NPR 2011-03-05

The unemployment rate is down to 8.9% after employers hired workers at the fastest pace in nine months. According to the latest Labor¹ Department report, the economy picked up 192,000 jobs last month, but the drop in the unemployment rate is baffling. Chief economist² John Ryding of RDQ Economics.

"I would have thought that discouraged workers would be coming back into the workplace and looking for jobs and not be putting up with pressure on the unemployment rate, but that doesn't seem to be happening, and that's a little bit of puzzle to us."

Most sectors³ posted gains, but it's just the opposite in state and local government where budget battles are under way, and 30,000 jobs were slashed⁴.

One of the fiercest battles over money involves high-speed rail funding to Florida. Today, Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood⁵ announced the 2.4 billion in stimulus⁶ dollars intended for the Sunshine State would be given to someone else. This after the state Supreme⁷ Court upheld Republican Governor Rick Scott's decision to decline the money. NPR's Debbie Elliot reports the decision effectively kills the Orlando to Tampa rail line.

The Florida Supreme Court is rejecting a bipartisan challenge brought by state lawmakers. They argue that Governor Scott exceeded his constitutional authority when he refused $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money for the high-speed rail line. The challenge was fast-track to the state's high court this week after Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood gave Scott until today to accept the money or lose it to other states. Scott says he's afraid Florida taxpayers⁸ would be left with billions in cost overruns and operating cost if the Orlando to Tampa line is built. After speaking with Scott today, La Hood says other states are enthusiastic about receiving additional rail support. Debbie Elliot, NPR News.

A US aid contractor⁹ goes on trial in Cuba today. As NPR's Michele Kelemen reports, the US says Allan Gross has been held too long already and should be released.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she's deeply concerned about 61-year-old Allan Gross.

"He's been unjustly jailed for far too long. We call on the government of Cuba to release him and unconditionally¹⁰ allow him to leave Cuba and return to his family to bring an end to their long ordeal¹¹."

Gross was a contractor for the US Agency for International Development, and the US says he was providing Internet access to Jewish organizations. The Cuban government consideres his actions subversive¹². He could face 20 years in prison if convicted. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down nearly 170 points or down 1.3% at 12,091; NASDAQ is down 28 or more than 1% at 2,770.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

Heavy casualties are reported out of a rebel-held city in Libya. Forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi fought their way into Zawiya, which is just east of the capital Tripoli. Newswires report the commander of the rebel forces has been killed. Meanwhile, protesters continued to ignore Gaddafi's warnings against attempts to oust¹³ him. After noon prayers at a mosque¹⁴ today, a large crowd left to march in Tripoli. They dispersed¹⁵ after encountering tear gas and live ammunition¹⁶ from Gaddafi's forces.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast says it's overstretched and cannot protect all civilians¹⁷ in the volatile¹⁸ West African nation. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports the acknowledgement comes the day after unarmed women protesters were shot dead by security forces loyal to the disputed leader.

The UN mission in Ivory Coast says its peacekeepers lack manpower. The admission follows a spasm¹⁹ of violence in the commercial capital Abidjan. Laurent Gbagbo's security forces opened fire on female supporters of his presidential rival Alassane Ouattara yesterday. The women were holding a peaceful march. Ivory Coast's UN Ambassador Youssouf Bamba says the world must take the crisis in his country as seriously as it is the uprising in Libya.

"We don't want any differentiation²⁰ in the treatment of those crises. They're the same thing. They're the same civilians who are killed. They are using war, weapon to kill peaceful civilians."

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Accra.

With oil prices continuing to surge, given the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, US stocks are down. Dow down 170 points at 12,090.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 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。

3 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

6 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。

7 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。

8 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

9 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

10 unconditionally   

adv.无条件地

参考例句：

• All foreign troops must be withdrawn immediately and unconditionally. 所有外国军队必须立即无条件地撤出。
• It makes things very awkward to have your girls going back unconditionally just now! 你们现在是无条件上工，真糟糕！ 来自子夜部分

11 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

12 subversive   

adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子

参考例句：

• She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
• The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。

13 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

14 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

15 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

16 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

17 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。

18 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

19 spasm   

n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作

参考例句：

• When the spasm passed,it left him weak and sweating.一阵痉挛之后，他虚弱无力，一直冒汗。
• He kicked the chair in a spasm of impatience.他突然变得不耐烦，一脚踢向椅子。

20 differentiation   

n.区别，区分

参考例句：

• There can be no differentiation without contrast. 有比较才有差别。
• The operation that is the inverse of differentiation is called integration. 与微分相反的运算叫做积分。