NPR 2008-10-21

It now appears the Bush administration is having a change of heart when it comes to the idea of a second economic stimulus¹ package aimed at boosting the economy. Both Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and President Bush said today that they are more open to the idea. Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters on Air Force One the White House will have to see what kind of package Congress puts together. And testifying on Capitol Hill before the House Budget Committee, Bernanke took a similar stance, though he said it would be up to Congress to determine the size of a second stimulus measure. Earlier in the year, the administration signed off on a 168-billion-dollar plan that included one-time tax rebate² checks for individuals and families.

Law enforcement officials have confirmed to NPR that 17 subpoenas³ were executed as part of an investigation⁴ into the connection of the collapse⁵ of Lehman Brothers. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports from New York.

Investigators⁶ began looking at Lehman's books for some sort of fraud, soon after the bank declared bankruptcy⁷ last month, among the concerns that Lehman Brothers illegally co-mingled some of its clients' accounts. The officials said Lehman's CEO is among the people subpoenaed⁸. Lehman is subject to three criminal investigations⁹. US attorneys in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Newark, New Jersey¹⁰ are all investigating the company. The investment bank is one of a roster¹¹ of financial companies in the FBI's crosshairs. The FBI has declined to publicly name names, but the bureau keeps revising the number of institutions it says it's looking into. Most recently, FBI Director Robert Mueller has said that the bureau was investigating more than two dozen large financial institutions. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News, New York.

Home sales shot up in southern California due to plummeting¹² prices. But analysts¹⁴ warn the market is still shaky as 50% of all houses sold in the region were foreclosures. NPR's Carrie Kahn has more.

Granted the Southern California market is one of the hardest hit from the subprime mortgage crisis. But real estate analyst¹³ Andrew LePage says it's surprising that half of all homes sold in the region last month were foreclosure sales. "You've got first-time buyers, investors¹⁵ and others out there snapping up what they perceived to be real bargains on some of these foreclosures. And that, you know, it speaks to the depth of the foreclosure problem in California. "

LePage, an analyst with MDA Dataquick, says the medium home prices dropped nearly 40% over last year's figures. But analysts warn that harder times for the real-estate market are still coming, even more home foreclosures are expected, and the September figures are from home sales already in the pipeline¹⁶ before the current financial meltdown. Carrie Kahn, NPR News.

New report from the United Nations labour arm says the financial crisis is likely to cause unemployment to rise globally. UN says it expects the current problems in the credit and financial markets to increase worldwide unemployment by at least 20 million people, bringing the total number of unemployed¹⁷ to around 200 million.

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 413 points.

This is NPR.

Taliban officials are claiming responsibility in the death of a Christian¹⁸ aid worker in Afghanistan, saying the woman was seeking to spread her religion. Taliban gunmen shot 34-year-old Gayle Williams as she was walking to work. However the Christian charity group for whom Williams worked is denying the charges. The group Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprises or SERVE says Williams was dedicated¹⁹ to aiding the disabled there.

Voters are turning out around the country, including some battleground states to be the crowds on November 4th. Early voting began today in Colorado, Florida and Texas. NPR's Libby Lewis has more.

More than two million people have already cast ballots²¹ according to figures gathered from the states, and compiled by George Mason University elections expert Michael McDonald. Thirty one states allow people to vote in person before Election Day. Only four of those states and the District of Columbia were required an excuse to vote early. In Georgia, more than 690, 000 people have voted already, and some 400, 000 voters in North Carolina have cast ballots since last Thursday. In Orange County, California, voters could drive up to an electronic voting booth to cast their ballot²⁰ for Monday only. Voters in Miami waited for hours at some polling places as early voting began in Florida. Libby Lewis, NPR News.

Key gauge²² of future economic sentiment showed a slight uptick last month. The New York-based business research group, the Conference Board, says its index of leading economic indicators²³ posted its first rise in five months. The three tenths of a percent increase in the index followed a nine tenths of a percent decline the previous month. So economists²⁴ credit the slight rise in the index to a jump in the money supplies. The federal government began a series of expensive bailouts for the nation's financial sector²⁵.

1 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

2 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。

3 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 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》

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 subpoenaed   

v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court subpoenaed her to appear as a witness. 法庭传唤她出庭作证。
• The finance director is subpoenaed by prosecution. 财务经理被检查机关传讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。

12 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

13 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

14 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。

15 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

16 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

17 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

18 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

19 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

20 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

21 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

23 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

24 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》

25 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。