NPR 2009-04-09

In a major about face from the policies of the previous president, the Obama administration said today it will participate directly in group talks with Iran over the country's suspected nuclear program. State Department spokesman Robert Woods says the decision means the U.S. will join senior diplomats¹ from the five permanent members of UN Security Council and Germany in meeting with Iranian officials.” If Iran accepts, we hope this will be the occasion to seriously engage Iran on how to break the logjam of recent years and work in a cooperative manner to resolve the outstanding international concerns about its nuclear program." U.S. and Iran have not had diplomatic relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and a subsequent hostage-taking at the U.S. Embassy in Teheran. The Bush administration had labeled Iran a part of what it termed "the axes of evil".

The death toll² in central Italy's devastating³ earthquake has risen to 260 as the country prepares to bury some of its dead in a mass state funeral on Friday. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from the city of L'Aquila.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visited the earthquake area for the third day in a row. He said a total of 28,000 people had lost their homes with 70,000 now living in tents, and the rest in free hotel rooms or staying with relatives. Berlusconi also announced the draft of a new tough law against looting. In fact, the severely⁴ damaged Historic Center of the city has been declared off-limits to residents. Aftershocks continued after Monday's major tremor⁵, Italy's worst in three decades. A tremor on Tuesday at 5.6 magnitude caused further damage to the basilica and to a 16-century castle. Early estimates put the cost of the earthquake's damage at 1.5 to 2.2 billion dollars, a severe blow for an economy that is reeling from its worst recession in decades. Sylvia Poggioli,NPR News,L'Aquila.

General Motors and Chrysler both launched supplier-support programs today designed to help keep suppliers in business with the help of federal funding. Michigan Radio’s Tracy Samulton has more.

U.S. auto⁶ suppliers are hurting as auto production continues to slide. The U.S. Treasury⁷ said last month that it would give Ford⁸, Chrysler and GM five billion dollars to pass on to their most critical suppliers. Ford declined the aid. GM get about two billion dollars in supplier funds and Chrysler about 1.5 billion. Jim Joe Ladison, auto analyst⁹ with CSM Worldwide. "I do have serious doubts that the amount that’s allocated¹⁰ to Chrysler and General Motors, and I would take Chrysler in particular, ah, may not be enough to, to carry it through this very difficult time." The automakers have not said which suppliers will receive the money but American Axle could be at the top of GM's list. The supplier is in bad shape and its survival is crucial for GM. For NPR News, I'm Tracy Samulton in Ann Arbor¹¹.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 47 points to end the session at 7,837.The NASDAQ rose 29 points. The S&P 500 gained 9 points.

This is NPR.

Police from Pittsburg and surrounding regions gathered today to pay the respects to three police officers killed by a gunman after they responded to a reported domestic dispute. Police band pipes played as the bodies of Eric Kelly, Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo were carried into Pittsburg City County Building today. The men were shot to death after responding to an argument between a woman and her 22-year-old son. The man is currently jailed on homicide charges. It’s alleged¹² the man laying way for the police officers. Following a viewing today, a public memorial service is scheduled for tomorrow.

The Food and Drug Administration has Okayed a test that can tell if someone is infected with a dangerous bird flu virus in minutes rather than hours. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

If the so-called H5N1 bird flu virus learns how to spread rapidly among humans as health officials fear it might, fast action will be necessary to prevent a global pandemic. Previous tests for H5N1 infection took up to four hours to get results and were more cumbersome¹³ to use in rural areas where bird flu is often popped up. The new test gets results in forty minutes, the FDA says, it picks up a bird flu protein in throat or nose slobbers and doesn't require a blood sample .A California company called Arbor Vitae developed the test in collaboration¹⁴ with the U.S.Navy. The World Health Organization reports more than 400 cases of H5N1 bird flu since 2003 concentrated in South Asia and Northern Africa, more than 60% of victims have died .Richard Knox, NPR News.

Some better than expected inventory¹⁵ numbers at the wholesale¹⁶ level, the Commerce Department says the nation's wholesalers reduce the stock pile of unsold goods and backlogs¹⁷ in warehouse¹⁸ shelves by the steepest amount in 17 years in February. Government says wholesale inventories¹⁹ fell by 1.5%.

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

5 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

6 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

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 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。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 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。

11 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

12 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

13 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

14 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

15 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

16 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

17 backlogs   

积压未办之事( backlog的名词复数 )； 没交付的订货； 备用； 备用物

参考例句：

• "You'll need kindling and medium wood and logs and backlogs. “点火柴、引火柴、原木、垫底的，你都用得着。” 来自名作英译部分
• Our manufacturers have heavy backlogs on their hands. 我们的生产厂商手头有许多积压而没有交付的订单。

18 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

19 inventories   

n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制

参考例句：

• In other cases, such as inventories, inputs and outputs are both continuous. 在另一些情况下，比如存货，其投入和产出都是持续不断的。
• The store must clear its winter inventories by April 1st. 该店必须在4月1日前售清冬季存货。