NPR 2010-06-30

Wall Street's confronted with a crisis of confidence, keeping stocks way down. We last saw the Dow losing more than 260 points at 9,869, NASDAQ down nearly 4% at 2,135. Few factor is playing into this. Details are now from NPR's Yuki Noguchi.

The European financial sector¹ remains² on shaky ground; interbank lending there tightens³; the Chinese economy also doesn't seem to be growing as much as thought; and in the US, consumer confidence numbers released today suggested lingering worry about the slow jobs recovery. All of that underscored fears of a so-called "double-dip recession". That includes concerns of stimulus⁵ from last year is starting to peter out without creating significant private sector job growth. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News.

We'll revisit the numbers shortly. Another news: Supreme⁶ Court nominee⁷ Elena Kagan is distancing herself from her work as a Democratic policymaker. NPR's Carrie Johnson on Kagan's balancing act.

Elena Kagan has no experience as a judge, so Senate Republicans are picking out documents she wrote earlier in her life as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and as a lawyer and policy advisor⁸ to President Bill Clinton, but Kagan says those jobs have nothing to do with how she will approach cases on the nation's highest court. Kagan tells lawmakers her politics will be completely separate from her judging style. Senate leaders say that Kagan is likely to win confirmation⁹ even though some of the questions are tough. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

Capitol Hill abuzz with antiwar protesters during a recess⁴ in the Senate confirmation hearing for General David Petraeus today, now a step closer to becoming the next top US commander in Afghanistan. NPR's Jackie Northam reports the Senate Armed Services Committee has approved Petraeus's nomination¹⁰.

There was an assumption made by many Senate Committee members that it wasn't if but when Petraeus would be confirmed as the top US commander in Afghanistan. Members gently prodded¹¹ Petraeus about how he saw progress in the war effort. Petraeus said he would look hard at the current rules of engagement that limit US fire power and air strikes in order to protect civilians¹², and he stressed that the plan to begin bringing home troops in July 2011 isn't a rush to the exit.

"My sense is that the tough fighting will continue; indeed, it may get more intense in the next few months."

Petraeus said that it will take years before Afghan security forces can go alone. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

An 11th person suspected of being a Russian spy has been picked up in Cyprus a day after the FBI announced ten others were arrested as part of a long-running probe.

Last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.6% at 9,870, NASDAQ down 85 points at 2,135, S&P 500 down 33 at 1,041.

This is NPR.

The city of Manila is preparing for Wednesday's inauguration¹³ of the Philippine's 15th president, Benigno Aquino III. From Manila, Simone Orendain has this preview.

Rehearsals¹⁴ are in full swing at the Grandstand along Manila Bay, where Aquino will be sworn in at high noon. Big-name entertainers practice music written especially for the occasion. The lyrics¹⁵ say the answer to poverty is to fight corruption¹⁶, which was Aquino's main message during the campaign. Aquino is the son of the slain¹⁷ democracy leader who opposed Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s, and his mother was a popular president in the later 80s. Organizers say more than 100,000 spectators are expected to attend the event. The new president is continuing festivities through the night with a street party open to all in his neighborhood. Thousands of police officers are on hand with support from the military. For NPR News, I'm Simone Orendain, in Manila.

Hope of finding landslide¹⁸ survivors¹⁹ in southwestern China is fading. Rescuers were out in full force this morning, using heavy machinery²⁰ to get to the more than 100 victims trapped in a storm-triggered slide since yesterday afternoon. Xinhua news agency says this morning villagers found the first body, that of a child.

The Taiwanese government hailing a milestone²¹ in trade with its historic political rival China, one of the world's largest economies. They have signed a pact²² that removes tariffs²³ on hundreds of products. The deal is expected to bolster²⁴ trade that already tops $100 billion a year.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 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。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 tightens   

收紧( tighten的第三人称单数 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• One set of provisions tightens emission standards. 一套使排放标准更加严格的规定。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Requires no special tools or fittings; hand tightens to relief valve outlet. 不需要专用工具或管件；用手将其紧固到安全阀上即可。

4 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。

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

8 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

9 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

10 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

11 prodded   

v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up. 她用手指杵他的肋部把他叫醒。
• He prodded at the plate of fish with his fork. 他拿叉子戳弄着那盘鱼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

13 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

14 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

16 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。

17 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

18 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

19 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

20 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

21 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

22 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

23 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

24 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。