NPR 2010-09-29

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Pam Coulter.

President Obama is on his first extended campaign trip of the season. NPR’s Scott Horsley says Mr. Obama was in New Mexico for a backyard conversation with middle-class voters.

President Obama visited the home of a longtime New Mexico educator, Etta Cavalier and her husband Andy. He talked about the steps his administration has taken to improve schooling¹ and make college education more affordable². The president warns if Republicans had threatened to cut spending in those areas, should they win control of Congress in November? He says the US needs stronger schooling to compete with countries like China and South Korea.

“They’re not cutting back on education right when we know that that’s going to be the most important thing in determining our success over the long term. And we can’t either. And so I just want everybody to think about those kinds of issues as you go into the polling place in November.”

Mr. Obama will hold similar backyard events later this week in Iowa and Virginia. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Albuquerque.

A bill that would impose new taxes on companies that ship jobs overseas and give tax breaks to businesses that create new jobs in this country is not moving forward in the Senate. Democrats³ failed to get the 60 votes needed for approval today. They held the vote anyway to show their commitment to economic recovery weeks before the election.

Former President Jimmy Carter is getting checked out in a Cleveland hospital instead of signing books on his book tour. He suffered an upset stomach on a flight to Cleveland. His grandson says his 85-year-old grandfather's doing fine.

The all-clear is up at the University of Texas, Austin, which had been on lockdown over a shooting. A masked gunman opened fire on campus then killed himself in a library. No one else was injured.

A new study shows bans on texting while driving have not reduced crash rates and in fact may cause them to rise. NPR’s Brian Naylor says the Transportation Department calls the study “misleading”.

In 30 states, it’s against the law to text and drive. You might think that would lead to a reduction in crashes. But according to the Highway Loss Data Institute, an insurance industry group, four states that have the bans, California, Louisiana, Minnesota and Washington, have found no reduction in crashes. In fact just the opposite, crashes in three of those states have gone up slightly. The president of the HLDI says the numbers show texting bans are ineffective. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood takes issue with the report and says studies have shown in cities that have strictly⁴ enforced texting and cell phone bans, distracted driving has been sharply curtailed⁵. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Washington.

The NTSB says the tractor-trailer driver who slammed into a line of cars on an Oklahoma highway last year, killing⁶ ten people, had been suffering from acute fatigue⁷.

Near the close on Wall Street, the Dow up 62, NASDAQ ahead 11.

This is NPR.

Home prices are up for the fourth month in a row, according to Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index. A 20-city survey found prices rose 0.6 percent from June to July and about three percent from a year ago. Twelve cities showed price increases. Cleveland’s prices were flat and seven other cities showed monthly declines, suggesting the boost from government tax credits for homebuyers is waning⁸.

Police in Utah are investigating a family of polygamists who were featured in a TV reality show. NPR’s Howard Berkes reports news of the show prompted the investigation⁹.

Lehi, Utah police say publicity¹⁰ about the cable television show Sister Wives indicates Kody Brown and his four wives are possibly violating the state’s bigamy law. The Browns openly acknowledged the practice of polygamy in the reality TV show which began Sunday. A police statement says evidence gathered in the investigation will be turned over to the county attorney for possible prosecution¹¹. Persistent¹² television appearances by another polygamist triggered a similar prosecution ten years ago. Then, Tom Green was convicted a bigamy and rape¹³ of a child, a charge based on his so-called spiritual marriage to one of his wives when she was just 13. Green served six years in prison. Police say Kody Brown is only under investigation for bigamy, a third-degree felony. Howard Berkes, NPR News, Salt Lake City.

A Wisconsin Natural Resources official said he’s cautiously optimistic that a sand levee will hold and keep a rural neighborhood in Caledonia from being completely flooded. The levee was partially¹⁴ breached¹⁵ yesterday and turned Blackhawk Park into a virtual island.

I’m Pam Coulter, NPR News in Washington.

1 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

2 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

3 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》

4 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

5 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

8 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 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。

10 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

11 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

12 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

13 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

14 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

15 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。