NPR 2009-12-04

President Obama meeting with members of his economic team said today that “we cannot hang back and hope for the best” with unemployment continuing to rise. The president told participants at a White House jobs forum¹ that despite some signs the economy is growing again, many businesses remain reluctant to hire.

If we get serious, then the 21st century is gonna be the American century, just like the 20th century was. But we're going to have to approach this with a sense of seriousness and try to set the politics and the chatter² aside for a while and actually get to work.

President's remarks come as new figures show a drop in weekly first-time unemployment claims. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called on Congress to tap unused money from the Wall Street bailout fund to create jobs. Around 140 billion dollars in federal bailout money remains³ uncommitted.

Iraqi officials say a suicide bomber⁴ killed five people today in Tikrit, the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein. They say the dead include a police commander and at least two of his bodyguards⁵. More from NPR's Corey Flintoff.

Police say the bomber targeted Lieutenant⁶ Colonel Ahmed al-Fahal, the head of an anti-terrorism unit, in an area that was formerly⁷ a stronghold of Sunni insurgents⁸. There’re conflicting details about the identities of some of the other people killed. Although some were apparently⁹ police bodyguards and some were civilians¹¹. They say the colonel was visiting a goldsmith shop in Tikrit when the bomber attacked. The bombing is typical of much of the current violence in Iraq which appears to consist of assassinations¹² aimed at police, military and government officials. Security in general has been much better in recent months. And November marked the lowest number of civilian¹⁰ casualties since the US-led invasion in 2003. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Baghdad.

Secret Service has placed on administrative¹³ leave. The agency was responsible for allowing an uninvited Virginia couple into a White House state dinner last week. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan told the Congressional hearing that his agency bore the entire responsibility for allowing Tareq and Michaele Salahi into the state dinner. Republicans on the panel asserted the White House Social Secretary office bore part of the responsibility because there was no one at the gate to help agents with guest list’s discrepancies¹⁴. But Secret Service director Sullivan said in a fact the buck¹⁵ stopped with him.

Congressmen, this is our fault and our fault alone. There is no other people to blame here. You know, look at me and blame me. This is our fault.

Sullivan was the only witness at the hearing. Neither the White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers nor the Salahi themselves appeared. The committee staff is preparing subpoenas¹⁶ compelling the Salahi to testify. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 86 points today, ending the session at 10,366. The NASDAQ lost 11 points. The S&P 500 was down 9 points today.

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 Federal authority is now indicating that more charges could be forthcoming in the case alleged¹⁷ terror plot in New York City. Assistant US Attorney said today those charges could be contained in an indictment¹⁸ against Colorado airport driver Najibullah Zazi. The prosecutor¹⁹ did not specify²⁰ the charges during the course of pretrial hearing held today in Brooklyn. Authorities have alleged Zazi received instructions on explosives in an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan. They claimed he purchased beauty supplies in Denver suburb that could be used to make peroxide bombs before traveling to New York in September.

Florida is hoping to secure federal funding for a high-speed rail line. The legislature had taken up the matter in a special session. NPR's Greg Allen reports.

Florida already has much of the land and most of the permitting done for a high-speed rail line that will run from Tampa to Orlando. It’s one of the several proposals for high-speed rail submitted to Obama administration which next year will decide which state will receive more than 8 billion dollars in stimulus²¹ money. Florida has requested more than 2 billion dollars for its project. While the project is close to shovel²² already, federal officials warned that Florida's proposal could be hurt by a lack of regional rail that will connect to a high-speed line and extend its reach. Two regional rail lines in Florida, one already operating, and one that's proposed have languished²³, because of lack of funding. This special legislative²⁴ session may change that and if it does, may improve Florida's chances of receiving some of the 8 billion dollars in federal stimulus money for a high-speed rail. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

To find a time mortgage rates were this low, you'd have to go back to 1971. And even then, they weren't as low as they were this week. Freddie Mac said today, the average rate on the 30-year mortgage this week fell to 4.7%. That's the lowest level since the Housing Finance Agency began keeping track.

I’m Jack²⁵ Speer, NPR News, in Washington.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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

6 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。

7 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

8 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

12 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

13 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

14 discrepancies   

n.差异，不符合（之处），不一致（之处）( discrepancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• wide discrepancies in prices quoted for the work 这项工作的报价出入很大
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

16 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

17 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

18 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

19 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

20 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

21 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。

22 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。

23 languished   

长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐

参考例句：

• Our project languished during the holidays. 我们的计划在假期间推动得松懈了。
• He languished after his dog died. 他狗死之后，人憔悴了。

24 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

25 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。