NPR 2009-11-03

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

President Obama is challenging both the public and private sectors¹ to come up with new ways to create more jobs to help bring down the nation's high unemployment rate.

This is my administration's overriding² focus, having brought the economy back from the brink³, the question is, how are we going to make sure that people are getting back to work and able to support their families.

Mr. Obama is speaking at the White House after meeting with his economic advisors⁴. He also braced⁵ Americans for more negative employment figures in the coming weeks before the situation improves.

One of the nation's automakers is reporting a surprising improvement in its earnings⁶. Ford⁷ Motor Company has posted third quarter profits of nearly a billion dollars. Jerome Vaughn of member station WDET has more.

Ford surprised Wall Street analysts⁸ by posting a profit of 997 million dollars. Most have forecasted that the automaker would see a loss in the third quarter. Company officials say gains in market share, successful cost-cutting efforts and the federal "Cash for Clunkers" program led to the improved earnings. Ford even saw its North American operation show a profit again, with a division earning 357 million dollars before taxes. That's the division's first profit since the first quarter of 2005. The automaker says it also continued its growth in China with sales jumping 63% during the quarter. Global revenues dropped by more than 2% to just under 31 billion dollars. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.

President Obama has congratulated Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai on his re-election. But in a phone conversation, Mr. Obama told Karzai he has to get serious now about cracking down on government corruption⁹ and better serving the Afghan people. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the president is looking for action, not words.

"The conversations that now have to be had and continue with the Afghan government are the steps that they are going to take to improve their governance, to improve their civil society, and to address fraud and corruption."

Gibbs speaking after Afghanistan's Election Commission cancelled the upcoming runoff and declared Karzai the winner because his challenger had withdrawn¹⁰ over the weekend.

The BBC's Andrew North says the US and the United Nations expressed security concerns.

In private, the UN together with the American, British and other governments had given a clear message. They were not prepared to risk the lives of their troops and workers to secure a second-round vote, when the result was already a foregone conclusion.

The BBC's Andrew North in Kabul.

A New York meat-packing firm has recalled more than a half million pounds of ground beef that might be contaminated with E.coli bacteria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says two deaths and 26 cases of illness, mainly in the northeast may be linked to the tainted¹¹ beef.

Just before the closing bell on Wall Street, the Dow was up 66 points at 9,778. The NASDAQ Composite was up a point.

This is NPR News from Washington.

The Pentagon is warning that the vast majority of young Americans in their late teens and early 20s do not meet minimum requirements for military service. NPR's Claudio Sanchez has this story.

The study by a little known group, Mission: Readiness, made up of prominent military officials looked at young people 17-24 years old and found that most of them, three out of four, were unfit to serve in the armed forces. The reasons: many dropped out of high school, others had criminal records and some just weren't physically¹² fit. On Thursday, US Education Secretary Arne Duncan and former NATO Ally Supreme¹³ Commander Wesley Clark will release a state-by-state breakdown¹⁴ of the number of young people unfit to serve, but also propose ways to deal with the issue. The group is specifically lobbying Congress to approve eight billion dollars in grants for states to invest in early-childhood education, mental health and tuition services. Claudio Sanchez, NPR News.

The Navy's newest amphibious assault ship arrived in its namesake city today. The USS New York has 7.5 tons of steel, taken from the wreckage¹⁵ of the World Trade Center towers in its bow. Among those watching were relatives of victims of the September 11th attacks, including Rosemary Kane, whose firefighter son was killed that day.

"It's very emotional to know that the steel from the towers lives on in such a special way, and sending such a mighty¹⁶ message to the world, that the towers will continue to fight for freedom."

The ship was given a 21-gun salute¹⁷. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the USS New York will represent the freedom, courage and resilience, exemplified by the city after the terrorist attacks.

I'm Craig Windham, NPR News, in Washington.

1 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

3 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。

4 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

5 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

11 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

13 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。

14 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

15 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

16 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

17 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。