NPR 2008-07-26

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is criticizing his rival, Democrat¹ Barack Obama, for bad judgement on Iraq. McCain says Obama opposed last year's surge of US troops sent to Iraq which has helped quell² violence. McCain told an audience of Hispanic military veterans today in Denver had Obama's advice been followed, it would have been disastrous³.  "He would rather choose to lose in Iraq in hopes of winning in Afghanistan. But had his position been adopted, we would have lost both wars."  McCain later met in the day with Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Obama is visiting France， where he met French President Nicholas Sarkozy. They held a news conference today, where Obama reiterated⁴ demands by the Bush administration to Iran over its nuclear program. "Change your behavior and you'll be fully⁵ integrated into the international community with all the benefits that go with that. Continue your illicit⁶ nuclear program and the international community，as a whole, will ratchet up pressure with stronger and increased sanctions."  The Bush administration says Iran is using its nuclear program to build a weapon. Iran says it's for peaceful purposes.

Republicans in the Senate have blocked a bill that would limit speculation⁷ in oil markets. Democrats⁸ say it would help stabilize⁹ high oil prices. Republicans say the problem with high prices is that many people want energy and there isn't enough to supply them. They've been calling for increased offshore¹⁰ drilling to help boost oil supplies to the United States. Republicans also wanted to add several amendments¹¹ to the anti-speculation bill they say will address expensive gas prices.

Stock prices rose a bit today following some economic news that was better than expected. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

New home sales data from the Commerce Department showed that sales over the past two months were a bit stronger than many analysts¹² thought. Sales of new homes still fell 0.6 percent in June. A consumer confidence survey was also stronger than expected. So was demand for big-ticket items like cars, appliances and machinery¹³. Oil prices also kept sliding lower. But there was some less encouraging news that the number of homeowners getting foreclosure notices more than doubled from a year ago. That's one of the biggest threats to the economy. Right now, hundreds of thousands of homes are being dumped on the market through foreclosure sales. That's pushing down prices, it's hurting the banking¹⁴ and credit system, and all that makes a recession more likely. Chris Arnold, NPR News, Boston.

Carnegie Mellon professor and best-selling author Randy Pausch has died. The 47-year-old delivered a well-received speech about terminal cancer last September. It was viewed by millions on the Internet and became a best-selling book called "The Last Lecture". Pausch was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer nearly two years ago.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrials gained 21 points to end the day at 11,370. The NASDAQ Composite gained 30 points and ended at 2,310.

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President Bush has moved to widen sanctions against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his supporters. Mr. Bush's executive order bars them from operating in US financial markets. He says it's a strong message to Zimbabwe there will be consequences if a government ignores the will of its people. Mugabe recently claimed victory in a presidential run-off election that observers say wasn't free or fair but was very violent.

US government officials do not believe a mid-air explosion aboard a Qantas jumbo jet was caused by terrorism. The incident today caused a large hole in the bottom of the jet. The pilot landed safely. No one was hurt. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.

Pictures of the jumbo jet show a hole the size of a small car in the bottom of the plane. The incident occurred at 29,000 feet while the plane was on its way to Melbourne, Australia from Hong Kong. The sudden loss of air pressure in the cabin forced the pilot to quickly bring the plane to a lower altitude and an emergency landing in the Philippines. A US intelligence official said the view of analysts who've seen pictures of the damaged plane is that the clean break of the fuselage suggests it was not caused by a bomb. But the incident is under investigation¹⁵. The flight originated at Heathrow Airport in London, the site of several terrorist plots in recent years. Analysts have also noticed that a baggage container was apparently¹⁶ ruptured¹⁷ in the incident. Investigators¹⁸ will want to determine how a structural¹⁹ defect might have caused that to happen. Tom Gjelten, NPR News.

The Coast Guard has reopened part of the Mississippi River in New Orleans to limited ship traffic. It was closed Wednesday after a huge oil spill. Barge²⁰ and a tanker²¹ collided, spilling hundreds of thousands of fuel oil into the River.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

3 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

4 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

7 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

10 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

11 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

12 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。

13 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。

14 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。

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

16 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

17 ruptured   

v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• They reported that the pipeline had ruptured. 他们报告说管道已经破裂了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wall through Berlin was finally ruptured, prefiguring the reunification of Germany. 柏林墙终于倒塌了，预示着德国的重新统一。 来自辞典例句

18 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

20 barge   

n.平底载货船，驳船

参考例句：

• The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
• Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。

21 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。