NPR 2009-02-13

Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire is the latest Obama administration appointee to abruptly¹ pull his name out of contention². In a statement issued late today, Gregg cited what he termed "irresolvable conflicts" with the President's handling of the economic stimulus³ measure and the 2010 Census⁴. In the statement, Gregg said we are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy. The 61-year-old senator was the administration's second choice after New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson withdrew his name from contention several weeks ago amid a grand jury probe into alleged⁵ wrongdoing involving state contracts.

Congressional negotiators said they had been able to iron out the dispute of the final details of the administration's 789-billion-dollar economic stimulus package. They issued a parley⁶ with how school modernization⁷ funds contained in the stimulus bill will be allocated⁸. That would now appear to clear the way for votes tomorrow. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama is in Peoria, Illinois today. While speaking to workers at heavy-equipment maker⁹ Caterpillar¹⁰, he continued to push the stimulus plan. "It’s a plan that will save or create more than 3. 5 million jobs over the next two years, that will ignite spending by businesses and consumers and make the investments necessary for lasting¹¹ economic growth and prosperity. " President will continue to push this stimulus package with trips next week to Denver and Phoenix¹².

Before his trip to Illinois, President Obama was at the US Capitol today as part of the 200th anniversary commemoration of the date President Abraham Lincoln was born. NPR's David Welna reports the 44th president focused on the efforts of the 16th president to unite the divided nation.

With lawmakers gathered in the rotunda¹³ below the Capitol's soaring dome¹⁴, President Obama spoke¹⁵ of Lincoln's determination to keep building that dome during the Civil War so that it could stand when the guns fell silent with the Statue of Freedom at its peak as a symbol of unity¹⁶. "It is this sense of unity, this ability to plan for a shared future even at a moment while our nation was torn apart, that I reflect on today." House Minority Leader John Boehner hit a similar note quoting from Lincoln's second inaugural¹⁷. "He meant when he said with malice¹⁸ toward none and with charity for all." Only an hour later Boehner issued a statement attacking the economic stimulus plan backed by Democrats¹⁹. He accused them of piling up pork and committing generational theft. David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.

New claims for unemployment eased last week. NPR's Giles Snyder reports.

The government says the number of initial jobless benefit claims dropped to a seasonally²⁰ adjusted 623, 000 last week. That's about 8, 000 fewer claims than the previous week. But Nigel Gault of IHS Global Insight says that slight dip doesn't really matter much. "The fact of the claim has been quite as high as last week. It isn't a lot of comfort when they are running over 600, 000. These are levels we haven't seen since the early 1980s." The report from the Labor²¹ Department also points to laid-off workers having a tough time finding new jobs in the weak economy.

On Wall Street, the Dow was down 60 points.

This is NPR.

According to the head of the union representing American Airlines Pilots, the airline CEO Gerard Arpey is refusing to meet with them to discuss stalled contract talks, instead  suggesting the respective sides let federal mediators have more time to broker²² a deal. Employees of the Fort Worth-based airline wanna recover wage cuts they took in 2003. However, the company has been pointing to its more than 2 billion dollars in losses last year. Allied²³ Pilots Association President Lloyd Hill has written to Arpey suggesting it's time for the CEO to intervene after 28 months of bargaining.

A federal court has issued a ruling that means most children with autism will not be eligible²⁴ for a program to compensate²⁵ people injured by vaccines²⁷. NPR's John Hamilton has more.

A special court set up by the US Court of Federal Claims ruled that neither a preservative²⁸ used in vaccines nor the vaccines themselves could be linked to autism. The ruling which involved three test cases affects thousands of children whose parents have filed claims with the National Vaccine²⁶ Injury Compensation Program. Lawyers representing the parents had argued that the preservative thimerosal which contains mercury could damage the brains of some children. They also said that the MMR vaccine which contains no thimerosal could cause autism by provoking a dangerous immune response. But government experts countered that more than a dozen large studies have found no connection between vaccines and autism. John Hamilton, NPR News.

Mortgage rates came down slightly this week, giving some home owners an additional opportunity to refinance. Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac says the average rate for a 30-year fixed²⁹ rate loan fell to 5.16% this week. That's down from a 5.25% last week.

1 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

2 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

3 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。

4 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

5 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

6 parley   

n.谈判

参考例句：

• The governor was forced to parley with the rebels.州长被迫与反叛者谈判。
• The general held a parley with the enemy about exchanging prisoners.将军与敌人谈判交换战俘事宜。

7 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

8 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

9 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

10 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

11 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

12 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

13 rotunda   

n.圆形建筑物；圆厅

参考例句：

• The Capitol at Washington has a large rotunda.华盛顿的国会大厦有一圆形大厅。
• The rotunda was almost deserted today,dotted with just a few tourists.圆形大厅今天几乎没有多少人，只零星散布着几个游客。

14 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

15 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。

16 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

17 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

18 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

19 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》

20 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

21 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

22 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

23 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

24 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

25 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

26 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

27 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

28 preservative   

n.防腐剂；防腐料；保护料；预防药

参考例句：

• New timber should be treated with a preservative.新采的圆木应进行防腐处理。
• Salt is a common food preservative.盐是一种常用的食物防腐剂。

29 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。