NPR 2008-12-07

President-elect Barack Obama says his administration will undertake the largest public works program since the building of the interstate highway system back in the 1950s. The goal is to create millions of new jobs and bolster¹ the sagging² U.S. economy. "When Congress reconvenes in January, I look forward to working with them to pass a plan immediately. We need to act with the urgency this moment demands. " Mr. Obama in his weekly radio address said the program would range well beyond traditional infrastructure⁴ projects and include initiatives to create new technological⁵ and so-called green jobs and to upgrade computers and internet access in schools.

White House officials have been in talks with Democratic Congressional leaders all day today in an effort to agree on a plan to provide short-term emergency federal loans to U.S. automakers to keep them afloat through the first quarter of the new year. The loans are expected to total at least 15 billion dollars. David Cole, Chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, a non-profit group in Michigan, says that would be money well spent considering the cost of bankruptcy⁶ by one or more of the Big Three. "The cost of the impact, the negative impact are taxes, lack of Social Security payments sent to the government, the unemployment, the coverage⁷, all of that is so much greater than the cost of a bridge loan.” The talks are now reported to be centered on what conditions automakers must accept to get the loans. Key Republican lawmakers have not yet said whether they’ll support the emergency loan plan.

There're reports that Pakistan put its military forces on higher alert last week after a prank⁸ caller pretending to be India's foreign minister spoke⁹ to Pakistan's president in a threatening manner. The call occurred two days after the start of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. NPR's Jackie Northam has the story.

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper says President Asif Ali Zardari received the phone call late in the evening, November 28th, when the terror attacks were still unfolding in Mumbai. According to the reputable daily newspaper, the caller said he was Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee. And because of the heightened tension between the two nuclear-armed countries over the attacks, the standard verification procedures were bypassed. The newspaper says the man purporting¹⁰ to be India’s foreign minister began speaking in a threatening manner which convinced many in the Pakistani government that India was preparing for war. Over the next 24 hours, Pakistan's air force was put on the highest alert, watching for any military build-up by India. The newspaper said the episode sparked intense international diplomacy¹¹ to ward³ off the two countries from going to war again over a hoax¹². Jackie Northam, NPR News, Islamabad.

Hundreds of young people went on a rampage in Athens after Greek police reportedly shot and killed a 16-year-old boy who was accused of trying to hurl¹³ a makeshift bomb at a police car. The rioters smashed store windows and clashed with police who dispersed¹⁴ crowds with teargas.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Officials in China are said to be upset over French President Nicholas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama in Poland today. Eleanor Beardsley has the story.

Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama takes place on the sidelines of a gathering¹⁵ of  Nobel Prize laureates to celebrate the 25th anniversary. A Solidarity¹⁶ Union leader Lech Walesa’ winning the prize. Tensions between France and China are on a rise again after a fallout between the two countries this summer. Chinese consumers boycotted¹⁷ a major French supermarket chain after an Olympic torch runner was roughed up in Paris. In an effort to repair relations this summer, Sarkozy attended the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Initially¹⁹ he had threatened to boycott¹⁸ the ceremony and he avoided meeting with the Dalai Lama during the spiritual leader's visit to France in August. But this time Sarkozy seems to be ignoring China's threats. For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

President Bush was in Philadelphia today. He attended the annual Army-Navy football game after giving pep talks to the teams. Earlier he received two honors from a city group, Philadelphia's Union League. Windsor Johnston, a member station WRTI reports.

Mr. Bush was presented with the league's highest honor, the gold medal, which praises government officials and members of the armed services for their outstanding service to the country. The president is the 37th recipient²⁰ of the award. The first was President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The Union league also unveiled its Philadelphia's portrait of the president. It's one of only three presidential portraits painted during a president's term in office. For NPR News, I'm Windsor Johnston in Philadelphia.

1 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

2 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

3 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

6 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。

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 prank   

n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己

参考例句：

• It was thought that the fire alarm had been set off as a prank.人们认为火警报警器响是个恶作剧。
• The dean was ranking the boys for pulling the prank.系主任正在惩罚那些恶作剧的男学生。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 purporting   

v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Cindy Adams (Columnist) : He's purporting to be Mother Teresa. 辛迪？亚当斯（专栏作家）：他无意成为德兰修女。 来自互联网
• To prohibit certain practices purporting to be sales by auction. 本条例旨在对看来是以拍卖方式作出的售卖中某些行为予以禁止。 来自互联网

11 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

12 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

13 hurl   

vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂

参考例句：

• The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
• To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。

14 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

15 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

16 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

17 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

18 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

19 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

20 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。