NPR 2009-07-27

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Obama Administration has managed to build coalitions¹ to help pressure Iran and North Korea to give up their nuclear programs. Clinton said she had a message for the Iranian government if it is pursuing nuclear weapons to intimidate² neighboring countries and to project power. "We’re not gonna let that happen. First we’re gonna do everything we can to prevent you from ever getting a nuclear weapon, but your pursuit is futile³."
 
On NBC's Meet the Press, Clinton also praised China for its role in pressing North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions. "China has been extremely positive and productive in respect to North Korea." Clinton's remarks came on the eve of meetings in Washington with top Chinese officials to discuss the global economy and the U.S. trade deficit⁴ with China.
 
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy is spending the night in a military hospital after collapsing⁵ while jogging today. Frank Browning reports from Paris.
 
"Sarkozy who is 54 complained of feeling faint while he was exercising at his home near Versailles in suburban⁶ Paris. Sarkozy is a regular jogger and cyclist. He was seen immediately by his personal doctor and then flown by helicopter to the French military hospital Val-de-Grace in central Paris. Sarkozy underwent regular routine tests on July 3rd and according to his spokesman had normal heart and cardiovascular results. During his 2007 presidential campaign Sarkozy called for greater transparency in the health records of French leaders. Both President Georges Pompidou who died in office of cancer in 1974 and President Francois Mitterrand who suffered terminal prostate cancer kept their illnesses secret until their final days. For NPR News I'm Frank Browning in Paris."
 
One of the nation's largest mobile free medical and dental clinics wrapped up a three-day run today. Hundreds of volunteers treated nearly 3000 uninsured and underinsured people from 16 states. NPR's Howard Berkers was there.
 
"Volunteers are packing up dental chairs from the open-air fairgrounds, pavilion used as a dental field hospital. Close to 4000 teeth were pulled here in three days’ treatment. The optometry equipment has already gone from a poultry⁷ building. And the makeshift screens are down in a horse barn used for medical exams. Organizers of the Remote Area Medical Expedition say it shows major gaps in the nation's health-care system. Some people arrived three days earlier and slept in their cars so they'd be sure they’ll be seen. No one was turned away. This expedition focused on the Appalachian region. Eight more expeditions are planned this year from Virginia to California. Howard Berkers, NPR News, at the Wise County Fairgrounds in Virginia."
 
NASA engineers have managed to temporarily restart a malfunctioning⁸ air purifier on the International Space Station. There are currently 13 astronauts aboard the orbiting outpost including the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Endeavor is set to depart on Tuesday.
 
This is NPR News from Washington.
 
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke is holding a town-hall style meeting in Kansas City this evening to explain monetary⁹ policy directly to Americans. It is an approach no Fed Chairman has ever taken before. Frank Morris of member station KCUR has the story.
 
Last fall, Chairman Bernanke took bold and unusual steps to derail what he feared could have become a second great depression. He propped¹⁰ the enormous private financial institutions and did it by not exactly printing but by creating huge sums of money with a few keyboard strokes. Those moves and others troubled some congressmen who got behind the push to submit Fed monetary policy to congressional oversight¹¹. Many economists¹² think that's a bad idea and Bernanke has taken the fight to preserve the Fed‘s independence directly to voters. This spring, he did lengthy¹³ interviews for “60 Minutes”, excerpts¹⁴ from tonight’s, town hall meeting in Kansas City will air this week on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. Bernanke’s term as Federal Reserve Chairman ends at the end of this year. For NPR News I'm Frank Morris in Kansas City.
 
Gasoline prices have fallen further, dropping about seven cents a gallon over the past two weeks. The average price nationally now for a self-service regular is $2.49 a gallon. Industry analyst¹⁵ Trilby Lundberg says the decline in prices at the pump may have a little further to run but not much. "If crude oil prices stay more or less where they are, hovering¹⁶ near the 70dollar mark, we could see 10 or 12 cents more at the pump, just from margin¹⁷ recovery by the down streamers." Lundberg says recent increases in crude oil cost though will eventually be reflected in gasoline prices. Gas prices are about $1.50 a gallon lower now than they were this time last year.

1 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

2 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

3 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

4 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。

5 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

6 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。

7 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

8 malfunctioning   

出故障

参考例句：

• But something was malfunctioning in the equipment due to human error. 但由于人为的错误，设备发生故障了。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• Choke coils are useful for prevention of malfunctioning electronic equipment. 扼流圈对于防止电器设备的故障很有帮助。 来自互联网

9 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

10 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

11 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

12 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

14 excerpts   

n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段

参考例句：

• Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

17 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。