NPR 2009-10-21

President Obama is continuing to say plans to wind down US operations in Iraq are on track. Meeting this morning in the Oval Office with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the president reaffirmed the expected pullout of combat forces by next summer. Mr. Obama also said he would be closely watching for nation-wide elections to be held in Iraq and for the resumption of full commerce there.

 

"And to reemphasize, my administration's full support for all the steps that can be taken, so that Iraq can not only be a secure place and a democratic country, but also a place where people can do business."

 

Its combat troops to be out of Iraq by next August and all US troops to be out of the country by the end of 2011.

 

US Supreme¹ Court has stepped back into the controversy² over what to do about detainees at Guantanamo who've been found to pose no threat to the US. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

 

The justices said today that they will review the case of 13 Chinese Muslims, known as Uighurs, held at Guantanamo since 2002. These are individuals whom the government has long agreed are not enemy combatants and are no threat to the United States. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal courts have the power to order the release of men who have been held without justification³ and a federal judge here in Washington did just that, ordering two Uighurs released into Virginia. A federal appeals court overturned that decision, declaring that the lower court judge had exceeded his authority. Now the Supreme Court has agreed to determine whether these men and by implication others may be held in prison while the US seeks to find some other country to accept them. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

 

More bad news for college students and their parents. The average tuition cost of both public and private universities this fall is up significantly. NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports.

 

The College Board's Annual Survey Trends in College Pricing found that despite the budget cuts, lay-offs and bigger class sizes to save money, public colleges and universities raised tuition by an average of 6.5%. That's 430 dollars more than last year, pushing average tuition to more than 7,000 dollars. Tuition of private colleges is up to 26,300 dollars, a 4.4% increase. This does not include room and board in either case. Although federal aid for students is up considerably⁴, the average family still had to pay over 1,600 dollars out of pocket towards tuition at public institutions, 12,000 dollars at private colleges. Claudio Sanchez, NPR News.

 

Sun Microsystems waited until after the markets closed today to announce a major layoff⁵ in advance of its takeover by Oracle⁶. Santa Clara California-based Sun confirmed the company will cut as many as 3,000 jobs. Oracle agreed to take over the company for 7.4 billion in April.

 

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50 points.

 

This is NPR.

 

The president of a university in Pakistan hit by suicide bombers⁷ says the assault by militants⁸ is designed to in his words “create panic in the capital city.” The attack by two suicide bombers at a women's cafeteria and a faculty⁹ building on the campus of Islamabad’s International Islamic University claimed the lives of four people and left more than 18 others wounded. The university's president says the attack is meant to divert attention from the military's ongoing¹⁰ offensive against the Taliban stronghold near the Afghan border.

 

The Israeli government is considering launching an independent enquiry into the army's actions in Gaza last winter after the report was endorsed¹¹ by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Linda Gradstein reports.

 

The government today discussed the recent report by South African jurist Richard Goldstone that accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes. The report calls on both sides to launch independent investigations¹³. If that doesn't happen, it says the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants for Israeli military officials. Israeli Defense¹⁴ Minister Ehud Barak today said there was no need for an independent enquiry and that the army can investigate itself according to a statement from his office. But a senior Israeli official said no final decision has been taken on an independent probe. International pressure on Israel to launch an independent investigation¹² has been growing since the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the report last week. For NPR News, I'm Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem.

 

A survey on consumers' holiday spending plans is likely to provide little solace¹⁵ for retailers¹⁷. The survey done by the National Retail¹⁶ Federation¹⁸ shows consumers will spend 3.2% less this holiday shopping season than a year ago.

 

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

4 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

5 layoff   

n.临时解雇，操作停止，活动停止期间，失业期

参考例句：

• Finally, prepare an explanation about what led to your layoff.最后，要准备好一套说辞来解释你被解雇的原因。
• Workers were re-employed after the layoff.在暂时解雇不久后工人们又被再度雇用了。

6 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

7 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

10 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。

11 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

16 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。

17 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

18 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。