NPR 2010-07-24

The NPR family in the broader world of journalism¹ is remembering a giant among us. NPR News Analyst² Daniel Schorr died this morning at the age of 93, leaving behind footprints from a lifetime of pioneering work in the industry. In this 2002 interview about his memoir³, Mr. Schorr was asked what he thought his legacy⁴ would be.

"My legacy is that when journalism is pursued right, you make some contribution to people's knowledge of things that I think people need to know."

Among those who worked most closely with Mr. Schorr was NPR's Scott Simon, who offers this appreciation⁵.

Dan Schorr was born before people had radio in their homes. He lived to report the news over satellites and the World Wide Web. Dan became a reporter at the age of 12, when a woman jumped off the roof of his apartment building and Dan called the Bronx Home News. He was one of the last reporters hired by Edward Amara with CBS and reported on the Cold War and Water Gate. He refused to reveal who leaked him a copy of a congressional report on the CIA and FBI in 1976, telling the committee, "to betray a source would be to betray myself, my career and my life." Dan parted ways with CBS, became CNN's first Washington News presence and then NPR senior news analyst in 1985, starting a third career at the age of 69 that would last a generation. Scott Simon, NPR News.

Ships drilling a second relief well at the site of the BP oil spill in the Gulf⁶ of Mexico are preparing to get out of the way of tropical storm Bonnie, which could hit by tomorrow. The government's point man on the cleanup, retired⁷ Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, says it's likely the crew will be able to return to work shortly after the storm hits.

"Assuming that the storm passes within 48 hours at some point after that we can look to returning the vessels⁸ back on scene. But again this is highly dependent on the weather, the wind, and the assessment⁹ of on scene conditions by the folks that are operating the vessels because they will make the final call."

The storm is about 55 miles southeast of Naples, Florida.

President Obama is urging the Senate to approve a measure designed to help small businesses. As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, the president wants a vote before lawmakers leave Washington for their August recess¹⁰.

President Obama scored a partial victory this week, when the Senate agreed to extend unemployment benefits for workers who've been out of a job more than six months. But Mr. Obama says additional relief checks are not enough.

"Ultimately, our goal is to make sure that people who are looking for a job can find a job. And that's why it's so important for the Senate to pass the additional steps that I've asked for to cut taxes and expand lending for America's small businesses."

One of those steps is a 30-billion-dollar loan fund designed to encourage community banks to lend more to small businesses. It was restored to the Senate's small business package with the help of two Republican votes. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

Last check, Dow's up more than 100 points at 10,424. This is NPR.

Washington, D.C. is the latest city affected¹¹ by staff cutbacks because of performance issues. Chancellor¹² Michelle Rhee says 241 teachers have been laid off most for performing poorly in a new evaluation¹³ system. She says cities in general are reevaluating their systems.

"In New York City and Chicago, Denver, places like that, the number of teachers who are dismissed every year is, you know, less than 1%. And so you've got these systems of, you know, tens of thousands of teachers yet. Maybe one teacher each year is fired for poor performance. And that just doesn't line up with the fact that students are being failed every day in our schools."

Rhee speaking on MSNBC.

Three city leaders in Southern California are resigning after a public outcry over their salaries. Steve Julian of member station KPCC says one of the three makes nearly $800,000 a year.

That's Robert Rizzo, city manager for Bell, a town of 40,000 people on the outskirts¹⁴ of Los Angeles. The assistant city manager also has agreed to leave. She earns nearly $380,000 a year. And Police Chief Randy Adams, who earns more than 450,000 a year, also resigned. All three will stay on the job without pay for another month or two. Many residents were outraged¹⁶ and called for their resignations when the Los Angeles Times recently revealed the salaries. Now that they're leaving, there's even more outrage¹⁵ over their pensions. Rizzo, for example, is entitled to more than $650,000 a year for life. He is given credit for pulling Bell out of heavy debt over 17 years. The state attorney general is leading one of three investigations¹⁷ into the salary practices. For NPR News, I'm Steve Julian in Los Angeles.

And I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington

1 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

6 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

10 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。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

13 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

14 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

15 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

16 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

17 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。