NPR 2009-09-30

A major earthquake in the South Pacific spawned¹ a tsunami² that crashed the shore in American Samoa today. There are reports of damage but it’s unclear whether there are casualties. NPR’s Richard Harris reports.

The US Geological Survey says a magnitude eight quake struck early this morning about 120 miles from American Samoa. The quake triggered a wave estimated at 10 to 15 feet tall which washed into Pago Pago Harbor on American Samoa. Eyewitnesses³ say they saw a significant damage to resorts and villages in and around that island but so far there are no confirmed deaths. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings and watchers for large swathes of the South Pacific including New Zealand, but the size of the wave was expected to diminish as it moved away from American Samoa. Witnesses in Fiji said they didn’t notice anything unusual at the time the wave was supposed to pass there. Richard Harris, NPR News.

Toyota will carry out what is being described as the largest vehicle recall in US history. The automaker says it will recall upwards⁴ of 3.8 million of its Toyota and Lexus models to immediately remove driver-side floor mats that can stick under accelerator pedals, causing the vehicles to speed up and possibly lose control. Unusually large recall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration follows an accident in which a California highway patrol officer and three members of his family were killed after their loaner car’s accelerator became stuck beneath an all weather floor mat Toyota had installed in the 2008 model Lexus.

President Obama met today with the leader of NATO as he begins a week of strategy sessions on Afghanistan. More from NPR's Scott Horsley.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen assured the president the alliance’s forces would stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to finish the job there. Mr. Obama said he and Rasmussen agreed it’s critical to succeed in dismantling⁵ the al-Qaeda network. “This is not an American battle. This is a NATO mission as well and we are working actively⁶ and diligently⁷ to consult with NATO at every step of the way.” Mr. Obama is also consulting this week with military and diplomatic leaders as part of a reassessment to the US strategy in Afghanistan. The counterinsurgency strategy the president spelled out in March could be adjusted. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

US consumers were a bit less confident this month amid concerns over mounting unemployment. Conference Board, a New York-based business research group, said today its consumer confidence index fell by just over a point from its August reading. However the reading, a 53.1 was well below the reading of 57 that most analysts⁸ had been forecasting.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 47 points to end the session at 9,742. The NASDQ lost seven points, closing at 2,124. The Standard & Poor's 500 dropped two points today to close at 1,061.

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Swiss diplomats⁹ say they were able to see three American hikers who have been detained in Iran. The Swiss Foreign Ministry¹⁰ said today that Swiss officials had access and direct contact with the three but provided no further details. The group has been held by Iran since straying across the border from Iraq at the end of July. US State Department officials today welcomed the step by Iran. The three hiker students at the University of California Berkeley have said to their families they entered the country by mistake.

Iran’s nuclear chief has said the country’s newly revealed uranium enrichment facility was built inside a mountain and next to a military site to ensure its continuity in case of an attack. More from NPR's Dale Gavlak.

Ali Akbar Salehi told the news conference that the site near Qom would be protected by Iran’s elite¹¹ Revolutionary Guard against possible attack. The disclosure of the secretly built facility has served to heighten suspicion among western nations due to meet Iran in Geneva on Thursday over its disputed nuclear ambitions. They fear that Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at producing weapons, something Tehran has long denied. Salehi said the site will be open soon to inspections¹² by the UN nuclear watchdog. According to a leading defense¹³ consulting group in London, a satellite image shows a well-fortified facility built into a mountain about 20 miles northeast of Qom, the ventilation shafts¹⁴ and a nearby surface-to-surface missile site. For NPR news, I’m Dale Gavlak in Amman.

Chair of Senate Banking¹⁵ Committee says he’s taking a look at the idea of creating a super regulator that would oversee¹⁶ the banking sector¹⁷. Democrat¹⁸ Chris Dodd’s plan would consolidate¹⁹ the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the U.S. Office of Thrift²⁰ Supervision²¹ into one regulator while striping some of the powers of the Federal Reserve and of the FDIC over banks.

1 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

4 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

5 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

6 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

7 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

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 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

12 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 shafts   

n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等）

参考例句：

• He deliberately jerked the shafts to rock him a bit. 他故意的上下颠动车把，摇这个老猴子几下。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally. 竖井已经打下，并且挖有横向矿道。 来自辞典例句

15 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

16 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

17 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。

18 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。

19 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

20 thrift   

adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约

参考例句：

• He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
• His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。

21 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。