NPR 2011-08-09

 A brutal¹ day on Wall Street with US stocks plunging² as Standard & Poor's did another downgrade this time on mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The closing bell just a minute to go, the Dow closing down more than 600 points under the 11,000 mark. NPR’s Margot Adler has the details.

 

Standard & Poor's downgraded the US's credit rating from AAA to AA+ late Friday. So this was the first day the market could respond. The Dow was down as much as 600 points for part of the afternoon. The first time the index fell below 11,000 since November. Bank of America stock fell more than 18% in heavy trading. The NASDAQ fell and so did S&P 500. Gold passed 1,700 dollars an ounce — a record high. Treasury³ prices rose. This despite Standard & Poor's assessment⁴ that they were a riskier⁵ investment than the debt of Canada and France. The reaction in the US markets was not all based on the action of Standard & Poor's. Most analysts⁶ said it was part of a globe sell-off based on worries about the debt problems in the eurozone as well as US economic problems. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

 

Meanwhile, speaking from the White House, President Obama today slammed the rating agency's downgrade of the US credit, saying despite it, the United States is and always has been a AAA country.

 

"That doesn't mean we don't have a problem. The fact is, we didn't need a rating agency to tell us that we need a balanced, long-term approach to deficit⁷ reduction. That was true last week. That was true last year. That was true the day I took office."

 

Mr. Obama also made a plea to Congress to take action to create new jobs.

 

The State Department says it is encouraged that Arab countries are doing more to pressure Syria to end a brutal crackdown on protesters. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports that several countries have withdrawn⁸ their ambassadors to Damascus.

 

State Department spokesman Mark Toner says the US is heartened by recent statements from the Arab League and Gulf⁹ Cooperation Council. He says they have shown that the international community is repulsed¹⁰ by the brutal action of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

 

"The message is becoming clearer and clearer to Assad that he has fewer and fewer friends."

 

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain have recalled their ambassadors. Toner says the Obama administration wants to keep its ambassador there for now so that the envoy¹¹ can continue to bear witness to what's going on in Syria. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

 

The Obama administration is giving school districts a break from the stringent¹² testing mandates¹³ of the No Child Left Behind law. As long as they pursue other reform efforts, Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the president authorized¹⁴ him to grant the waivers because Congress failed to act. Critics have called the benchmarks unrealistic.

 

On Wall Street, three preliminary closing numbers: the Dow down 633 points; the NASDAQ down 161 points at 2,370; the S&P 500 down 73 points.

 

You're listening to NPR News.

 

The former head of the National Institutes of Health and the head of the Red Cross during the 9/11 attacks on the United States has died. Dr. Bernadine Healy died this weekend in Ohio. She suffered from brain cancer, but the cause of her death hasn't been announced. She was 67.

 

Philadelphia police are stepping up patrols, and the city is tightening¹⁵ its curfew after a series of mob attacks by large groups of teenagers in recent weeks. From member station WHYY in Philadelphia, Elizabeth Fiedler reports Philadelphia's mayor announced plans to prevent and punish future mobs.

 

Mayor Michael Nutter¹⁶ is temporarily tightening the city's curfew till nine o'clock p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays for those under 18 years old in targeted enforcement zones. He says curfew breakers risk serious fines.

 

"If you assault a fellow Philadelphian, a visitor or anyone else in the city, you're going to jail. The full force of the Philadelphia justice system will come down on your shoulders, and unfortunately your life will be forever changed."

 

Nutter called the mob participants ignorant reckless fools who seem not to grasp the consequences of their actions. One woman's leg was broken in an attack. She said she's just glad none of her friends who were kicked in the head suffer permanent brain damage. For NPR News, I'm Elizabeth Fiedler in Philadelphia.

 

Artifacts discovered in an ancient drainage tunnel under the city of Jerusalem are left over from a war that took place 2,000 years ago. Archaeologists say the items include a Roman sword and a sheath. That sword dates to around 70 A.D., when Rome put down a Jewish revolt.

 

Oil prices plunged¹⁷ to the lowest level of the year today down $5.57 to $81.31 a barrel in New York. 

 

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1 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

2 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 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？

5 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

6 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。

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

9 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。

10 repulsed   

v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝

参考例句：

• I was repulsed by the horrible smell. 这种可怕的气味让我恶心。
• At the first brush,the enemy was repulsed. 敌人在第一次交火时就被击退了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

12 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

13 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

14 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

15 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

16 nutter   

n.疯子

参考例句：

• Don't call him nutter because it is such a bad term.别叫他“疯子”，这不是个好词。
• But it's awfully ruthless and cold-blooded for a nutter from the other side.但是对那边的疯子们来说，却也实在太冷血无情了。

17 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。