NPR 2010-12-03

The US House is expected to vote this hour on whether to extend expiring tax cuts for everyone, including the wealthy. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports the issue's been generating heated debate.

Democrats¹ say they want to keep lower tax rates from middle- and lower-income workers especially. Those same tax rates would apply to a certain amount of income for wealthy people, but the Democrats do not want to lower tax rates or keep low tax rates from much more money that the wealthy people make. They want to instead allow that revenue to come into the federal government to pay for programs and in fact help fill the deficit² hole.

NPR's Andrea Seabrook on Capitol Hill.

The chairman of the Joint³ Chiefs of Staff is in favor of repealing⁵ "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", the policy that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. Admiral Mike Mullen sought to make that case on Capitol Hill today.

"The report indicates that one of the factors distressing⁶ to those who oppose repeal⁴ are fears that new policies will not be implemented⁷ fairly, evenly and dispassionately. Let me be clear: nothing will change about our standards of conduct."

But Arizona Senator and military veteran John McCain expressed doubts today that the repeal likely would not cause widespread disruptions in the military as a new Pentagon study suggests.

NATO says that three international service members have been killed in Afghanistan in the past two days. More from NPR's Corey Flintoff.

NATO says two service members were killed today—one in a fight with insurgents⁸ in the south and the other by a roadside bomb in the eastern Afghanistan. A home-made bomb killed another service member in the south yesterday. NATO doesn't give details about the nationalities of service members killed in Afghanistan, leaving that to the individual countries involved. Fifty-five international troops were killed in Afghanistan in November. Meanwhile, Afghan and NATO troops are still trying to learn the fate of seven Afghan mine clearance⁹ workers, who were captured Wednesday by insurgents in Nangarhar province near the border with Pakistan. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Kabul.

The White House is pressing Congress to extend unemployment insurance to about two million out-of-work Americans. Their coverage¹⁰ is due to expire this month.

Democratic Congressman¹¹ Charles Rangel of New York confronts his fellow lawmakers today to hear his punishment for violating House ethics¹² rules. A bipartisan panel had recommended censure¹³ which comes up for a vote in the full House shortly. Rangel is expected to argue that he does not deserve censure because he's not corrupt¹⁴, but the House Ethics Committee determined¹⁵ the censure is justified¹⁶ because it ruled Rangle was guilty of fundraising and financial misconduct.

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 100 points at 11,355; NASDAQ Composite Index up 26 at 2,576.

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NASA's out with new information that's challenging conventional ideas about where life can exist. NPR's Jon Hamilton reports scientists have discovered a bacterium¹⁷ that can survive on a diet of arsenic¹⁸.

One of the truisms of science is that life isn't possible without six elements, one of which is phosphorus, but a young scientist at NASA wondered whether that truism was really true. She thought arsenic, which is chemically very similar to phosphorus, might work as a substitute. So, she and other researchers began studying tiny organisms taken from the mud of Mono Lake in California. That mud contains a lot of arsenic. And they found at least one bacterium that was able to adapt to a diet that includes lots of arsenic, but no phosphorus. What's more, the bacterium appeared to be using arsenic instead of phosphorus in its DNA¹⁹. Scientists say that suggests organisms could exist in places on Earth or elsewhere in the universe that were previously²⁰ thought incapable²¹ of sustaining life. Jon Hamilton, NPR News.

President Obama appears to be making headway in his push to get Senate ratification²² of a nuclear treaty with Russia. Leading Republican Lamar Alexander said today that he is "wide open" to supporting the treaty if the administration addresses his concerns about modernizing²³ the remaining US nuclear arsenal²⁴.

Iraq's Interior Ministry's been calling for the death penalty of 39 imprisoned²⁵ al-Qaeda-linked suspects before they have gone on trial for allegedly plotting to attack targets in Baghdad. Minister Jawad al-Bolani announced today that he is confident the men will be found guilty.

Dow's now up 98 points.

1 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》

2 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。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

5 repealing   

撤销，废除( repeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In addition, repealing the alternative minimum tax would also help. 此外，废除替代性最低税也会有所帮助。
• Repealing the investment tax credit. 取消投资税款扣除。

6 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

7 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

8 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

9 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

10 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

11 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

12 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

13 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

14 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

15 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

16 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

17 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

18 arsenic   

n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的

参考例句：

• His wife poisoned him with arsenic.他的妻子用砒霜把他毒死了。
• Arsenic is a poison.砒霜是毒药。

19 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

20 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

21 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

22 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

23 modernizing   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的现在分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• Modernizing a business to increase its profitability and competitiveness is a complicated affair. 使企业现代化，从而达到增加利润，增强竞争力的目的，是一件复杂的事情。
• The young engineer had a large share in modernizing the factory. 这位年轻工程师在工厂现代化的过程中尽了很大的“力”。

24 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

25 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。