NPR 2008-02-26

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Paul Brown.

 

The government reports that wholesale¹ prices rose by 1 percent in January, more than twice what economists² had expected and giving the fastest inflation pace (of 口误) in 16 years.

 

The full Senate has 2 politically charged votes ahead of today. One is on a Democratic sponsored measure to restrict funds already approved for the Iraq war, another would require President Bush to report on the nation's strategy to fight terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and elsewhere, a mission the measure's Democratic sponsors believe is at least as important as the Iraq war if not more so. The Senate may vote later today on whether to begin debate on a measure backers say would make it easier for some homeowners to avoid foreclosure. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

 

The bill will allow judges to modify mortgage terms during bankruptcy³ proceedings⁴ including reducing the amount of principal owed. Sponsors say that might help hundreds of thousands of borrowers avoid foreclosure. Democrats⁵ argue that the subprime mortgage crisis and a newly reported decline in sales of existing homes is evidence some consumers need help hanging onto their homes and that the housing industry needs a boost. But lenders opposed the measure. They say it could actually increase costs for borrowers, because lenders would have to charge more for loans with the risk then mortgage terms would be changed. They have support from Republicans and it's uncertain whether Democrats can muster⁶ the 60 votes necessary to bring up the bill without making some changes. Brian Naylor, NPR News, the Capitol.

 

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will debate tonight in Cleveland, Ohio. It's their last one-on-one encounter before the crucial March 4th primaries in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont. NPR's Mara Liasson has more.

 

Tonight's debate sponsored by MSNBC gives Hillary Clinton one last chance to stop Barack Obama's momentum⁷. Even her husband Bill Clinton has said she must win both the big primaries next week, Ohio and Texas, in order to stay in the race for the Democratic nomination⁸. And Although she is ahead in the polls in both states, Obama has been making inroads with key voting groups Clinton used to own, less affluent⁹ white Democrats, Hispanics and Union members. Tonight Clinton might repeat some of the attacks she made in a foreign policy speech yesterday when she went after Obama in the area her campaign considers his greatest weakness. Without mentioning his name she suggested he was not ready to be Commander in Chief, because his approach to foreign policy was reckless and naive¹⁰. Mara Liasson, NPR News.

 

Secretary of Defense¹¹ Robert Gates is in New Delhi today where he said he wants the US relationship with India to improve. "Well, we get to deal with the world as we find it, er, India is the world's largest democracy. It's in our interest to develop this relationship. " The US is also interested in promoting sales of American-made arms to India.

 

From Washington, this is NPR News.

 

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Chinese officials in Beijing today. She wants the Chinese to keep pressing North Korea to dismantle¹² its nuclear programs. And she said Chinese officials have assured her that they will do that. Rice's visit to China came on the same day that the New York Philharmonic performed a history-making concert in North Korea. Rice downplayed the importance of the concert in recent days and she didn't mention it today.

 

A new study shows that poor people made health gains on rich people between 1960s and 1980s in the US, but they've lost out ever since. NPR's Joanne Silberner has more.

 

Health statistics show a higher rate of infant mortality and early deaths in adults among poor people and minorities as compared to rich people. Harvard University researchers wanted to see whether the difference has been constant. So they looked at death statistics and census¹³ data from 1960 to 2002. They found that in the early years, the difference between rich people and poor people lessened¹⁴. But between 1980 and 2002, disparities increased. The findings are in the online journal PLoS Medicine. The researchers say the changing pattern isn't easily explainable. It's not likely to be the economy, HIV AIDS, smoking or better diagnostic tests. They suggest the emphasis on civil rights in the 1960s and 70s may have helped minorities get better access to health care. Joanne Silberner, NPR News, Washington.

 

A new government projection¹⁵ shows overall spending on health care in the US will nearly double over the next ten years. One reason, the large baby boom generation is starting to hit retirement¹⁶ age, which means eligibility¹⁷ for the federal Medicare program and need for more prescriptions¹⁸.

 

I'm Paul Brown in Washington.

1 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

2 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》

3 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。

4 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

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 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

7 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

10 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

13 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

14 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

15 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

16 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

17 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

18 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。