NPR 2009-03-04

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke says the US must take further steps to stabilize¹ the banking² system even though, he says, doing so will add to the federal deficit³. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Ben Bernanke told the Senate Budget Committee that unless the financial system can be stabilized⁴, the US is unlikely to sustain any economic recovery. The Fed chairman says the government's actions since last fall helped prevent a collapse⁵ of the banking system, but he says that system is still under stress and needs more government help even though the resulting deficits⁶ are regrettable. "Our economy and financial markets face extraordinary challenges, and a failure by policymakers to address these challenges in a timely way would likely be more costly⁷ in the end." The Fed says it's moving forward with a previously⁸ announced plan to boost credit to consumers and small businesses. Bernanke says the first loans under that program will be made later this month. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

Major US automakers are weighing in with lackluster February sales numbers today. General Motors says sales fell 53% compared to the same month a year ago. No. 2 domestic automaker Ford⁹ says its sales were down 48%. Mark Fields is Ford's president of the Americas. He says consumers are simply too afraid to buy a new car now given what's going on with the economy. "They are worried about the credit situation; someone may be worried about their job situation. So it's been reflected in the sales for cars." Also weighing in with weaker February sales numbers were Chrysler and Toyota, both of which saw more than 40% sales declines last month.

Cuba watchers are analyzing¹⁰ the major shake-up of the Havana government announced on state television Monday. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

The consensus¹¹ is that the President Raul Castrol has finally moved to put his own stamp on the Cuban government. Raul took over from his ailing¹² brother Fidel in 2006, but he's made only limited changes to the island's communist system or to the top functionaries¹³. On Monday, state-run television announced the ouster of more than ten of Cuba's highest-ranking government officials including the Ministers of Labor¹⁴, Finance, Economy, Food and Fisheries, and Internal Commerce. Also demoted were two of the most powerful men in the government, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Vice¹⁵ President Carlos Lage. Raul replaced them with longtime confidants and generals from the military. Analysts¹⁶ say Raul appears to be purging¹⁷ his government of Fidel loyalists and installing people closer to himself. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Mexico City.

Coast Guard officials now say they have called off the search for two missing NFL players and another man off the coast of Florida. The men missing since Saturday were aboard a small fishing boat. One man was found clinging to the boat yesterday by the Coast Guard. The four left on a fishing trip Saturday but later ran into bad weather and high seas.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 37 points to close at 6,726. The S&P was down 4 points today.

This is NPR.

Deaths among Iraqi civilians¹⁸ and security forces last month have fallen to their second lowest level in some four years. That's according to an Associated Press poll. The count of 283 war-related deaths in February shows a slight increase on the previous month, but still continues the overall trend of declining violence in the country in recent months. According to the AP count, December of 2006 was the deadliest month for Iraqi civilians and security forces with more than 2,300 deaths.

National Endowment for the Arts or NEA has announced guidelines today for how arts groups can receive emergency funding from the economic stimulus¹⁹ package. More from NPR's Elisabeth Blair.

After some debate, the final American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a small allotment, a 50-million dollars, for the National Endowment for the Arts, which distributes ongoing²⁰ grants to art groups in the US. Forty percent of the money will go to state and regional arts groups; sixty percent will be awarded through competitive direct grants. All applicants²¹ must demonstrate how they'll use the money to preserve jobs, either salaried employees or artists who work on a contractual basis. Among the other requirements, applicants must have received NEA funding in the last four years. It's estimated that more than five million people work in the arts industry and that unemployment in the sector²² now is about 12%. Elisabeth Blair, NPR News.

Scientists have announced the discovery of a new moon near Saturn²³. Officials say the faint moon was found in one of Saturn's dazzling outer rings by the international Cassini spacecraft. The discovery of the new moon about a third of a mile wide was announced and noticed now by the International Astronomical²⁴ Union. Saturn has over five dozen moons.

1 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

2 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。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

10 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

11 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

12 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

13 functionaries   

n.公职人员，官员( functionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Indian transmitters were court functionaries, not missionaries. 印度文化的传递者都是朝廷的官员而不是传教士。 来自辞典例句
• All government institutions functionaries must implement state laws, decrees and policies. 所有政府机关极其工作人员都必须认真执行国家的法律，法规和政策。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 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。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 purging   

清洗； 清除； 净化； 洗炉

参考例句：

• You learned the dry-mouthed, fear-purged, purging ecstasy of battle. 你体会到战斗中那种使人嘴巴发干的，战胜了恐惧并排除其他杂念的狂喜。
• Purging databases, configuring, and making other exceptional requests might fall into this category. 比如清空数据库、配置，以及其他特别的请求等都属于这个类别。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

18 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。

19 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。

20 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。

21 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

22 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

23 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

24 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。