NPR 2008-09-05

For the past three days, prominent Republicans have taken the stage at their party's convention and talked about John McCain. Tonight the Republican presidential nominee¹ will take the stage to speak for himself. NPR's Ina Jaffe has more.

Workers at the Xcel Center in St. Paul have made changes to the stage for McCain's speech. It will be more of a T-shape, allowing him to be surrounded on three sides by the audience, a bit like the town hall format² that he favors. McCain checked out the setup in the company of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham who also speaks tonight and independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman who addressed the convention on Tuesday. McCain's wife Cindy will introduce him. He'll then try to build on the enthusiasm created by his running mate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Her speech Wednesday night has created a lot of buzz for her polished performance and her sarcastic³ put-downs of Democratic nominee Barack Obama. He has a chance to steal some of McCain's limelight tonight with an appearance on the conservative talk show "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News. Ina Jaffe, NPR News, St. Paul.

It appears television viewers were intensely interested in what Republican vice⁴ presidential contender Sarah Palin had to say, almost as interested as they were in hearing from Democratic nominee Barack Obama. Neilson Media Research says based on its figures, an estimated 37 million viewers tuned⁵ in last night during the hour that Palin accepted the Republican nomination⁶ for vice president. That's just shy of the record 38 million who tuned in last week during Obama's speech.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick made it official this morning, announcing as part of a plea deal agreement, he will resign from office effective within two weeks. Kilpatrick will begin serving a four-month prison sentence at the end of next month. He's also agreed to serve five years probation⁷ and pay a 1-million-dollar fine. The mayor and his former top aide are accused of lying under oath about an affair and their roles in the firing of a deputy police chief.

The stock market fell sharply today amid ongoing⁸ worries over the economy. All the major stock market indexes tumbled by nearly 3%. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

It was a bit of a head-scratcher as to just why the stock market plunged⁹ lower. There was some weak data on employment and retail¹⁰ sales, but also some seemingly good news about better-than-expected productivity gains and oil prices have been falling lately. "This is a jittery¹¹ market. It's an uncertain market. " Joel Naroff is chief economist¹² for Commerce Bank. He thinks some investors¹³ might be concerned about that productivity report. "The worry about that, of course is, the way you get strong productivity in, you know, in an economy that may not be growing in a lot of different sectors¹⁴ as if you cut workers and you cut their hours. " Higher unemployment would hurt the economy and the stock market. That's why all eyes will be on the monthly jobs report out on Friday which will offer the latest snapshot on employment around the country. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 344 points, ending the session at 11, 188. The NASDAQ lost 74 points. The S&P fell 38 points today.

This is NPR.

Comcast Cable announced today it will appeal a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission that the company is improperly¹⁵ blocking its customers' web traffic. The FCC in a precedent-setting move last month determined¹⁶ the company is violating a federal policy that guarantees unfettered access to the internet. Comcast has come under fire from the FCC for blocking so-called peer to peer movie sharing applications. The company's also announced plans to cap its customers' internet usage, beginning October to ensure the best service for majority of its subscribers.

 Because of rain and flooding from Tropical Storm Fay, the Army Corps¹⁷ of Engineers has begun releasing water from Lake Okeechobee and as NPR's Greg Allen reports from Miami, that has environmental and business groups worried.

 Tropical Storm Fay had a dramatic impact on Lake Okeechobee, raising it by three and a half feet over about a two-week period. Because of structural¹⁸ problems with the levee that surrounds the lake, the Army Corps of Engineers say another two and a half feet of water could put it in danger of breaching¹⁹. Environmental and business groups worry that the lake water, polluted from agricultural run-off, is going to harm fragile estuaries²⁰ on both the Atlantic and Gulf²¹ Coasts. Mark Perry is Co-chair of the Everglades Coalition²². "I'm pretty sure we're gonna start to see mortality in the oyster²³ sea grass area. " A similar release of lake water in 2005 created an algae²⁴ bloom and led to a die-off of marine²⁵ life. The Army Corps of Engineers is working to minimize the impact by releasing the water in measured pulses, designed as much as possible to mimic²⁶ the natural flow. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

  Crude oil futures²⁷ ended the session lower. The near month contract for benchmark grade crude fell $1. 46 a barrel today ending the session at $107. 89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

3 sarcastic   

adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的

参考例句：

• I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
• She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

8 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。

9 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

10 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

11 jittery   

adj. 神经过敏的, 战战兢兢的

参考例句：

• However, nothing happened though he continued to feel jittery. 可是，自从拉上这辆车，并没有出什么错儿，虽然他心中嘀嘀咕咕的不安。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The thirty-six Enterprise divebombers were being squandered in a jittery shot from the hip. 这三十六架“企业号”上的俯冲轰炸机正被孤注一掷。

12 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

13 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

14 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

16 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

17 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

18 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

19 breaching   

攻破( breach的过去式 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。
• Third, an agency can abuse its discretion by breaching certain principles of judge-made law. 第三，行政机关会因违反某些法官制定的法律原则而构成滥用自由裁量权。

20 estuaries   

（江河入海的）河口，河口湾( estuary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We also recognize the diversity and complexity of controlling in fluences in estuaries. 我们也认识到在河湾内控制影响的多样性和复杂性。
• Estuaries also contribute to economy through tourism and fishing. 河口还为人类提供了休闲和教育的场所。

21 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

22 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

23 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

24 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

25 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

26 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

27 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。