NPR 2012-07-03

 GlaxoSmithKline is settling a historic health care fraud case for three billion dollars. The drugmaker has agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor criminal charges that it promoted its drugs for unauthorized uses and failed to disclose to pertinent¹ information to the FDA. Among those drugs cited were Paxil, Wellbutrin and Avandia. Bill Corr, deputy secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, says abuses in the pharmaceutical² industry affect everyone. 

 

“When corporations misbrand a drug, manipulate prices, improperly³ influence doctors or keep critical safety information from the light of day, they betray people's trust and confidence in the very care they count on to get well and to stay healthy.”

 

The British-based Glaxo says it will adhere to strict US oversight⁴ of its sales personnel. 

 

This hour, Kodak is shutting down its digital photo service, making way for Shutterfly, as NPR's Laura Sydell reports.

 

Kodak, the former king of the American photo industry, has been selling off bits and pieces of its business. The once great innovator⁵ in the analog⁶ photo era filed for bankruptcy⁷ in January. The Rochester, New York-based company sold what it calls Kodak Gallery to the Silicon⁸ Valley-based Shutterfly for nearly 24 million dollars. Gallery has more than 68 million customers in the US and Canada who will temporarily lose access to their photos. A Shutterfly spokesperson says they will move as quickly as possible to get the Kodak accounts up and running on their site. As part of its bankruptcy proceedings⁹, Kodak is also trying to sell its digital imaging patents with an estimated value of more than 2.5 billion dollars. Laura Sydell, NPR News, San Francisco.

 

Manufacturing activity has shrunk for the first time in nearly three years. The Institute for Supply Management said today that its reading on factory activity dropped last month as new orders and production fell.

 

A year ago today, the US Education Department released what it called “gainful employment” regulations targeting four profit colleges that rake in lots of federal student aid, but lose students with crushing debt and poor job prospects¹⁰. NPR’s Claudio Sanchez reports a US district court judge has thrown out key provisions of the regulation.

 

It was a huge win for four profit colleges this weekend after Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that the government's gainful employment regulations were arbitrary and capricious. Under the regulations, the Department of Education would evaluate schools, based on whether students graduated with excessive debt compared to their total and discretionary income and whether students could repay their loan at all. If schools fall short of this criterion three out of four years, they would be banned from receiving federal student aid. The judge ruled that these guidelines, although legal, did not adequately assess students’ ability to pay. Education Department officials say they are reviewing their options for appeal. Claudio Sanchez, NPR News.

 

This is NPR.

 

The Associated Press is reporting at least one death from the Air National Guard cargo¹¹ plane crash in South Dakota yesterday. The six-member crew was helping¹² battle a wildfire when the aircraft went down. 

 

Airbus has formally announced plans to build an assembly plant in Alabama where it will make passenger airplanes. The decision gives the European aerospace¹³ giant its first foothold in the US to compete with Boeing. The plant is expected to employ 1,000 people by the time it reaches full production. 

 

Swimmer Michael Phelps will compete in only seven events in London, according to his coach. NPR's Mike Pesca reports this means Phelps cannot equal his record-setting mark of eight gold medals in a single Olympics Game.

 

Phelps's coach confirmed the swimmer would skip the 200-meter freestyle, an event he won five days ago, edging out his rival Ryan Lochte by 500 of a second. But Lochet beat Phelps in the 200 at the world championship in 2011. And by jettisoning¹⁴ the race and his preliminary heats, Phelps gives himself a bit more rest to pursue his four other individual events. During Olympic trials, Phelps beat Lochet in three out of four events in which they both competed. Lochet will also swim seven events, as will 17-year-old Missy Franklin. No US woman has ever competed in seven events in one Olympics. Mike Pesca, NPR News.

 

US stocks mixed at last check, with the Dow off 39 points at 12,841 in trading of  two billion shares, NASDAQ Composite Index up five points at 2,940, and the S&P 500 down slightly at 1,362.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.

1 pertinent   

adj.恰当的；贴切的；中肯的；有关的；相干的

参考例句：

• The expert made some pertinent comments on the scheme.那专家对规划提出了一些中肯的意见。
• These should guide him to pertinent questions for further study.这些将有助于他进一步研究有关问题。

2 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

3 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

4 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

5 innovator   

n.改革者；创新者

参考例句：

• The young technical innovator didn't lose heart though the new system was not yet brought into a workable condition. 尽管这种新方法尚未达到切实可行的状况，这位青年技术革新者也没有泄气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Caesar planned vast projects and emerged as a great innovator. 恺撒制定了庞大的革新计划。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

6 analog   

n.类似物，模拟

参考例句：

• The analog signal contains high-frequency video information,which helps make up the picture.模拟信号包括有助于构成图像的高频视频信息。
• The analog computer measures continuously,without proceeding step by step.模拟计算机不是一步一步地进行，而是连续地进行量度。

7 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

8 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

9 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

10 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

11 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

14 jettisoning   

v.抛弃，丢弃( jettison的现在分词 )；投下

参考例句：