NPR 2010-03-04

President Obama wants Congress to finish work on healthcare legislation. He’s calling on lawmakers to bring bills to the floor and vote on them. Republicans hate the bills and many want to scrap¹ the existing legislation. And Mr. Obama says that’s a fatal mistake. “For us to start over now could simply lead to delay that could last for another decade or even more. The American people and the US economy just can’t wait that long.” He disagrees with the Republican view loosening restrictions² on health insurance companies would help them lower healthcare costs. Mr. Obama says with fewer restrictions, companies would be able to drop people from their coverage³ plans.

 

Congressman⁴ Charles Rangel of New York is temporarily stepping down from a key House panel over accusations⁵ that he violated ethics⁶ rules. NPR’s Audie Cornish reports.

 

Rangel has chaired the influential⁷ House Ways and Means Committee which deals with taxes. For the last year, the House Ethics Panel has been investigating his travel, income and rent-controlled apartments in New York. That panel said last week that Rangel violated rules related to trips to the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008. “I have, this morning, sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi, asking her to grant me a leave of absence, until such time, as the Ethics Committee completes its work.” The decision comes just as House Democrats⁸ are trying to pull together votes for a healthcare overhaul⁹ proposal and legislation dealing¹⁰ with expiring tax breaks. Audie Cornish, NPR News.

 

The latest check on the US economy shows that the US service sector¹¹ grew in February at its fastest pace in more than two years. That is according to the latest index from the Institute for Supply Management. Danielle Karson reports.

 

The ISM report shows non-manufacturing activity grew at a healthy clip. The 53 reading was the highest in more than a year. Economists¹² consider it a strong signal that the economy service sector’s picking up steam. Readings of more than 50 suggest businesses are growing, not shrinking. Retail¹⁴ trade is up. That means consumers are spending more. Tourism and business orders also rose. Chirs Low, chief economist¹³ with FTN Financial. “What’s encouraging is that with the orders index now beginning to approach the mid¹⁵ 50s. There are enough orders to build up a backlog¹⁶, and that’s what you need to see before companies begin to add workers.” The employment index rose four points, but Low says a 48 reading shows businesses are still squeamish about adding too many names to their payrolls¹⁷. For NPR News, I’m Danielle Karson.

 

Two powerful aftershocks have rocked central Chile today. The one magnitude was six and another 5.9. Frightened residents ran for higher ground.

 

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up ten points at 10,395.

 

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A new report from the Federal Reserve says the US economy is growing, even though record-setting snowstorms last month hurt some parts of the country. The Fed’s so-called Beige Book report says consumer spending was up a bit; residential¹⁸ real estate showed a little improvement; the deals for commercial real estate were weak.

 

Workers have freed two managers held hostage at a French subsidiary of German company, Siemens. This after the executives agreed to discuss the planned closing of the plant. Eleanor Beardsley reports.

 

Two managers of German electrical and engineering group, Siemens AG, were released after being held in their offices overnight by employees demanding concessions¹⁹ over job cuts. Talks are now underway between workers and management in the town hall of the tiny burg of Saint-Chamond near Lyon. The Siemens subsidiary plans to cut its workforce²⁰ to 365 from 600 and close one of its two French factories because of the drop in demand for steel. The incident was the latest in a long series of so-called “bossnappings” in which managers in France have been detained by staff to exert pressure in negotiations²¹ over wages or layoffs²². A spokesman for Siemens said talks could not be held at the threatened plant because of hundreds of workers protesting outside. For NPR News, I’m Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

 

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was out of a job. Ukraine’s parliament passed a no-confidence vote in the government. She also recently lost the country’s presidential election to rival Viktor Yanukovich. His party will now have a chance to form a government. The defeated Tymoshenko was a leader of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution in 2004. Leaders had vowed²³ to fight corruption²⁴. Voters believed that Ukrainian leaders failed to live up to that promise.

 

1 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 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。

4 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。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 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。

7 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

8 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》

9 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。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 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。

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 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

14 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

15 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

16 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

17 payrolls   

n.（公司员工的）工资名单( payroll的名词复数 )；（公司的）工资总支出，工薪总额

参考例句：

• Indices of employment, payrolls, and production steadied in February 1931931年2月，就业、工资额和生产指数稳定。 来自辞典例句
• Wall Street responded to the payrolls figures with gusto. 华尔街对就业数据作出了积极的反应。 来自互联网

18 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

19 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

20 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

21 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

22 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

23 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

24 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。