NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-04-12

 After the tortured rollout of the Obama administration's new healthcare initiative, the head of the agency that oversaw¹ the effort is stepping down. The White House is confirming Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has submitted the resignation. NPR's Scott Horsley says while early glitches² which online insurance exchange can't be blamed brought the 65 years old Sebelius. She did current her watch. 

While the president himself has said it wasn't Sebelius who was responsible for writing the code of the website, but certainly she was the secretary running the department, and if there was a problem with the website she at least should know about it, correct it and alert it Obama, so she wasn't saying on the eve of launch it's gonna be great. It's gonna function like Amazon on a Kayak. NPR's Scott Horsley. 

The president reportedly would nominate his budget director, Sylvia Mathews Burwell to replace Sebelius. 

 

As for Sebelius, she dropped no hint earlier today with business as usual. She testified before members of Senate Finance Committee which defended the president healthcare plan which she said it's on track. 

"Last week, we announced that 7.1 million Americans have signed up for private insurance through the Marketplace. As up this week, 400,000 additional Americans have signed up, and we expect that number to continue to grow."

President remained public support up for Sebelius during the trouble's rollout though she was conspicuously³ absent last week when she hailed the recent surge enroll⁴ message signature initiative during an event of the White House's rose garden. 

 

A strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake did hit the area in Nicaragua, capital of Managua has been reportedly caused some injuries in a town north of the city; relative 28 homes were also damaged. According to US Geological Service, the quake is relatively⁵ shallow depth of 6.2 miles where center's about 30 miles north of Managua. 

 

Numbers of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time is falling to the lowest level in almost 7 years. NPR's Chris Arnold reports the drop of so-called jobless claim was better than most analysts⁶ expected. 

Some endlessly seek work started to see a rebate⁷ of the economy following a long, cold stormy winter. The bad weather was hurting a lot of businesses, and when the spring we see a better job growth. The past couples of months, the economy gained to about 200,000 jobs per month. That's still slower than many economists⁸ were alike, but better than it was in winter. As far as the latest report, last week there was fewer people filing for unemployment than we see since away back in May of 2007. Those job was claimed was down 10% for the week before. That's a pretty steep drop. Some analysts caution that the number might be thrown up by seasonal⁹ factors, but the overall trend is definitely that fewer people are getting laid off and seeking unemployment. Chris Arnold, NPR News. 

 

On Wall Street, today's Dow dropped 266 points, ending the session at 16,117; The NASDAQ was down 129 points. 

 

You're listening to NPR News in Washington. 

 

Russian president Vladimir Putin is calling on 18 European leaders to quickly move to authorize¹⁰ financial assists for Ukraine. In a letter released today by the Kremlim, Putin is warning Ukraine mounting gas debt could force Moscow to start to demand in advance payment from Russian suppliers. Putin is warning if Ukraine failed to make the payment, Russia's state-controlled gas pumps could be completely or partially¹¹ ceased gas deliveries. 

 

Disney is celebrating the 50 anniversary of its ride “It's A Small World”. Amy Kelly,  numbers station from WMMC in Orlando, reports the worldwide sing-along helped to mark today. 

Fans of “It's A Small World” have contributed to the sing-along online and the live at the park, and just like the ride, they used a mixed of languages. Walt Disney helped to create “It's A Small World” ride to unify¹² the 1964 World Fair in New York. It doesn't have technology but Disney world blogger David Shu says it's still "appeared to kids". 

"It got color; it got action; it got toys; it got miniaturization which kids always like, so it's fun for kids, but it's also kind of fun for adults."

Disney World is releasing a video compilation¹³ of the sing-along. For NPR News, I'm Amy Kelly in Orlando.

 

comedian¹⁴ Stephen Colbert, best known for satirizing¹⁵ political conservatives for the show on comedy central had the Late Night night work TV. 49-year-old host the Colbert Report was reported to succeed Late Night star David Letterman, the host of CBS's Late Show when Letterman leaves that show next year. Late Night in a statement said Colbert signed up 5 years deal. It didn't say whether the Late Show will stay in New York. 

 

1 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

2 glitches   

n.小过失，差错( glitch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory's output. 生产中的故障影响了该厂的产量。 来自辞典例句
• Another kind of period variation,\"Glitches,\" are seen in several pulsars. 在几个脉冲星中还看到了周期的另一种变化，即“自转突快”现象。 来自辞典例句

3 conspicuously   

ad.明显地，惹人注目地

参考例句：

• France remained a conspicuously uneasy country. 法国依然是个明显不太平的国家。
• She figured conspicuously in the public debate on the issue. 她在该问题的公开辩论中很引人注目。

4 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

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 rebate   

v./n.折扣，回扣，退款；vt.给...回扣，给...打折扣

参考例句：

• You can claim a rebate on your tax.你可以要求退回部分税款。
• Customers are to benefit from a rebate on their electricity bills.顾客将从他们的电费退费中得到实惠。

8 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

10 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

11 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。

12 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

13 compilation   

n.编译，编辑

参考例句：

• One of the first steps taken was the compilation of a report.首先采取的步骤之一是写一份报告。
• The compilation of such diagrams,is of lasting value for astronomy.绘制这样的图对天文学有永恒的价值。

14 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

15 satirizing   

v.讽刺，讥讽( satirize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• River morals " is novel satirizing the knight novel. " 《堂吉河德》是一部讽刺骑士小说的小说。 来自互联网
• Marlows delights in excesses, until sometimes he seems to be satirizing his own manner. 马洛老爱走极端，直到他有时嘲笑自己的态度。 来自互联网