NPR 2008-11-19

Washington attorney Eric Holder¹ will be nominated by President-elect Barack Obama as his choice for Attorney General according to a source close to the transition team. The team has yet to comment publicly. Holder, a former US attorney, also served as the No. 2 official in the Justice Department under President Bill Clinton. Well, that association with the former president could prove to be problematic since Holder helped better presidential pardon for financier Marc Rich that came under intense criticism. If approved, he would become the nation's first black attorney general. Eric Holder is 57 years old and a graduate of Columbia Law School.

Treasury³ Secretary Henry Paulson clashed with Democrats⁵ on Capitol Hill today, who wanted him to use bailout money to slow the pace of home foreclosures. NPR's Jeff Brady has more.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said language in the legislation creating the 700-billion-dollar bailout of the financial industry talks specifically about using the money to reduce home foreclosures. But the Bush administration has been reluctant to do that, instead focusing on investing in banks, hoping that will give them enough financial security to resume lending. Paulson also rejected  Democrat⁴'s suggestion the bailout money should be used to help the US auto⁶ industry. Jeff Brady, NPR News, Washington.

Alaska Senator Ted² Stevens has fallen further behind opponent Democrat Mark Begich in his reelection bid. Stevens is the longest serving Republican in the history of the Senate. He now trails his rival by 2, 374 votes during an ongoing⁷ count of 24, 000 absentee and other ballots⁸. Stevens is seeking a 7th term in office despite being convicted last month of felony charges of failing (to) report more than 250, 000 dollars in home improvements and other gifts from the head of a former oil services company.

US Intelligence analysts⁹ are predicting the Middle East will regain¹⁰ an unstable¹¹ region at least for the next 15 or 20 years with a restive¹² population and ongoing conflicts over natural resources. The grim scenario¹³ is outlined in a new report by the National Intelligence Council. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.

The predictions come in an estimate of how the world may appear in the year 2025. The report won't be released until later this week, but the head of the National Intelligence Council Thomas Fingar previewed the Middle East section. "We see the Middle East as at the center of an arc of instability. Almost every problem that will challenge political leadership anywhere on the globe is to be found there, and many at a higher degree of severity or intensity¹⁴. " Analysts foresee demographic and resource pressures, with a more youthful population and growing competition for water, terrorism is likely to continue. Still the outlook is not totally dark, existing international institutions will prove incapable¹⁵ of solving the Middle East's problems, but regional groups could take their place. Tom Gjelten, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 151 points to close at 8, 424. The S&P 500 climbed 8 points today. This is NPR.

Pirates who seized a Saudi supertanker loaded with 100 million dollars worth of crude oil have anchored that vessel¹⁷ within sight of an impoverished¹⁸ Somali fishing village. At the same time, other bandits are taking control over an Iranian cargo¹⁹ vessel, the 7th ship to be hijacked²⁰ within the past 12 days. Saudi Arabia now says it will join the international fight against piracy²¹ and Somali officials have also vowed²² to try to rescue the hijacked tanker¹⁶ by force if necessary. The latest seizure²³ marks a first both to the size of the vessel and the fact it was seized well out the sea, some 450 miles off the Kenyan coast.

A day after the US and Iraq agreed to all American forces leaving that country by the end of 2011, Iraq's Prime Minister addressed the nation to defend the accord. NPR's Nashi Dehah reports from Bagdad.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appeared on national television and said that while he had reservations about the accord, it helped build a solid foundation for the future of Iraq. The agreement is before the Iraqi Parliament right now, and do it as expected to pass, that is not assured as at least one group in Parliament opposes it. The accord calls US forces to leave Iraqi towns and cities by the middle of next year, and a withdrawal²⁴ of all US forces by the end of 2011. Maliki insisted neither of these was negotiable. He reassured²⁵ neighboring countries that Iraq would never be used to launch attacks on other nations. He also dismissed claims by critics that the deal was negotiated in secrecy²⁶, or that it had loopholes. Nishion Dehah NPR News, Bagdad.

AAA says even with the recent falloff in gasoline prices, it’s looking for fewer people to travel this Thanksgiving. The travel club says it's forecasting around 41 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles or more from home, that's down from 41. 6 million last year. The economy is being cited as the main reason.

1 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 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。

5 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》

6 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 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》

9 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。

10 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

11 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

12 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

13 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

14 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

15 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

16 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。

17 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

18 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 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。

20 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

21 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

22 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

23 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

24 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

25 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。