NPR 2009-07-19

President Obama is trying to build public support for his plan to overhaul¹ the nation’s health care system to help counter the concerns being expressed by some lawmakers including a number of Democrats³ about how to pay for the proposal.

Mr Obama says the plan would bolster⁵, not replace the best elements of the current system.

Michelle and I don’t want anyone telling us who our family doctor should be, and no one should decide that for you, either. Under our proposal, if you like your doctor, you keep your doctor; if you like your current insurance, your keep that insurance. Mr. Obama speaking in his weekly radio and internet address today.

Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona cautioned against trying to get such complex legislation through Congress by the end of next month. That’s the deadline Mr. Obama has set. The president and some democrats insist we must rush this plan through, why? Because the more Americans know about it, the more they oppose it. Something this important needs to be done right rather than done quickly. Kyl gave the Republican’s weekly address.

The President has said he will not sign on to any plan that would increase the federal deficit⁶. But the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says the bill now before the House would boost the deficit by 239 billion dollars over the next decade.

The nation’s governors say federal stimulus⁷ money they are getting from the plan enacted⁸ by Congress earlier this year is helping⁹ them weather the most serious budget crisis the States have faced in years.

NPR’s Debbie Elliott reports.

The State Budget crunch¹⁰ is at the forefront of discussions this weekend at the National Governors Association Annual Meeting in Biloxi Mississippi. The group’s chairman Democrat² Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania stayed home to cope with a fiscal¹¹ crisis. But in video taped remarks, he said many states would have been swamped financially without the stimulus. Now the governors are calling for new infrastructure¹² investment. Vermont Republican Jim Douglas is the group’s vice¹³ chairman, ”After a century of buildup our roads and bridges are in disrepair; our water infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with our growth, and our electric grid¹⁴ is little different from the one that was envisioned by Tomas Edison more than a century ago.” Douglas says it would cost 2.2 trillion dollars over the next five years to upgrade the nation’s aging infrastructure. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Biloxi Mississippi.

The first major religious festival in Iraq since US troops pulled back from cities in that country has ended largely peacefully. The BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse reports.

The festival is one of the most important dates in the Shiite religious calendar. It’s also the biggest security challenge for the Iraqi authorities since they took over control of the towns and cities from the Americans. Despite a partial curfew and large numbers of soldiers and police on the streets of the capital, a spate¹⁵ of bombings killed 3 pilgrims and wounded more than 30 others on Friday. In 2005 at the same festival rumors¹⁶ of a suicide bomber¹⁷ swept through the crowd, causing a stampede that killed around 1000 people. Gabriel Gatehouse in Bagdad.

This is NPR News.

A sheriff in Tennessee says a suspect is being held in the killings¹⁸ of five people in that state and another just across the border in Alabama. Investigators¹⁹ say some of the victims were related.

Tom Watson holds a one-stroke lead heading into the final day of play of the British Open golf tournament at Turnberry in Scotland.

Watson is 18 holes away from achieving what many have considered an impossible feat²⁰ of a 59-year-old winning a major golf tournament, something that has never been done before. NPR’s Tom Goldman has the story.

Tom Watson continues to defy expectations that a 59-year-old pro⁴ 30 years passes his golfing prime will end his flirtation²¹ with history and fade away. Saturday Watson again played like he intended to replace Julius Boros as the oldest man to win a major title. Boros won the 1968 PGA championship when he was 48. Watson was steady from the start of the 3rd round; he drove the ball long and kept it in the fairway. He adjusted the tricky²² Turnberry winds and he sank key putts. All part of his game plan he said for the last 2 days of the championship:

“I can afford to make a certain number of bogeys²³. And I have to make up for them with a certain number of birdies. That’s been my game plan, and I’m pretty close to it right now.”

The five-time British Open winner begins Sunday’s final round with one-stroke lead of Australian Mathew Goggin and Englishman Ross Fisher.

Tom Goldman NPR news.

Russian cyclist Serguei Ivanov won today’s stage of the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong did not lose anytime to the overall leader Italy’s Rinaldo Nocentini. But he did drop back a spot in the standings to fourth. A woman who was watching the race was killed when she was struck by a policeman on a motor cycle as she was trying to cross the road.

1 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

2 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。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

5 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

6 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

7 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。

8 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

11 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

12 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。

13 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。

14 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

15 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

16 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

18 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

19 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

21 flirtation   

n.调情，调戏，挑逗

参考例句：

• a brief and unsuccessful flirtation with the property market 对房地产市场一时兴起、并不成功的介入
• At recess Tom continued his flirtation with Amy with jubilant self-satisfaction. 课间休息的时候，汤姆继续和艾美逗乐，一副得意洋洋、心满意足的样子。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

22 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

23 bogeys   

n.妖怪，可怕的人（物）( bogey的名词复数 )v.妖怪，可怕的人（物）( bogey的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Bogeys appear to be heading directly at us. 我们现在左转，面向150，偏离敌机30度。 来自互联网
• Movement is powered by hidden electric motors on 'bogeys' integrated into the wall thickness. 运动是由电动机的隐藏'忌'融入壁厚。 来自互联网