NPR 2009-10-08

According to congressional budget experts, the price tag of the Senate Finance Committee's proposed health care overhaul¹ plan will be 829 billion dollars over the next ten years. The Congressional Budget Office also said today it projects the latest version of the bill will cover roughly 94% of Americans, reducing the roles of the uninsured by 21 million by 2019. That new cost estimated as good news for Democrats² since it means that Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus can call his committee together for a final vote on the legislation paving the way for a vote in the full Senate.

 President is meeting again this afternoon with his national security team to continue the review of the US strategy in Afghanistan. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

 The President has made it clear he's not planning to withdraw the 6,800 troops that will be in Afghanistan by year’s end. But his generals have asked him to commit even more troops in order to pursue abroad counter-insurgency strategy. Other officials think more narrowly focused counter-terrorism strategy will make more sense.

 President Obama is trying to answer some threshold questions: where is the best place to pursue al-Qaeda, what will happen to al-Qaeda if the Taliban were to come back to power in Afghanistan. And above all how many troops are necessary to pursue a mission that the President says hasn't changed to dismantle³, disrupt and defeat al-Qaeda. A new Associated Press poll shows only 40% of the American support the war effort and that many more Republicans than Democrats are in favor of sending in more troops. Mara Liasson, NPR News, the White House.

 Earthquake survivors⁴ on Indonesia's Sumatra Island complained they have not yet received aid nearly a week after two earthquakes hit there. More than 700 people are known dead. Doualy Xaykaothao filed this reports.

 It's a slow process but since heavy machinery⁵ is being used in other parts of the city. These residents next to a main road are trying to pick through what's left of their businesses. People are essentially⁶ collecting jeans, cell phones, metal and whatever they can find here so that they could essentially salvage⁷ what they can. One man is carrying a mattress⁸, this woman is carrying a pair of jeans still with the tags on it, and another woman has some kind of a bag.

 Villagers in remote hilly terrain⁹ and city residents in Padang say emergency aid is slow coming or not received at all. For NPR News, I'm Doualy Xaykaothao in Padang western Sumatra.

 The administration's plan to shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay has cleared a major hurdle¹⁰ in the Congress. Congressional negotiators today unveiled a compromise they say would allow prisoners house that facility in Cuba to be transferred to the US to face trial. Detainees could not be released in the US, however, they could serve prison sentences in the US.

 On Wall Street the Dow dropped five points today.

 This is NPR.

 The CEO of General Motors says the company's market share was up slightly for the three months ending in September though he noted¹¹ that it’s still below levels of a year ago. Fritz Henderson says GM control roughly 11.9% of the global vehicle market during the third quarter of three tenths of one percent from the previous quarter, but below last year's 12.4% rate. Henderson blames the decline on falling sells in the US and Canada. GM was forced to end the bankruptcy¹² earlier this year, and since the merging¹³ it has been streamlined its operations and closing down dealerships.

 Italy's top court today ruled a law giving Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity¹⁴ from prosecution¹⁵ is unconstitutional. That ruling is likely to unleash¹⁶ turmoil¹⁷ in the Italian political world. From NPR Sylvia Poggioli in Rome.

 The ruling was nine to six and cannot be appealed. It said immunity requires the lengthy¹⁸ process of a constitutional amendment¹⁹ not a simple bill passed by parliament. It also cited that the constitutional article of the quality of all citizens under the law. There are at least three cases pending²⁰ against Berlusconi which will now be unfrozen. The most serious is the charge that Berlusconi bribed²¹ a British lawyer to the 2,600,000 dollars in exchange for his false testimony²² in two other corruption²³ cases. Lawyer David Mills was found guilty of having been corrupted²⁴ by Berlusconi and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. He is appealing. Berlusconi's spokesman said the government will not step down and will finish its term. Earlier, key Berlusconi ally Umberto Bossi vowed²⁵ that in the case of a negative ruling the government will bring masses of supporters into the streets. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

1 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

5 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

6 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。

7 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

8 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

9 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

10 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 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。

13 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

14 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

15 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

16 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

17 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

18 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

19 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

20 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

21 bribed   

v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• They bribed him with costly presents. 他们用贵重的礼物贿赂他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He bribed himself onto the committee. 他暗通关节，钻营投机挤进了委员会。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

23 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

24 corrupted   

（使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏

参考例句：

• The body corrupted quite quickly. 尸体很快腐烂了。
• The text was corrupted by careless copyists. 原文因抄写员粗心而有讹误。

25 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。