NPR 2011-04-27

Still no hope yet for homeowners looking to sell and profit. The latest S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index finds homes rent for less money in most major US cities in the first month of the year. And in 11 markets, the price drops accelerated. Housing analyst² Patrick NewPort of IHS Global Insight says given improvements in the overall economy, he's not sure why the housing market isn't picking up.

"Still, the housing market's still at the bottom. It's gonna pick up soon, but I'm just surprised that it hasn't happened. "

A record number of foreclosures are weighing down home prices in most metro³ areas. Well, despite the troubles in housing, consumers are still giving a thumbs-up to the improving economy.

Lynn Franco, director of Consumer Research, says the Conference Board's Index rose to 65.4 from March.

"For the seventh straight month, we've seen gains in our Present Situation Index. So, it looks like the economic recovery remains⁴ on track."

But the index is still below the reading of 90 that indicates a healthy economy. And at

last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up nearly 1% before the close at 12,595. NASDAQ gained 22; it's 2,848. S&P500 up nearly 1% at 1,347.

In other news, residents in rural Butler County, Missouri are fleeing to higher ground after a rupture⁵ on the Black River levee. As Jacob McCleland of member station KRCU tells us, the breakage occurred just south of the community of Poplar Bluff⁶.

The levee failure is spilling floodwater across agricultural lands and farm houses in this rural southern Missouri county. Missouri National Guard troops and the Butler County Sheriff's Department are evacuating⁷ all residents in the floodwater's path. Poplar Bluff Deputy Police Chief Jeff Rolland says the rupture is easing tension on the fragile Black River levee that threatens the community, but he cautions that the town could still be in danger.

"That levee is so saturated⁸ with water that it's still very unstable⁹. You know, any more torrential downpours could cause it issues also."

Residents in low-lying neighborhoods have been evacuated¹⁰. More severe thunderstorms are in the forecast. For NPR News, I'm Jacob McCleland in Cape¹¹ Girardeau, Missouri.

The countdown to the final launch of space shuttle Endeavour is under way at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. President Obama and Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords are expected to be among the hundreds of thousands of spectators for the Friday afternoon liftoff.

More violence has been reported out of southern Syria, where residents in Daraa say they have come under sniper attacks again. A local human rights group says authorities have detained dozens of people across Syria, the latest in the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow had risen 116 points nearly 1% at 12,596. NASDAQ was up 22 at 2,848.

This is NPR News.

Singer Phoebe Snow has died. She was best known for some memorable¹³ hits in the 1970s and 1980s. As NPR's Neda Ulaby reports, Snow died this morning from complications of a brain hemorrhage she suffered last year.

More than any other song, Phoebe Snow will be remembered for a wistful hit from 1975 about falling in love with a married man.

"Poetry Man" took the then 24-year-old from Greenwich Village coffeehouse stages to the top of the charts and the cover of Rolling Stone, but her life was even more profoundly transformed when her husband left her soon after their daughter was born with serious brain damage. She chose to focus on her disabled child not her own career and moved back to New Jersey¹⁴, where she'd grown up. It's also where she died. Phoebe Snow was 60 years old. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

Some pro¹ football players are returning to their team facilities a day after a federal judge stopped the NFL lockout in the wake of a labor¹⁵ dispute. Judge Susan Richard Nelson has given the players until tomorrow morning to respond to the league's expedited motion for a stay.

Stocks opened higher today on strong earnings¹⁶ reports from Ford¹² and 3M. Before the market opened, Ford Motor reported its best first-quarter earnings since 1998, and 3M said its quarterly profit jumped 16% from a year ago. The Dow was up nearly 1% before the close at 12,596, and the NASDAQ had risen 22 more than 0.5% at 2,848.

This is NPR News.

1 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

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 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

4 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。

5 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

6 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

7 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

8 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

9 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

10 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

11 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

12 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

13 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

14 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

15 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。

16 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。