NPR 2009-10-23

President Obama is praising a new Treasury¹ Department plan to rein² in executive compensation by 50%. The seven largest companies had received billions in taxpayer³ bailouts. Speaking at the White House, the president said that many Americans were not pleased when top executives of the firms which have yet to repay the government continue to fund lavish⁴ pay packages for their executives.

“We don’t disparage⁵ wealth, we don’t begrudge⁶ anybody for doing well, we believe in success. But it does offend our values when executives of big financial firms, firms that are struggling, pay themselves huge bonuses even as they continue to rely on taxpayer assistance to stay afloat."

Corporate⁷ Governance Groups are also hailing the administration’s move. Paul Hodgson is a senior research associate with the Corporate Library, an independent research firm that looks at executive compensation.

“The limitations on cash payments and the delivery of stock which will be deferred⁸ for a number of years would seem to, at least, level the playing field for these executives and the other highly-paid earners at the company."

Among the firms affected⁹ are AIG, Bank of America and General Motors.

New government figures indicate continued weakness in the labor¹¹ market even though the economy seems to be reviving. NPR’s Giles Snyder reports.

The Labor Department says new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week after falling in five of the past six weeks. New claims increased by 11,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 531,000. Economists¹² keep an eye on initial claims. They are considered to be a good gauge¹³ of layoffs¹⁴ and an indication of companies’ willingness to hire new workers. The four-week average smoothes out fluctuations¹⁵ in the weekly data. It’s now at its lowest since mid-January, but remains¹⁶ well above the 325,000 that economists say is consistent with a healthy economy. Many analysts¹⁷ believe the economy started growing again over the summer. White House economic advisor¹⁸ Lawrence Summers told Reuters yesterday that there is no doubt about that, but he said job growth will lag behind a broader recovery. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

It's being called the single biggest strike aimed at a Mexican drug cartel operating inside the US, the arrest today of more than 300 people in a series of raids across the country. Attorney General Eric Holder¹⁹ said many of those arrested are believed to be members of La Familia, one of the newest and most violent Mexican drug gangs.

“The sheer level and depravity of violence that this cartel has exhibited thus far exceeds what we unfortunately have become accustomed to from the other cartels.”

More than 3,000 Federal agents and police officers took part in the operation over two days in more than a dozen states. Cartel’s alleged²⁰ leader Servando Gomez-Martinez has been indicted²¹ by a New York grand jury.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 131 points to end the session at 10,081. The NASDAQ gained 14 points. The S&P 500 rose 11 points today.

This is NPR News.

The word from the White House says that a presidential decision on whether to send additional US troops to Afghanistan will be coming within the next few weeks. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs confirmed today president had spoken with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Karzai has now agreed to a runoff election which will be held next month after some votes in a previous race were invalidated. Meanwhile, the White House today rejected criticisms from former Vice²² President Dick Cheney and some other Republicans that the president’s decision on Afghanistan is taking too long.

The man who oversaw²³ the prosecution²⁴ of then-Senator Ted¹⁰ Stevens is leaving his job at the end of the month. The Justice Department abandoned its case against Stevens after admitting prosecutorial²⁵ misconduct. NPR’s Ari Shapiro has more.

William Welch ran the Justice Department’s public integrity section which ran the Stevens prosecution. Now Welch is moving back to Massachusetts to work in the US attorney’s office there. A jury convicted Stevens of lying about gifts he received as a Senator. Then Stevens narrowly lost his seat in an election. But soon after the trial, government officials involved in the case said prosecutors²⁶ hid important evidence that should have been given to defense²⁷ lawyers. When Eric Holder became Attorney General, he said prosecutors screwed up. A judge overturned the conviction and Holder opened an investigation²⁸ into what went wrong. The man, who was Welch’s supervisor²⁹, Justice Lanny Breuer, confirmed the move back to Massachusetts. Assistant Attorney General Breuer praised Welch and said it was a mutual³⁰ decision. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

Fewer Americans believe there is solid evidence of global warming. A survey from the Pew Research Center for People and the Press found just 57% of those polls said there is strong evidence the earth’s temperature has risen over the past decades. That’s down sharply from the 76% in a survey done in 2006.

1 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。

2 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

3 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

4 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

5 disparage   

v.贬抑，轻蔑

参考例句：

• Your behaviour will disparage the whole family.你的行为将使全家丢脸。
• Never disparage yourself or minimize your strength or power.不要贬低你自己或降低你的力量或能力。

6 begrudge   

vt.吝啬，羡慕

参考例句：

• I begrudge spending so much money on train fares.我舍不得把这么多钱花在火车票上。
• We should not begrudge our neighbour's richness.我们不应该嫉妒邻人的富有。

7 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

8 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

11 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。

12 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

14 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

15 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 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。

18 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

19 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

20 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

21 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

22 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。

23 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

24 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。

25 prosecutorial   

公诉人的，原告的； 起诉的

参考例句：

• If prosecutorial misconduct results in a mistrial, a later prosecution may be barred. 如果检察官的不轨行为导致审判无效，再行起诉可能会被除数禁止。 来自口语例句
• Prosecutorial supervision is required according to public power attribution of civil litigation. 民事诉讼的个性和检察监督是对立统一的关系，并不排斥检察监督。

26 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。

27 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。

28 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。

29 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

30 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。