NPR 2010-10-10

There is a reason to celebrate in Chile today. Near where 33 miners have been trapped underground for more than two months, rescue workers pushed the drill through the last inches of a more than 2,000-foot shaft¹ to create an escape route. Richard Reynolds reports from Copiapo, Chile.

The workers drilling the tunnel erupted with joy as they learned the giant drill had broken through, but it will still be several days before the miners can be winched to the surface. Engineers must inspect the tunnel to determine how much reinforcing it will need, but the final stage of the rescue operation should be complete in no more than ten days, according to engineers at the site. The miners have displayed stoic² courage throughout their harsh ordeal³. They've spent 65 days underground so far, longer than anyone else. But on a video link dropped through a small hole drilled into the mine, the miners generally showed high spirits and laughed and smiled. Throughout Chile, people have been following the rescue closely. Prayer vigils have been held around the country. For NPR News, I'm Richard Reynolds in Copiapo, Chile.

The US has been pressuring some countries, especially China, to devalue their currencies. But NPR's Larry Abramson reports an International Monetary⁴ Fund meeting adjourned⁵ in Washington today without taking action on that issue.

The final communique from the meeting of the Fund's International Monetary and Financial Committee calls on the Fund to "deepen its work in the area of currency stability", but the statement does not call for any specific steps. US Treasury⁶ Secretary Timothy Geithner addressed a gathering⁷ on Saturday, saying too many countries have oriented their economies toward producing for export rather than for consumption at home. Geithner was clearly pointing at China, which the US accuses of keeping its currency too low, so that Chinese exports will remain cheap. The House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would allow targeted sanctions against countries judged to be subsidizing their exports through currency manipulation. Larry Abramson, NPR News, Washington.

President Obama said today that one reason Americans should vote Democratic in next month's elections is that Republicans would cut federal spending on education.

"Nothing would be more detrimental⁸ to our prospects⁹ for success than cutting back on education. It would consign¹⁰ America to second place in our fiercely competitive global economy. But China and India aren't playing for second. South Korea and Germany, they aren't playing for second. They're playing for first and so should the United States of America."

In his weekly address, the president said education is important to the nation's future prosperity, because most new jobs being created will require some kind of higher education.

In the Republican address today, Senator John Barrasso said the president hasn't done enough to create jobs. He also said Democratic congressional leaders shouldn't have gone into recess¹¹ without extending the Bush-era tax cuts due to expire by the end of the year.

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California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the state's main budget bills into law last night, 100 days after a spending plan was supposed to be in place. It's designed to fill a 19.3-billion-dollar deficit¹². California's attorney general is calling on all lenders in his state to follow the lead of the biggest bank in the country and temporarily halt home foreclosures. Bob Hensley of Capital Public Radio reports.

Attorney General Jerry Brown wants lenders to stop evicting¹³ delinquent¹⁴ borrowers in California until the companies can prove that they're complying with a law aimed at preventing foreclosures. Brown's request follows a decision by Bank of America to halt all foreclosures nationwide while it reviews its documentation procedures. California has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. Under California law for mortgages made between January 1st, 2003 through 2007, lenders must at least make a sincere effort to contact a borrower to determine eligibility¹⁵ for a loan modification¹⁶ before initiating¹⁷ the foreclosure. That policy wasn't always followed. For NPR News, I'm Bob Hensley in Modesto, California.

In San Diego, a man opened fire at an elementary school playground yesterday. No one was killed, but two children were grazed by bullets.

In Berkeley, authorities say 13 people were arrested during a demonstration¹⁸ at the University of California. They had been protesting tuition increases and changes in employee pensions. They were charged with trespassing¹⁹ at a ceremony to open an 18-million-dollar building to house a center against global poverty. The demonstrators said it was hypocritical to open an antipoverty center while bankrupting local workers and university students.
 

1 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

2 stoic   

n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者

参考例句：

• A stoic person responds to hardship with imperturbation.坚忍克己之人经受苦难仍能泰然自若。
• On Rajiv's death a stoic journey began for Mrs Gandhi,supported by her husband's friends.拉吉夫死后，索尼亚在丈夫友人的支持下开始了一段坚忍的历程。

3 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

4 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。

5 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

6 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。

7 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

8 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

9 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

10 consign   

vt.寄售（货品），托运，交托，委托

参考例句：

• We cannot agree to consign the goods.我们不同意寄售此货。
• We will consign the goods to him by express.我们将以快递把货物寄给他。

11 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

12 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。

13 evicting   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. 花在打击性侵犯者上的钱并不能花在治疗这一社会问题上。 来自互联网
• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. Does this matter? 钱被花费在驱逐性犯罪者而不是用做教育他们，这样做真的好么？ 来自互联网

14 delinquent   

adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者

参考例句：

• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds.多数少年犯都有未受教育的背景。
• He is delinquent in paying his rent.他拖欠房租。

15 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

16 modification   

n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻

参考例句：

• The law,in its present form,is unjust;it needs modification.现行的法律是不公正的，它需要修改。
• The design requires considerable modification.这个设计需要作大的修改。

17 initiating   

v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

18 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

19 trespassing   

[法]非法入侵

参考例句：

• He told me I was trespassing on private land. 他说我在擅闯私人土地。
• Don't come trespassing on my land again. 别再闯入我的地界了。