius. The company says the new model has been 90% redesigned. It now boasts a solar powered ventilation system and mileage¹⁷ has been upped to 50 miles per gallon. Toyota is selling the new Prius for 3,000 dollars less than the previous generation in order to better compete with Honda's popular Hybrid the Insight. The new Prius goes on sale in North America later this month. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Beijing.

US postal¹⁸ service continues to face tough times. The Post Office has already cut 25, 000 jobs this year as it works to deal with the huge pool of red ink. Thousands of carrier routes have also been eliminated however it still faces roughly 6.5-billion-dollar deficits¹⁹ this year. Stamps recently went up to 44 cents for first-class stamp.

I am Jack²⁰ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

3 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

4 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

5 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

10 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

11 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。

12 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

13 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。

14 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

15 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

16 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

17 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？

18 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

19 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

20 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。