NPR 2011-01-28

A familiar sound here in Washington, DC and other parts of the Northeastern US, where a lot of people have been shoveling out of as much as a foot of snow. As of this morning, many streets were littered with abandoned cars. Tens of thousands of people woke up to frigid¹ homes and lost electricity. In snow-weary New York, Mayor Michael Bloomburg said his city was better.

“When the snow stopped falling at about 4:00 AM, the official reading in Central Park was 19 inches.”

Now, the storms also cause widespread flight disruptions. Now, previous bad weather in the Southeastern US is blamed for a jump in unemployment claims in the last week. Danielle Karson reports applications spiked³ to 454,000 after falling for several weeks.

Snowstorms in Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina forced many companies to shut down, keeping workers at home and preventing many people from applying for benefits. But jobless claims have been falling for months, and the steady drop suggests businesses are sacking fewer workers. Wells Fargo economist⁴ Tim Quinlan thinks the trend is continuing and considers the latest spike² a blip.

“Even if you average these two weeks, you know, at a level of 425,000, this is the end of the world. That’s still a much lower level than we were for almost all of 2010.”

Last August, more than half a million people filed jobless claims, but economists⁵ say they have to fall consistently below 400,000 to signal job growth. For NPR News, I’m Danielle Karson in Washington.

In Iraq, a curfew has been imposed in the capital, a neighborhood where 48 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a suicide car bombing. NPR’s Kelly McEvers reports from the Iraqi capital that people in the area began rioting against police for failing to stop the attack.

Officials said the attacker targeted a funeral for a member of a prominent tribe. One police official speculated the real target was another funeral in the neighborhood for the mother of Bagdad’s mayor. As police rushed to the scene of the attack, witnesses said residents threw rocks at them and shot into the air. Now, the neighborhood is on lockdown; no one can enter or exit. The attack follows a new wave of violence here in Iraq after months of relative calm. The targets have been government officials, police, police recruits and Shiite pilgrims. Since last week, nearly 200 people have been killed. Kelly McEvers, NPR News, Bagdad.

The party of Egypt’s embattled President Hosni Mubarak says it is ready to have an open discussion with young anti-government protesters, who staged demonstrations⁶ in recent days. The secretary general of the National Democratic Party is calling on both protesters and security forces to show restraint during a rally expected to take place again after Friday prayers.

The Dow was up five points. This is NPR.

Swiss federal prosecutors⁷ are investigating an explosion at a luxury hotel in Davos, a plain village where more than 2,500 political, business and civic⁸ leaders are attending the World Economic Forum⁹. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports there were no injuries, and the blast caused minor¹⁰ damage.

The source of the blast remains¹¹ confusing. Forum officials say a firework in the back of the hotel was to blame. Hotel management is not commenting. Local police say a bomb in the basement exploded. Swiss federal prosecutors say they are investigating, implying there might be a criminal motive¹². Meanwhile, an anti-capitalism group called “Revolutionary Perspective” has posted a statement on its website, claiming responsibility. It says it targeted the Posthotel because Swiss ministers and UBS Bank officials are staying there. The hotel has tightened¹³ security; otherwise, business is going on as usual. For NPR News, I’m Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

A North Carolina judge is knocking more than 100 years off the sentence of a man convicted of illegally raising money for Hezbollah militants¹⁴. Mohamad Hammoud will still serve additional 20 years behind bars.

Members of a congressionally appointed panel are divided over who’s mainly to blame for the US financial crisis. A report released today finds the six Democrats¹⁵ on the panel believe Wall Street executives and federal regulators share the blame; however, the four Republicans on the commission point the finger at a global credit bubble fueled by low interest rates.

1 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

2 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

3 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 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》

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

8 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

9 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

10 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

11 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。

12 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

13 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

14 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

15 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》