NPR 2009-5-28

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

General Motors has taken another step toward bankruptcy², Jerome Vaughn of member station WDET has more.

The automaker's bondholders have rejected a plan to exchange 27 billion dollars of debt for GM stock. The swap⁴ was part of GM's plan to complete a company restructuring by June 1st. The US government ordered that restructuring in return for billions of dollars in federal bridge loans. The deal with the Obama administration called for significant concessions⁵ from bondholders as well as from the United Auto³ Workers union. GM and the UAW reached a tentative agreement to give the union a 20% stake in the company. The automaker also announced plans to eliminate thousands of dealerships and brands such as Pontiac, Hummer, and Saturn⁶. GM's board of directors will meet this week to determine the automaker's next steps. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.

President Obama traveled to Nevada today where he spoke⁷ at Nellis Air Force Base. The President touched on everything, from the need for more solar electric power to job's creation in the current economic downturn. Mr. Obama also gave Las Vegas' tourism a shot in the arm, saying the city is a good place for a quick visit. The President conducted his midday speech between two political fundraisers, one last night for Senate Majority Leader Harry⁸ Reid and another this evening in Los Angeles for the Democratic National Committee. There were around 400 people in the audience, including air force personnel, civilian⁹ workers, and families.

The federal government has announced a one and a half billion dollar stimulus¹⁰ package for the development projects in low-income neighborhoods across the country. Treasury¹¹ Secretary Tim. Geithner made the announcement in Boston today. More from NPR's Chris Arnold.

As part of its stimulus plan, the Obama administration is expanding the so-called New Markets Tax Credit Program. Secretary Geithner.

"The program provides a powerful incentive¹² to investors¹³ to take a chance on communities which have potential." So the money involved is in the form of tax credits for companies that invest in a range of projects in low-income neighborhoods. “The award is applying to investments in at least 33 states across the country, including renewable energy projects, charter schools, healthcare facilities, manufacturing companies, and retail¹⁴ centers. This program works. "

The program was originally started a decade ago, and it's credited with creating an estimated 200,000 construction jobs and 45,000 full-time¹⁵ permanent jobs. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

More unexpected signs of a turnaround in the housing market, while home prices continue their downward slide, a real estate industry trade group says sales rose nearly 3% last month to an annual rate of just under 4.7 million units. According to officials with the National Association of Realtors, many of the sales went lower to middle price range, indicating some buyers are taking advantage of reduced home prices.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 173 points, ending the session at 8,300. That was a drop of just over 2%. The NASDAQ lost 19 points today. The S&P 500 dropped 17 points.

This is NPR.

According to a top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, he expects President Obama's choice for the Supreme¹⁶ Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor will not face a filibuster¹⁷ in the Senate, though he did say she would face serious problems during her upcoming confirmation¹⁸ hearings. Senator Jeff Sessions in an interview with NBC's Today show said while Sotomayor, in his opinion, has a good resume, she's troubled by past comments that federal appellant courts make policy. President Obama announced his choice of the 54-year-old Sotomayor yesterday. If confirmed, she'll be the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

The Irish government has announced it'll make Roman Catholic Orders contribute more compensation to thousands of people who suffered abuse in church-run residences for children. NPR's Rob Gifford reports from Dublin.

An independent commission last week published a report nine years in the making that found thousands of Irish children suffered decades of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse in schools and orphanages¹⁹ run by religious orders for most of the 20th century. After days of apparent indecision, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen has now called on the 18 religious congregations involved to provide substantial additional contributions to the victims. Some of the orders, The Christian²⁰ Brothers and Sisters of Mercy, deemed by the report to be particularly culpable²¹, have now said they would be willing to commit additional resources in reparation for the abuses, in spite of a 2002 deal with the government that had originally left taxpayers²² to pay almost all of the 1.5 billion dollar legal bill for abuse settlements. Rob Gifford NPR News, Dublin.

Crude oil futures²³ prices rose. The price of oil was up a dollar a barrel today, ending the session at $63.45 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 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。

3 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。

4 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

5 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

6 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

9 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

10 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。

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 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

13 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

14 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

15 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

16 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

17 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

18 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

19 orphanages   

孤儿院( orphanage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It is Rotarians running orphanages for children who have no homes. 扶轮社员们为没有家的孩子办孤儿院。
• Through the years, she built churches, hospitals and orphanages. 许多年来，她盖了一间间的教堂、医院、育幼院。

20 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

21 culpable   

adj.有罪的，该受谴责的

参考例句：

• The judge found the man culpable.法官认为那个人有罪。
• Their decision to do nothing makes them culpable.他们不采取任何行动的决定使他们难辞其咎。

22 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

23 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。