NPR 2009-02-09

One of President Obama's top economic advisors¹ Lawrence Summers warns that any delay by Congress in passing economic stimulus² legislation could have serious consequences for the economy. He called on lawmakers to transcend³ politics and act quickly despite ongoing⁴ differences over the components⁵ of the plan. The compromise bill expected to be passed by the Senate cuts about 40 billion dollars in aid to states that's included in the version passed by the House. Summers says that is an issue that will have to be resolved when lawmakers meet to reconcile the two bills. "There are huge problems facing state and local governments and that could lead to a vicious cycle of layoffs⁶, falling home values, lower property taxes, more layoffs." Summers was on ABC's This Week.

Senate Democratic leaders are hoping to bring the Senate bill to a vote on Tuesday, but GOP Senator John Ensign of Nevada says Republicans will try to delay any vote for a few days. "You don't get do-overs with a trillion dollars. If you could get this thing wrong, a trillion dollars isn't like, well, we did it wrong, we'll try it again." Ensign was on NBC's  Meet the Press.

Given the focus on the stimulus bill, the Treasury⁷ Department is delaying until Tuesday the unveiling of the administration's plan for using the remaining 350 billion dollars in financial rescue plan money already approved by Congress.

Russian leaders are welcoming an offer in remarks by Vice⁸ President Joe Biden to put relations between the US and Russia on a new footing. Biden spoke⁹ at a security conference in Munich. NPR's Gregory Feifer reports.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said Biden had sent a strong signal, but Ivanov dismissed questions about whether Russia would take concrete steps to better relations. Ivanov's statements are the latest in a series of similar messages. At the same time, Russia has greeted President Barack Obama's election with a number of aggressive measures. Last week, Moscow appeared to be behind Kyrgyzstan's announcement it would close a US airbase vital for supplying forces in Afghanistan. The decision is a blow to Mr. Obama's plans to increase troop levels there, his top foreign policy priority. Gregory Feifer, NPR News, Moscow.

The death toll¹⁰ from the wildfires sweeping¹¹ across parts of Australia has risen to at least 108. Cathy Harper has the latest from Darwin, Australia.

The state had been suffering through a record heat wave, which a couple of days ago saw temperatures reached 117 degrees. The area is also affected¹² by particularly severe droughts. During daylight hours, the devastation¹³ of the wildfires began to become apparent. Entire towns have been destroyed and massive tracts¹⁴ of tall eucalyptus¹⁵ forests have burned to the ground. More than 750, 000 acres of land have been reduced to ash. Helpers are coming from the Army and from other states which are sending more firefighters, paramedics and victim identification specialists. For NPR News, I'm Cathy Harper in Darwin.

This is NPR News from Washington. 

US envoy¹⁶ Richard Holbrooke says the war in Afghanistan will be much tougher than the one in Iraq. Speaking to a security conference in Munich, Holbrooke said, "There is no magic formula in Afghanistan" he added, "It will be a long difficult struggle". Holbrooke is the administration's special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai presented a more optimistic picture, claiming that great progress has been made in his country. 

Iraqi police say a roadside bomb attack killed at least two religious pilgrims today and wounded as many as a dozen others in Baghdad. The attack came despite greatly improved security in the city. NPR's Corey Flintoff has more from Baghdad.

Hundreds of thousands of devout¹⁷ Shiite Muslims are marking a key anniversary in their religious history by treking some 50 miles on foot to the shrines¹⁹ in the southern city of Karbala. The event commemorates²⁰ the beginning of the sectarian divide between Shiites and Sunnis. And terrorists have staged attacks on pilgrims in the past in an effort to stoke sectarian violence. Protecting such huge crowds has been a major challenge for Iraqi soldiers and police. And many people see it as a test of government's ability to maintain its own security. Just last month, the suicide bomber²¹ killed at least 35 pilgrims near an important shrine¹⁸ in northern Baghdad. Throughout the country, violence has dropped sharply over the past year and last month's provincial²² elections went off without a single major attack. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Baghdad.

The Iraqi man who threw his shoes at former President Bush in December will face trial on charges of assaulting a foreign leader. The man's attorney's tried unsuccessfully to get an appeals court to reduce the charge to simply insulting Mr. Bush.

1 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

2 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。

3 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

6 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

7 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。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 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。

10 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

11 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？

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 tracts   

大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文

参考例句：

• vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
• There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。

15 eucalyptus   

n.桉树，桉属植物

参考例句：

• Eucalyptus oil is good for easing muscular aches and pains.桉树油可以很好地缓解肌肉的疼痛。
• The birds rustled in the eucalyptus trees.鸟在桉树弄出沙沙的响声。

16 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

17 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

18 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

19 shrines   

圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。
• Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。

20 commemorates   

n.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的名词复数 )v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A tombstone is erected in memory of whoever it commemorates. 墓碑是为纪念它所纪念的人而建的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A tablet commemorates his patriotic activities. 碑文铭记他的爱国行动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

21 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。

22 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。