NPR 2009-11-21

A 23-hour debate marathon is underway in the Senate. It’s leading up to a make or break vote tomorrow night for the massive health care overhaul¹ bill unveiled this week by Senate Democrats³. We have more on this from NPR’s David Welna.

Democrats need 60 votes to bring their health care bill out for consideration in the Senate. That’s the same number of Senators the Democrats have in their party caucus⁴. But Dick Durbin, the Democrats’ Chief Vote Counter is not yet declaring victory.

“We are not assuming a thing. We are working hard to bring all Democrats together for the 60 votes necessary to proceed to this historic debate.”

Durbin told reporters Arkansas Democrat² Blanche Lincoln whose vote is in doubt has told majority leader Harry⁵ Reid how she intends to vote, though Durbin later backed off that statement. Republicans seem resign to losing their bid to block the bill including New Hampshire’s Judd Greg.

“Tomorrow’s vote is a critical vote because it basically will mean that we are on the road to passage.”

Still weeks more of debate are expected before a final vote. David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.

While a heated debate over health care unfolds in Congress, another set of guidelines has come out on women’s health this week. This one involves Pap smears⁷. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear⁶ every two years instead of once a year to catch slow growing cervical cancer. This comes on the heels of another report that suggests women should start getting routine mammograms to detect breast cancer in 50s instead of in their 40s. The authors of the report on Pap smears says, say, the timing⁸ of their guidelines was coincidental.

At least 16 people have been killed by a suicide bomber⁹ in Afghanistan. The attack happened in the west of the country in a province bordering Iran. NPR’s Philip Reeves reports from the capital Kabul.

The bomber arrived by motorcycle and detonated in a crowded square, killing¹⁰ and injuring dozens of people. It happened in Farah, a city in western Afghanistan. The provincial¹¹ police chief reportedly says the target of the attack was a senior police official. That official was killed along with his bodyguards¹². The provincial governor, though, has said the blast was only a few yards from his office. No groups claimed responsibility. Suspicion points at the Taliban although a militant¹³ spokesman speaking to the Reuters News Agency has denied this. The attack came one day after President Hamid Karzai was sworn into office for a second term. In his inauguration¹⁴ speech, Karzai invited militants¹⁵ not connected with Al-Qaeda to reconcile with his government. Philip Reeves, NPR News, Kabul.

Students are protesting at the University of California Berkeley campus against a 32% hike in fees next year. Campus police say they’ve arrested three people. They barricaded¹⁶ themselves inside a building as well.

At last check on Wall Street the Dow was down 10 points at 10,321.

This is NPR.

The Justice Department says Inspector¹⁷ General has concluded that the Department did not give any money directly to the community organizing group ACORN¹⁸. Republican in Congress asked for the investigation¹⁹ after ACORN came under criticism on Capitol Hill. NPR’s Ari Shapiro reports.

Congress began to scrutinize²⁰ ACORN after undercover activists²¹ filmed ACORN workers apparently²² giving advice on how to avoid taxes for child prostitution business. The House and Senate both voted to cut off ACORN from receiving federal money. And Congressman²³ Lamar Smith of Texas, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, asked whether the Justice Department has ever given grants to ACORN or its affiliates²⁴. The new report by the Inspector General Glenn Fine says ACORN did not receive any money directly from the Justice Department. But some of the group’s affiliates did. And three groups that won Justice Department grants distributed that money to ACORN. In total, all of those words added up to 200,000 dollars. That’s a fraction of the 53 million dollars ACORN and its affiliates have received in federal funds over the last 15 years. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

Oprah Winfrey is ending her show. She announced during taping today that the nearly 25-year-old program will bid farewell in 2011. Fans who attended the taping had mixed reactions.

"Emotional, I mean, emotional is the only word that I can use.”
"She actually seemed nervous.”
"I do believe she is doing the right thing and I’m very happy for her.”
"Anything that she does turns the goals, so the sky is the one that followed her .”

The talk show mogul has indicated for years her desire to call it a day but it never happened. The self-made billionaire will likely remain busy running other parts of her multimedia²⁵ empire to 2012.

This is NPR.

Pap smear: The Papanicolaou test (also called Pap smear, Pap test, cervical smear, or smear test) is a screening test used in gynecology to detect premalignant and malignant²⁶ (cancerous) processes in the ectocervix. Significant changes can be treated, thus preventing cervical cancer. The test was invented by and named after the prominent Greek doctor Georgios Papanikolaou. An anal Pap smear is an adaptation of the procedure to screen and detect anal cancers.

1 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。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 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》

4 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 smear   

v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
• There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。

7 smears   

污迹( smear的名词复数 )； 污斑； （显微镜的）涂片； 诽谤

参考例句：

• His evidence was a blend of smears, half truths and downright lies. 他的证词里掺杂着诽谤、部份的事实和彻头彻尾的谎言。
• Anything written with a soft pencil smears easily. 用软铅笔写成的东西容易污成一片。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

12 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

13 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

14 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

15 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

16 barricaded   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

17 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

18 acorn   

n.橡实，橡子

参考例句：

• The oak is implicit in the acorn.橡树孕育于橡子之中。
• The tree grew from a small acorn.橡树从一粒小橡子生长而来。

19 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。

20 scrutinize   

n.详细检查，细读

参考例句：

• Her purpose was to scrutinize his features to see if he was an honest man.她的目的是通过仔细观察他的相貌以判断他是否诚实。
• She leaned forward to scrutinize their faces.她探身向前，端详他们的面容。

21 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

23 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

24 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

25 multimedia   

adj.多种手段的，多媒体的；n.多媒体

参考例句：

• Multimedia is the combination of computer and video technology.多媒体是计算机和视频技术的结合。
• Adam raised the issue of multimedia applications and much useful discussion ensued.亚当提出了多媒体应用的问题，从而引发了许多有益的讨论。

26 malignant   

adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。
• He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。