NPR 2009-11-01

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Craig Windham.

 The chief rival to Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai in that country’s upcoming runoff election, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, is widely expected to pull out of the race, although he will not make an official announcement until tomorrow and he is said to be keeping his options open. Secretary of State Clinton insists that if he does withdraw, it will not affect the legitimacy¹ of the election.

 The Secretary of State met separately with Israeli and Palestinian leaders today to discuss the thorny² issue of Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank. Clinton is urging the Palestinians not to demand a settlement freeze as a precondition to talks with Israel. The BBC’s Kim Ghattas is traveling with Clinton.

 She held talks first with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Abu Dhabi and then came to Jerusalem to meet Israeli officials here. Her visit comes after several weeks of political turmoil³. Mrs. Clinton was probably not looking for a breakthrough, but she did want to make sure that the process keeps moving forward even at a snail’s pace instead of sliding backwards⁴. But there is no signs for now that either the Palestinians or the Israelis are ready to compromise on their position. The BBC’s Kim Ghattas in Jerusalem.

 Workers at Ford⁵ Motor Company have overwhelmingly rejected contract changes that would have allowed the company to make more moves to reduce its labor⁶ costs. Union leaders had supported the proposed changes, which included freezing the pay of newly hired workers and barring the UAW from striking over-pay or benefits until 2015. Ford said it needed those changes to equalize some of the advantages realized by General Motors and Chrysler. When on the brink⁷ of bankruptcy⁸, they got concessions⁹ from the union.

 Searchers are still looking for any survivors¹⁰ from the mid-air collision of a Coast Guard plane and a Marine¹¹ helicopter off the southern California coast on Thursday night. Nine crew members are missing. So far there has been no sign of them. Shirley Jahad of member station KPCC has more.

 Rescuers have found debris¹² in the ocean from both the Coast Guard plane and the Marine chopper, but no sign of any victims. Rescuers in Coast Guard cutters, Navy ships and helicopters have been searching the sea 50 miles from the San Diego coastline. Investigators¹³ also are trying to determine what led to the Coast Guard's C1-130 and Marine Corps¹⁴ Super Cobra to collide in mid-air Thursday night. Four Marine Corps choppers were flying in formation carrying troops for a training mission. The Coast Guard plane was based in Sacramento and was searching for a boater lost at sea. Seven crew members were on board; two Marine pilots were in the helicopter. The wreck¹⁵ happened in airspace not controlled by the FAA. For NPR News, I’m Shirley Jahad in Los Angeles.

 Philadelphia’s transit¹⁶ workers agreed to put off a strike deadline and not walk off the job during the World Series. The deal came just hours before the Phillies were scheduled to host the New York Yankees in Game 3, but that game is in a rain delay.

 This is NPR News.

 The federal government has now made it official unless Congress takes action, doctors who treat Medicare patients will see their payments cut by more than 21% starting in January. NPR’s Julie Rovner has the story.

 The cuts are the unintended result of a formula created more than a decade ago, but Congress has so far proved unable to pass a permanent fix, because it would blow a nearly quarter-trillion-dollar hole in the federal deficit¹⁷ over the next decade. Senate Democrats¹⁸ tried to bring up a bill to address the problem earlier this month, but it failed to reach the floor because it wasn’t paid for. The House is expected to try to pass a similar bill as soon as next week. It won’t be paid for either, but it will be combined with another bill that would write into law the rule that all future bills that would add to the deficit would have to be paid for. The Senate has so far been cool to that second bill, but lawmakers are close to unanimous that they don’t want to let a 21% pay cut for doctors take effect. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

 The sound of a skeleton band playing on the North Lawn of the White House this evening as President and Mrs. Obama and their daughters hosted a Halloween gathering¹⁹ for hundreds of local school children. President did not wear a costume but the first lady did. She was decked out in a leopard-print sweater and cat ears. Mr. Obama told the kids they were adorable.

 "...as is, by the way, my wife, a very nice-looking cat woman."

 Each trick-or-treater was given a bag of goodies that included butter cookies made by the White House pastry²⁰ chef, a mix of dried fruit including pears, apricots and cherries, and special M&Ms stamped with the president’s signature.

 I’m Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.

1 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

2 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

3 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。

4 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

5 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

6 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。

7 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

8 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。

9 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

10 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

11 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

13 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

15 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

16 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

17 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

18 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》

19 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

20 pastry   

n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。