NPR 2008-05-23

The Senate today approved a bill funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with a measure containing money for domestic programs including an expanded GI Bill. NPR’s Brian Naylor has more.

The war funding bill will provide some 165 billion dollars in military spending into next year. The domestic portion includes money for extended unemployment benefits and for expanded education benefits for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Virginia Democrat¹ Jim Webb authored the measure. “There is no politics in this. This is taking care of the people who have taken care of us.” The bill had the support of both Democratic presidential candidates and some two dozen Republicans. Republican Senator John McCain did not vote, but had stated his opposition². The funding measures now move back to the House. Brian Naylor, NPR News, the Capitol.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has rejected the endorsement³ of a controversial evangelical pastor⁴. This time, it was over Rev⁵. John Hagee’s remarks about the Holocaust⁶. NPR’s Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports.

The latest revelation was about a sermon Hagee gave to his Texas megachurch in the late 1990s, when he said that God used Hitler to shepherd the Jews out of Europe. “And they, the hunters, shall hunt them, that will be the Jews. From every mountain and from every hill and from out of the holes of the rocks. If that doesn’t describe what Hitler did in the Holocaust, you can’t see that.” He said God’s top priority was to get the Jews to reestablish the State of Israel. McCain has stood by Hagee despite his comments that the Catholic Church is "the Great Whore" or that God punished New Orleans for a Gay Pride march with a hurricane. McCain said he found the Hitler remarks “indefensible”. He said he did not know of them before Hagee’s endorsement, even though Hagee's controversial views have been well-known for a long time. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR News.

Authorities in Northern Colorado are confirming at least one death following a tornado⁷ touchdown there today, with some of the heaviest damage said to be in Weld County, an area about 50 miles north of Denver. Officials say the storm moved through or near a number of towns including Windser, Colorado. Barbara Kirkmeyer is with Weld County Emergency Services and described some of the damage there. “We do know of several houses that were damaged, a lot of rooftops gone, homes completely damaged.” TV footage showed crumpled⁸ farming irrigation equipment. Officials say they are still assessing the number of injuries there. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter declared a state of emergence⁹ in Weld County where thousands are said to be without power. (There are) also reports of overturned vehicles on a highway in Laramie, Wyoming.

In yet another measure of home prices, this one from the federal government’s Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight¹⁰, there is more evidence the problems for the housing market continue. The government reports nationally, US house prices fell by 3.1% in the first quarter compared to a year ago, the sharpest decline in 17 years.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 24 points, closing at 12,625. The NASDAQ was up 16. This is NPR.

Stockholders of the nation’s largest home improvement chain had some tough questions for Chief Executive Frank Blake at the company’s annual meeting. Several shareholders¹¹ of Atlanta- based Home Depot¹² questioned the retailer’s commitment to customer service, talking about their own poor experience at stores. There were also complaints about problems with the chain’s installation business. The criticism comes at a time Home Depot has seen its sales, profits and stock price slide in the continued downturn in the US housing market. Home Depot recently announced plans to close 15 of its stores.

Government forecasters say it’s likely to be a busy hurricane season, but they are cautious about saying just how busy. NPR’s Jon Hamilton has more.

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric¹³ Administration say there is no way to know exactly how many hurricanes will form or how many will strike the US. So, they are emphasizing probabilities in their seasonal¹⁴ forecast rather than exact numbers. For example, they say there is a 90 percent chance that the season will be normal or busier than normal. There are still numbers in the forecast, though. Scientists are predicting six to nine hurricanes between June 1st and the end of November. That’s nowhere near 2005 when there were 15 hurricanes including Katrina and Rita. But forecasters say it only takes one big storm to make a devastating¹⁵ season. Jon Hamilton, NPR News.

A congressional panel today warned that flight delays at the nation’s airports could cost the industry more than two billion dollars in wasted fuel this year. Study conducted by the Joint¹⁶ Economic Committee estimates that flight delays and congestion¹⁷, especially in the New York area, are hurting airlines at a time they are grappling with higher costs for jet fuel and their overall financial picture is deteriorating¹⁸. Fuel is the second biggest expense for airlines after labor¹⁹.

1 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。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

4 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

5 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

6 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

7 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

8 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

9 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

10 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

11 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

12 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

13 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

14 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

15 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

16 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。

17 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

18 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

19 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。