NPR 2009-10-03

Plenty of excitement in Rio de Janeiro today, though not so much in Chicago, Tokyo or Madrid, the three other cities that had been in the running to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Rio beat out surprise finalist Madrid to host the Games after Chicago was eliminated in the first round by the International Olympic Committee. That was despite the best efforts of President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, both of whom traveled to Denmark to lobby on Chicago’s behalf. President expressed disappointment upon his return from Denmark today.

"Although I wish that we had come back with better news from Copenhagen, I could not be prouder of my hometown of Chicago."

Reaction in Chicago, meanwhile, was of shock and disbelief when the city failed to make it through the first round, even though some in the Windy City had expressed reservations about the hassles and the costs associated with hosting the Olympic Games.

Israel has released a video of captured soldier Gilad Shalit that appears to show him unharmed after more than three years of captivity¹ in the Gaza Strip. Israel released 19 female Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the proof of life. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

In the video which lasts about a minute, 23-year-old Gilad Shalit is shown sitting in a chair against a white wall, holding a newspaper dated September 14th of this year. He appears pale, but near the end of the video he stands up and takes a few steps. The video shot by Hamas militants³ was delivered to Israel through the efforts of Egyptian and German mediators. At the same time, Israel released 19 Palestinian prisoners, all women, some of whom were slated⁴ for release soon. A 20th prisoner was due to be released Sunday. Both sides hoped the modest exchange will set the stage for a broader prisoner swap⁵, involving Shalit and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Some analysts⁶ hope such a deal would also prompt Israel to ease the punishing blockade it has imposed on the Gaza Strip. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Jerusalem.

US economy lost more jobs than expected last month, non-farm payrolls⁷ fell by 263,000. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

Many analysts were predicting a loss of about 175,000 jobs, so the bigger number is a disappointment. And it suggests that the labor⁸ market is healing more slowly than many people thought. The unemployment rate rose to 9.8%. Stuart Hoffman is / chief economist⁹ with PNC Financial Services Group.

“The job market has still not reached the point where small and large businesses are hiring. They’ve reduced the layoffs¹⁰, so the job losses are smaller. But you just don't see any hiring going on consistently across the country.”

Back last winter, the US was losing 700,000 jobs a month, now it's losing 263,000. So the trend is still clearly towards fewer job losses, and Hoffman expects to see some job growth in the first part of 2010. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow was down 21 points today. This is NPR.

A CBS News employee today pleaded not guilty to charges he sought to extort¹¹ late-night Talk Show host David Letterman out of two million dollars. Robert Halderman, a CBS producer who works for the show “48 Hours” entered his plea today, as he was being arraigned¹² on attempted grand larceny¹³ charges in Manhattan. Prosecutors¹⁴ say Halderman was demanding the money in exchange for not releasing information about Letterman involving affairs with female staffers in his office. Last night on his show Letterman acknowledged the affairs while saying he went to authorities over the matter. Halderman was nabbed in an undercover sting operation.

Pakistani officials say US drone has targeted and killed the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in Pakistan along the border region where foreign militants including al-Qaeda have been holed up. From Lahore, NPR’s Julie McCarthy reports.

The death of Tahir Yuldashev in a drone attack would come as welcome news to the Central Asian Republics. The al-Qaeda-linked Uzbek militant² who was killed in August according to Pakistani intelligence sources, led in Islamic militant underground, opposed to the communist government in Uzbekistan where he had been sentenced to death in absentia. He later fled to Afghanistan where he fought alongside the Taliban. Following their ouster, Yudashev, moved across the border to Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal¹⁵ area of Waziristan, there he rose to prominence¹⁶ as a clever commander of war-hardened Uzbek fighters who gave his allies, including the Pakistani Taliban, a decisive advantage in battle. The Taliban denies his killing¹⁷. His death will be a blow to Pakistani militants, as they face what the Pakistan army says, will soon be a major offensive in Waziristan. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Lahore.

Crude oil futures¹⁸ fell $1.14 a barrel to settle at 69.98 a barrel in New York.

I'm Jack¹⁹ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

5 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 payrolls   

n.（公司员工的）工资名单( payroll的名词复数 )；（公司的）工资总支出，工薪总额

参考例句：

• Indices of employment, payrolls, and production steadied in February 1931931年2月，就业、工资额和生产指数稳定。 来自辞典例句
• Wall Street responded to the payrolls figures with gusto. 华尔街对就业数据作出了积极的反应。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 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。

10 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

11 extort   

v.勒索，敲诈，强要

参考例句：

• The blackmailer tried to extort a large sum of money from him.勒索者企图向他勒索一大笔钱。
• They absolutely must not harm the people or extort money from them.严格禁止坑害勒索群众。

12 arraigned   

v.告发( arraign的过去式和过去分词 )；控告；传讯；指责

参考例句：

• He was arraigned for murder. 他因谋杀罪而被提讯。
• She was arraigned for high treason. 她被控叛国罪。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 larceny   

n.盗窃（罪）

参考例句：

• The man was put in jail for grand larceny.人因重大盗窃案而被监禁。
• It was an essential of the common law crime of larceny.它是构成普通法中的盗窃罪的必要条件。

14 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

15 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

16 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

17 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

18 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。

19 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。