NPR 2011-08-18

 President Obama says it will probably be at least a year before home prices start rising again and sales pick up.

 

"It will probably take this year and next year for us to see a slow appreciation¹ again in the housing market."

 

And he says the federal government can't accomplish that alone and will need support from the banking² industry and others to make sure the market pulls out of its slump³. He spoke⁴ today at a town hall meeting in Illinois. Mr. Obama is wrapping up a three-day bus tour of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. Meanwhile, Republican presidential contenders Mitt⁵ Romney and Rick Perry are touring New Hampshire today, where Perry told a crowd he doesn't believe a man-made global warming.

 

"I do not buy into that a group of scientists, who have [been], in some cases, found to be manipulating this information."

 

Perry says he wouldn't commit federal funds to the issue.

 

A historic drought in Texas has caused record-breaking losses for farmers and ranchers. From member station KUT, Nathan Bernier reports.

 

Texas is bone dry, and three-quarters of the state is in the most intense drought category used by the US Drought Monitor. The conditions have ruined crops from cotton to corn, and it has cattle ranchers paying through the nose to feed their animals. Agriculture economist⁶ David Anderson says the losses add up to more than five billion dollars since last November.

 

"...which is more than a billion dollars greater than the record previous drought, which was 2006, in terms of direct economic impact on agriculture."

 

Anderson says consumers will eventually feel the pain at the grocery store. Agriculture also accounts for almost 10% of the Texas economy. For NPR News, I'm Nathan Bernier in Austin, Texas.

 

Producer prices are up for July after a slight drop in June. NPR's Paul Brown reports that wholesale⁷ price increases aren't creeping too far to the retail⁸ marketplace yet because of the sluggish⁹ economy. But one category is an exception.

 

The July Producer Price Index is up by 0.2%, twice what analysts¹⁰ expected. Most of the increase is due to higher costs of light trucks, food and tobacco. Investment strategist Doug Roberts attributes some of the increases to vacation season demand he says may drop in the fall. But tobacco, he says, is in a class by itself. 

 

"Tobacco seems to be the item that everybody loves to hate. Now they keep increasing their prices. We keep increasing their taxes. And as a result, people still consume, but they pay more and more."

 

Roberts says food prices are rising as developing countries switch to Western-type diets, and demand for corn jumps in both the food and fuel industries. Paul Brown, NPR News.

 

On Wall Street just ahead of the close, the Dow was up four points at 11,410; the NASDAQ down 12 points at 2,511; S&P 500 up one at 1,194.

 

This is NPR.

 

Heavy clashes broke out in Libya between rebel forces and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi fighting for the control of the only functioning oil refinery¹¹ in the coastal¹² city of Zawiya. The rebels surrounded the refinery which supplies oil and gas to the capital.

 

Prosecutors¹³ in the Netherlands say they have circumstantial evidence linking four Hezbollah members to the 2005 assassination¹⁴ of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. But as Larry Miller¹⁵ reports, they concede there is no smoking gun.

 

The UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon says there's enough evidence to go ahead with a trial of the four Hezbollah members. Among them, the suspected bomb maker¹⁶, who blew up the US Marine¹⁷ barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing¹⁸ 241 Americans. The indictment¹⁹ into the truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others relies heavily on telephone records linking the suspects to cell phone used by the assassination teams. Hezbollah calls the tribunal an Israeli plot and claims Israel manipulated the phone records. It also refuses to turn over the suspects, and Lebanon says it can't find them. However, the court could try them in absentia. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

 

Four of the five largest tobacco companies are suing the federal government over the new graphic²⁰ cigarette label warnings required by the Food and Drug Administration. Those are the ones that show a diseased lung and a sewn-up corpse²¹ among others. The companies, including R.J. Reynolds, say the warnings violate their rights of free speech.

 

Will consumers pay three dollars a month for a debit²² card? Wells Fargo wants to find out. The San Francisco-based bank says the fee will be applied²³ to checking accounts in certain states, starting in October. And that would be on top of the monthly service fees the bank already charges. 

1 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

6 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。

7 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

8 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

9 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

10 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。

11 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

12 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

13 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。

14 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

15 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

16 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

17 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

18 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

19 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

20 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

21 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

22 debit   

n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项

参考例句：

• To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方？
• We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱，只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。

23 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。