NPR 2009-11-04

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Carol Van Dam.

 

Voters in New Jersey¹ and Virginia are electing governors today and several major cities including New York, Houston and Atlanta are choosing mayors. NPR's Kathy Lohr reports.

 

Virginia helped elected Barack Obama president last year. But this year the Democratic candidate for governor Creigh Deeds was behind in the polls by double digits², going into the election against Republican conservative Bob McDonnell, the state's former attorney general. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to win reelection for a third term. He has spent more than 100 million dollars on the race. In Houston, four candidates are competing for the city's top office, including Annise Parker, who could become the city's first openly gay mayor. And in Atlanta, six candidates are vying³ for mayor. The front runner is city council woman Mary Norwood. If elected, she would become the city's first white mayor since 1974. While her poll numbers have increased since last summer, it may be difficult for any candidate to get a majority of the vote here. And that likely means a December runoff. Kathy Lohr, NPR News, Atlanta.

 

In Maine and Washington state voters are weighing in on same-sex unions. Maine voters are deciding whether to repeal⁴ a bill passed by the legislature and sign it into the law in May that allows same-sex marriages. The contest is considered too close to call. Both campaigns have been working round the clock to get out the vote in this off year election.

 

President Obama has been meeting with European Union officials today. Iran is likely to be high on the president's agenda. As NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

 

European Commissioner⁵ for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the Europeans and Americans need to keep up a united front to persuade Iran to accept the plan to send its low enriched uranium abroad. "We are disappointed that until now, at the, so to say unclenched fist of President Obama and all the dialogue that has been going on also has not yet led to a clear answer of the Iranians." She said Iran should answer clearly what she called an excellent offer for uranium enrichment in Russia and France. In an interview, Ferrero-Waldner didn't lay out timeline but said patience won't last forever. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

 

House Republicans have released a health care alternative bill to the Democrats⁶ measure that focuses more on lowering costs than expending⁷ coverage⁸. Unlike the Democrats 1,990-page bill, the GOP slim 230-page bill has no binding⁹ to buy insurance and does not ban companies from denying coverage to people with so-called "pre-existing conditions." Republican bill does place caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases.

 

Chrysler Group says sales in October were down 30% from October of last year. But sales improved 6% from September when the government ended its popular "Cash for Clunkers" program.

 

On Wall Street, the Dow Industrials are down eight points to 2,057. And the NASDAQ is down two to 1,045.

 

This is NPR.

 

Warren Buffet¹⁰ is betting the economy continues to recover. He’s buying the nation's second largest railroad. His holding company Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to buy Burlington Northern Santa Fe in a deal worth some 34 billion dollars. Berkshire Hathaway already owns 22% of the company. Burlington Northern is the biggest hauler of coal and food products in the country.

 

A new study suggests men with low cholesterol¹¹ have a lower risk of developing the most aggressive kind of prostate cancer. NPR's Richard Knox has more in the story.

 

Researches from Johns Hopkins and other centers followed 5,600 men over age 55 for three years. Low cholesterol didn't have anything to do with which ones got prostate cancer but those lack cholesterols below 200 milligrams were almost 60% less likely to have an aggressive and deadly form of cancer. Two hundred milligrams or below is considered the cholesterol goal. The study is published online by a journal called Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. The low cholesterol effect was independent to other factors that affect prostate cancer risk, such as smoking, weight and family history of the disease. The study doesn't say whether cholesterol lowering drugs would decrease the risk of aggressive prostate cancer. But study authors promised to have something on that in the future. Richard Knox, NPR News.

 

Maryland officials are setting up a hand washing surveillance program at hospitals around the state. Teams of monitors will contribute to a system wide report on the hand washing practices medical staff. The program will use 100,000 dollars in federal stimulus¹² program money. Lieutenant¹³ governor Anthony Brown says individuals who fail to scrub up will be penalized¹⁴. He says the state simply wants to raise awareness¹⁵ about the importance of keeping hands clean.

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

4 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 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》

7 expending   

v.花费( expend的现在分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• The heart pumps by expending and contracting of muscle. 心脏通过收缩肌肉抽取和放出（血液）。 来自互联网
• Criminal action is an action of expending cost and then producing profit. 刑事诉讼是一种需要支付成本、能够产生收益的活动。 来自互联网

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

9 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

10 buffet   

n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台

参考例句：

• Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？
• Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

11 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

12 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

13 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

14 penalized   

对…予以惩罚( penalize的过去式和过去分词 )； 使处于不利地位

参考例句：

• You will be penalized for poor spelling. 你拼写不好将会受到处罚。
• Team members will be penalized for lateness. 队员迟到要受处罚。

15 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。