NPR 2011-04-29

President Obama says that while the federal government cannot control when or where a terrible storm will strike, he says it can control how to react to those storms. The president says the federal government will do everything it can do to help the people affected¹ by last night's massive storm system to recover and rebuild.

"In a matter of hours, these deadly tornadoes², some of the worst that we've seen in decades, took mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors, even entire communities. Others are injured and some are still missing, and in many places the damage to homes and businesses is nothing short of catastrophic."

The death toll³ across the region now stands at more than 260. In Alabama alone, officials report more than 160 people are dead there. Edgar Treiguts with Georgia Public Broadcasting in Atlanta reports the storm killed more than 14 people in that state.

In the north Georgia town of Ringgold, seven people were killed after a twister moved down a number of restaurants and a motel in its path. Ken⁴ Davis with the state's emergency management agency says the death toll may rise once rescue workers get into hard-hit areas.

"And there are a lot of areas of the state where structures, both residential⁵ and commercial, are being searched."

Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency in 16 counties. For NPR News, I'm Edgar Treiguts in Atlanta.

President Obama is shuffling⁶ members of his national security team. The president made the announcement at the White House about 40 minutes ago. CIA Director Leon Panetta is being nominated to take over at the Department of Defense⁷. Replacing Panetta at CIA will be General David Petraeus.

The Chrysler Corporation says it plans to repay more than $7 billion in bailout funds received from the US and Canadian governments. That payment will come later in the quarter. The automaker says it will sell debt and take out bank loans to make the payments. More details of Chrysler's plans could become clear on Monday, when the company releases its first quarter's earnings⁸ report.

And there's news today of higher jobless claims last week and slow economic growth. NPR's Paul Brown reports there are some continuing economic headwinds, but not everyone is pessimistic.

First-quarter economic growth is less than 2% at an annual rate. Bernard Baumoh of the Economic Outlook Group says one reason is: "Households are genuinely squeezed" by higher food and fuel costs, and in a soft job market, he says, workers can't ask for higher wages. IHS Chief Economist⁹ Nariman Behravesh says employment has been improving, and he won't worry until he sees an upward trend of jobless claims based on more than one week's numbers.

"I think it's too early to say yes that they've got an upward trend."

He predicts stronger markets for US exports and faster economic growth ahead, but will it translate into jobs? Baumoh says businesses are buying more technology and machinery¹⁰, so they won't have to hire too many more people. Paul Brown, NPR News, Washington.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded company, says it earned nearly $11 billion in the first three months of the year. This as high gas prices are at the center of the public's attention. The company reported a net income of $10.65 billion or $2.14 per share. That's slightly higher than what analysts¹¹ had expected, predicting earnings of $2.04 per share, according to FactSet. This marks Exxon's best quarter since its record-setting earnings in the third quarter of 2008.

Former President Jimmy Carter says North Korea is facing a severe food shortage. His comments come after spending three days in North Korea and three more days in the South. Mr. Carter and a team of other former heads of the state called the Elders urged the international community to donate aid. But as Jason Strother tells us from Seoul, some nations are still reluctant to assist the North.

Ensuring that food aid was actually reaching North Koreans who need it has long been a concern of international donors¹². But former President Carter says Pyongyang has made changes to alleviate¹³ those concerns.

"In the past, there's been a breakdown¹⁴ in food deliveries from the United States because of the impediments created by North Korea in the United States monitoring the actual delivery of food to individuals in need. Those impediments have now been removed. There are no impediment. That's a change."

But South Korean officials say they want the North to apologize for two deadly attacks last year before any food aid resumes. For NPR News, I'm Jason Strother in Seoul.

NASA says as many as 700,000 people could be on hand tomorrow for the final scheduled launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. Commander Mark Kelly and his wife Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will be at the launch.

1 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。

2 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

5 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

6 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 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%。

9 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。

10 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。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

12 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

14 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。