NPR 2008-07-12

One of the nation's largest independent mortgage lenders has been taken over by the federal government after determination the California-based thrift¹ was unsound. The decision by the Office of Thrift Supervision² comes after efforts by IndyMac to raise capital and stay afloat amid tumbling home prices and soaring foreclosures failed. The takeover of IndyMac is one of the largest closures of a financial institution in US history.Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which is taking over Indymac, estimates the cost of the bank's failure to its insurance fund will be between four and eight billion dollars. That news came after the stock market had closed.

Meanwhile, the bears were rampaging on Wall Street again today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly³ fell below 11,000 for the first time in two years. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Once again, the twin threats of rising oil prices and the credit market downturn hit stocks hard. Investors⁴ were once again worried about the fate of the mortgage finance giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. A report in the New York Times said the government was considering a rescue plan for the companies. Their shares fell sharply although they later rebounded⁵. That happened after an unconfirmed report later denied that the Fed was ready to open its discount lending window to the companies. Meanwhile, oil prices hit $147 a barrel before falling back again. Iran's missile tests have revived worries about unrest in the Middle East, and a labor⁶ strike by Brazilian oil workers is imminent⁷. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

With shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac essentially⁸ in free fall today, President Bush was given a private briefing on the situation by Treasury⁹ Secretary Henry Paulson. Paulson assured the president, along with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, he would be working on the issue.

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama says the US can't afford to wait for bold action on the energy front. Obama outlined his plans during a campaign stop in Ohio. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Obama blamed high oil prices for threatened job losses at an Ohio auto¹⁰ plant, an airline and a cargo¹¹ facility. He says the US needs to cut its dependence¹² on imported oil for the sake of jobs as well as the environment and national security. Obama quoted his Republican rival John McCain who said short-sighted politicians are to blame for fostering that  foreign oil dependence over the last thirty years. “I could not agree more, John McCain is exactly right. The only problem is that during those thirty years of inaction, Senator McCain was one of those politicians in Washington for 26.” Obama criticized McCain for failing to back government investment in alternative sources of energy, and much more stringent¹³ fuel economy standards.Scott Horsley,NPR News,Dayton Ohio.

On Wall Street,the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 128 points to close at 11,100. For the week,the Dow lost 1.6 percent. The NASDAQ fell 18 points. The S&P dropped 13 points today.

This is NPR.

 Defense Department officials now say they have confirmed remains¹⁴ found Wednesday in Iraq were those of two US soldiers kidnapped in May of last year. Military says Army Sergeant¹⁵ Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty were kidnapped in a volatile  area south of Baghdad. Fouty's stepfather said he is still in shock after a military notification team came to his home in Michigan yesterday. However, he also said the news comes as sad relief to finally know what happened.

 The Bush administration was pushing the UN Security Council to punish Zimbabwe's president for political violence in the country,but the resolution to impose targeted sanctions failed today, as NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Britain's ambassador to the UN, John Sawers, called it “a missed opportunity” to help resolve the violence and oppression in Zimbabwe. “The Security Council has failed to shoulder its responsibility to do what it can to prevent a national tragedy deepening and spreading its effects across southern Africa.”  Russia and China both vetoed the resolution which would have imposed an arms embargo¹⁶ in Zimbabwe, and financial and travel restrictions¹⁷ on 14 officials including President Robert Mugabe. Council members were divided as to whether the sanctions would pressure Mugabe and his supporters  to negotiate with the opposition¹⁸ or whether they would complicate¹⁹ the situation. Mugabe went ahead with the run-off, even after his opponent pulled out in the face of political violence. The Bush administration called the election "a sham²⁰". Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

President Bush today continued his efforts to prod²¹ Congress to permit drilling for oil in offshore²² waters and in the Alaskan wildlife refuge as a means of bringing down gas prices. Mr. Bush, at a meeting with his senior economic advisors²³, said one answer to soaring prices for gasoline and oil is to increase supply by tapping the vast potential of crude oil reserves in those spots.

1 thrift   

adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约

参考例句：

• He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
• His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。

2 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

6 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。

7 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

13 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

16 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

17 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

18 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。

19 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

20 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

21 prod   

vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励

参考例句：

• The crisis will prod them to act.那个危机将刺激他们行动。
• I shall have to prod him to pay me what he owes.我将不得不催促他把欠我的钱还给我。

22 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

23 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网