NPR 2008-12-30

There are more reports of Israeli aircraft firing missiles into Gaza, killing¹ additional Palestinians. According to officials, Israeli warplanes fired missiles at government buildings in Gaza City, flattening² several buildings and killing a number of people. The number of casualties from Israeli offensive that began over the weekend has now risen to more than 300. Israel also struck next the Hamas premier's home and destroyed a security compound and a university building. At least three people meanwhile reportedly have been killed by rockets fired into Israel. An exiled Hamas official is ruling out any talk of a ceasefire until Israel ends the air strikes and reopens Gaza crossings.

The Bush administration says it's working hard to rebuild the fractured ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. President Bush has spoken with several Arab leaders since Saturday. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe indicated the Bush administration is still looking for a lasting³ ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But Johndroe clearly blamed Hamas for the violence in Gaza and that the militant⁴ group must take the first step to stop the bloodshed. "In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable⁵ ceasefire. " Johndroe called Hamas a terrorist organization that had shown its true colors during the conflict in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Bush administration has not called for Israel to stop its airstrikes against Gaza, saying that Israel needs to defend itself. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

The number of black male teenagers and young adults who have been killed or being killed in shootings has risen sharply since 2000. That's conclusion of a study released today. NPR's Paul Brown has that story.

Criminologists at Northeastern University in Boston say that as FBI data show murders have leveled off nationwide, there have been dramatic increases in shooting deaths among black male teenagers. The report says that last year 426 black males between the ages of 14 and 17 died in gun crimes. That's 40% more than in 2000. And the study shows nearly 1, 000 young black males committed fatal shootings in 2007. That is 38% higher than in 2000. The researchers say the number of young white men committing gun-related homicides also rose, but nowhere near as sharply. The study's authors criticized the Bush administration for cutting grants to local police and youth crime prevention programs. One of them urges new investment in programs to help children and families. Paul Brown, NPR News, Washington.

Two days after a deadline for a vote by bond holders⁶ at General Motors finance arm has come and gone, there is still no word on whether they've approved the bond exchange. The exchange is viewed as critical for allowing the automaker's financial arm GMAC to tap into federal bailout money. GMAC bond holders had till December 26th to approve the exchange. It requires shareholders⁸ convert 75% of their debt into equity⁹ in GMAC, giving the company 30 billion dollars in capital.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31 points. The NASDAQ lost 19.

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The announcement that Kuwait has decided¹⁰ to back out of a more than 17-billion-dollar joint¹¹ venture with Dow Chemical will likely result in some changes in terms of the company's future plans, possibly to include acquisitions according to analysts¹². Kuwaiti government announced because of the global financial crisis and the recent falloff in oil prices, it has decided the joint venture, known as K-Dow Petrochemicals, was "too risky¹³". The venture was initially¹⁴ built as giving both parties a larger share of the global chemicals market. Midland, Michigan-based Dow said it was extremely disappointed with Kuwaiti government's decision.

It was a record year for tourism in New York despite the recession. NPR's Robert Smith has more.

First the good news for a city racked by financial problems: 47 million people visited the Big Apple in 2008, nearly a million more than last year and those people came with open wallets. Tourists to New York generated 30 billion dollars in spending, also setting a new record. The challenging news for New York is that almost all the increase came from international tourists. They came to the city in droves earlier in the year spurred by the weak dollar. Now that the dollar has strengthened, officials worried that it might drop off. And New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg warns that the increase in spending this year was a smaller jump than years past. He said the ongoing¹⁵ financial downturn is going to weight heavily on all of New York's hospitality industry. Robert Smith, NPR News, New York.

Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban has acquired a more than 9% stake in Carmike Cinemas. That's according to a filing with securities regulators. Cuban also owns the Dallas Mavericks¹⁶ basketball team, reportedly purchased 1.2 million shares in Carmike, currently faces charges of insider trading in connection with another deal: the decision to bail⁷ out the investment search-engine company Mamma.com that allowed him to avoid 750, 000 dollars in losses.

1 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。

2 flattening   

n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词

参考例句：

• Flattening of the right atrial border is also seen in constrictive pericarditis. 右心房缘变平亦见于缩窄性心包炎。
• He busied his fingers with flattening the leaves of the book. 他手指忙着抚平书页。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

6 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

7 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

8 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

9 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 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。

13 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

14 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。

15 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。

16 mavericks   

未烙印的牲畜( maverick的名词复数 )； 标新立异的人，不合常规的人

参考例句：

• And what about the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki? 那达拉斯小牛队和诺维斯基呢？
• And we see it with bringing Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks. 而且我们看到它同实现基德向达拉斯小牛队。