NPR 2009-01-17

Crews are searching the Hudson River for the engines from the US Airways¹ jet that was forced to make an emergency landing in the water yesterday. National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Kitty Higgins says they are also trying to lift the body of the aircraft out of the water. "The plan is to lift that plane to put it on a barge², thus secure it on that barge and then we will remove the recorders." All 155 people on board the flight survived  the remarkable³ water landing.

Circuit City announced today it's going out of business in the US. The company filed for bankruptcy⁴ in November but has not been able to reach a sales or refinancing deal. More than 30, 000 workers will be laid off, 567 US stores will begin liquidating⁵ tomorrow.

President-elect Barack Obama was in Bedford Heights, Ohio today on a new campaign to sell the public on his economic recovery plan. From member station WCPN in Cleveland Dan Bobkoff reports.

President-elect Obama is trying to build support for the over $800 billion economic stimulus⁶ plan. He hopes Congress will approve quickly. After touring a suburban⁷ Cleveland producer of parts for wind turbines, Mr. Obama touted⁸ his proposal to double the amount of renewable energy produced in the US within three years, that he says will contribute to the 3 to 4 million jobs he hopes to create with the stimulus. "We're not looking to create just any kind of jobs here. We're looking to create good jobs that pay well and can't be shipped overseas." But Mr. Obama warned that even with the massive stimulus plan, recovery will be slow and things could get worse before they improve. For NPR News, I'm Dan Bobkoff in Cleveland.

Israel's security cabinet is scheduled to vote tomorrow night on an Egyptian mediated⁹ proposal to halt its offensive in Gaza and the US has agreed to lead international efforts to stop weapons from being smuggled¹⁰ into Gaza, an Israeli condition for a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Israel continued to pound Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, fuelling more Arab anger. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Cairo.

Protests were staged across the Arab and Muslim world on this Muslim Holy Day although the focus was as much on collecting donations to relieve the Palestinian suffering as on condemning¹¹ the violence. In Cairo, further talks were held on the parameters¹² of the ceasefire and officials said they hoped the accord might be finalized¹³ soon. Israel won new assurances from Washington on efforts to halt weapons smuggling¹⁴ into Gaza via tunnels from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. In Qatar, Arab leaders released a statement condemning the Israeli military operation in Gaza and asking that Israel be held "criminally accountable" for what they called "widespread and blatant¹⁵ violations¹⁶ of international law". Qatar and Mauritania also announced that they were freezing political and economic ties with the Jewish state. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.

On Wall Street today, the Dow closed up 68 points at 8,281. The NASDAQ gained 17 to close at 1,529. This is NPR.

The Treasury¹⁷ Department says it'll lend $1.5 billion to Chrysler's financing arm so that the company can offer consumers new vehicle loans in order to boost sales. The new assistance is an addition to last month's $17.4 billion in Federal loans for both Chrysler and General Motors.

Bitter cold continues to grip the Great Lakes region today. Residents in the Detroit Metropolitan¹⁸ Area watched their thermometers plunge¹⁹ to a record low this morning. Detroit Public Radio's Amy Miller²⁰ has more.

A stubborn Arctic air mass has been stuck over the Great Lakes region since Tuesday. Nighttime temperatures are well below zero. National Weather Service forecaster Richard Bormann says Arctic air masses aren't uncommon²¹ but it's been 15 years since Michigan has seen a stretch of cold weather like this. "With tonight's low temperature for Saturday morning, we should fall well below zero again and with it falling below zero there will be four mornings in a row of below zero temperatures. We haven't had a streak²² like that since the Arctic gale²³ break in 1994." This morning's minus 15 degrees broke the previous record set nearly 40 years ago. In addition to the below zero temperatures, wind chills have been as cold as 30 below. Forecasters say Sunday should be warmer with a higher amid twenties. For NPR News, I'm Amy Miller in Detroit.

American artist Andrew Wyeth died in his sleep this morning at the age of 91. One of the county's most respected painters, Wyeth was most famous for haunting melancholy²⁴ paintings of New England's countryside and people. He drew widespread attention for a series of so called Helga portrait more than 200 paintings and sketches²⁵ of a blonde woman who was his neighbor and assistant.

1 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

2 barge   

n.平底载货船，驳船

参考例句：

• The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
• Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 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。

5 liquidating   

v.清算( liquidate的现在分词 )；清除（某人）；清偿；变卖

参考例句：

• Liquidating collateral is clearly a second best source of repayment. Why? 抵押品显然并不是获得贷款偿还的最佳方法。为什么？ 来自互联网
• There are often costs and inconvenience associated with liquidating other assets. 这些资产变现时总须花费，也不方便。 来自互联网

6 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

7 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

8 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

9 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

10 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

11 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 parameters   

因素，特征； 界限； （限定性的）因素( parameter的名词复数 )； 参量； 参项； 决定因素

参考例句：

• We have to work within the parameters of time. 我们的工作受时间所限。
• See parameters.cpp for a compilable example. This is part of the Spirit distribution. 可编译例子见parameters.cpp.这是Spirit分发包的组成部分。

13 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

15 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

16 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

17 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。

18 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

19 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

20 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

21 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

22 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

23 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

24 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

25 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》