NPR 2009-11-08

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

 

Debate on sweeping¹ health care legislation continues on the House floor today. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

 

It is a critical day in President Obama's push for a major overhaul² of the country's health care system. As debate continued on the House floor, Mr. Obama spoke³ in the White House Rose Garden. "They brought us closer than we have ever been to passing health insurance reform on behalf of the American people. Now is the time to finish this job." Republican leaders led by John Boehner say their members are unanimously opposed to the legislation. “The American people do not want this, and we are going to do everything we can to make sure this does not happen.” Perhaps the biggest test of the bill will be an amendment⁴ sponsored by conservative Democrats⁵ that would bar abortion⁶ from being covered in any plan purchased with federal dollars. That issue threatens to split Democrats' support for the entire bill. Andrea Seabrook, NPR News, the Capitol.

 

Republican Governor Rick Perry of Texas has visited wounded victims from the shooting at Fort Hood⁷ Thursday. He says the response to calls for blood donations has been overwhelming. Thirteen people were killed, 30 others were wounded when a gunman opened fire at the military post. Meanwhile, Roy Smythe, Chairman of Surgery at Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple says doctors are trying to remain optimistic. "Some of these patients are young and sometimes young patients will surprise you in regards to their rehabilitation⁸. But there is a possibility that some of these patients will be physically⁹ impaired¹⁰ for the rest of their lives. And there's certainly no doubt that many of them will be psychologically impaired for the rest of their lives. There is no doubt about that." The alleged¹¹ gunman, Major Nidal Hasan has reportedly been transferred to an army hospital in San Antonio. He is said to be in a coma¹².

 

President Obama's address this week was a tribute to the victims of the Fort Hood shootings. He praised those who helped bring down the gunman who, again, killed 13 people and wounded 30 others.

 

Regulators closed five banks yesterday, bringing the nationwide total to 119 shut down since the beginning of this year. So far, 21 Georgia banks have been closed, including one this week. Georgia Public Broadcasting's Emily Green reports.

 

United Security Bank of Sparta was closed down by the Georgia Department of Banking¹³ and Finance. It will reopen as a branch of Ameris Bank. The four other banks shut down were in California, Missouri, Minnesota and Michigan. For Georgia, United Security is the latest in a string of bank failures for the state. Almost all of the banks closed were start-ups that specialized¹⁴ in real estate and construction loans. Georgia lawmakers are trying to figure out how to keep community banks like United Security open, while the state's banking industry is working to reassure¹⁵ the public that the vast majority of Georgia's financial institutions are solvent¹⁶. Friday's closures are expected to cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation around 1.5 billion dollars. The FDIC estimates failed banks could cost as much as 100 billion dollars over the next three years. For NPR News, I'm Emily Green in Atlanta.

 

This is NPR.

 

At a meeting of G20 Finance Ministers in Scotland this weekend, finance ministers have agreed that emergency stimulus¹⁷ measures put in place at the height of the global economic crisis will continue. Larry Miller¹⁸ has details from London.

 

The post-meeting communiqué said global economic and financial conditions have improved, but the recovery is uneven¹⁹ and unemployment remains²⁰ a major concern. Treasury²¹ Secretary Timothy Geithner warned against ending stimulus measures too quickly that it would undermine recovery. His British counterpart, Alistair Darling agreed. "We are not out of the woods yet and we may need to maintain the measures that we have taken and we will commit to doing so." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an unexpected appearance, encouraging the finance ministers to adopt an international tax on each banking transaction to fund future bailouts. But Geithner said the U. S. would not support such a levy²². For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

 

Yesterday, the US reported the unemployment rate had hit a 26-year high at 10. 2%. Employers had slashed²³ 190, 000 jobs last month.

 

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia may back sanctions against Iran. The Islamic Republic fails to take a constructive²⁴ stance in international talks over its nuclear program. His comments released by the Kremlin contrast sharply with those of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has warned the threat of sanctions could derail progress.

 

NATO and Afghan authorities are investigating a case of alleged friendly fire that claimed the lives of at least seven Afghan soldiers and policemen this week.

 This is NPR

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 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》

6 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

7 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

8 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

9 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。

10 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 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

12 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

13 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

14 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

15 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

16 solvent   

n.溶剂；adj.有偿付能力的

参考例句：

• Gasoline is a solvent liquid which removes grease spots.汽油是一种能去掉油污的有溶解力的液体。
• A bankrupt company is not solvent.一个破产的公司是没有偿还债务的能力的。

17 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。

18 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

19 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

20 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。

21 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。

22 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

23 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。