NPR 2009-04-10

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack¹ Speer.

One of President Obama's top advisors³ says he thinks the economic downturn will end in the next few months, but Larry Summers says the US economy still faces substantial downdrafts. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

White House economic advisor² Larry Summers says the economy won't recover overnight from losing more than 600, 000 jobs a month. But Summers told the Economic Club of Washington there are anecdotal signs of improvement, including an easing of the credit crunch⁴ and a drawdown of inventories⁵ which should eventually lead to increased production. "The sense of a ball falling off a table, which is what the economy has felt like since the middle of last fall, I think we could be reasonably confident that that's gonna end. " Summers warned that unemployment rates will likely keep climbing even after the economy levels off, though he would not offer a forecast of just how high the jobless rate might go. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

With the death toll⁶ rising to more than 280, Italy's continuing efforts to recover from the worst earthquake that hit that country in three decades. Strong aftershocks continued overnight, rattling⁷ residents, including estimated 18, 000 that were living in tent camps. In the city of L'Aquila, one of the hardest hit areas, quake victims are also staying in seaside hotels and in heated train cars provided by the Italian railway. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano toured the earthquake-devastated area today, stopping off at the collapsed⁸ dormitory where seven students died. Rescuers today pulled three more bodies from the rubble⁹.

CIA Director Leon Panetta has disclosed his agency has terminated contracts with private firms that provided security at the CIA's secret overseas prisons. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.

In his memo¹⁰, Panetta said the CIA no longer operates secret prisons; some former sites, however, have not yet been decommissioned. Panetta said he has proposed a plan for doing that. In the meantime, CIA officers would take charge of security at the sites-until now some security responsibilities have been contracted out. Terminating those security contracts, Panetta said, would save the government up to 4 million dollars a year. The agency still has the authority to hold suspected terrorists on a temporary basis, Panetta said. There could still be renditions when detainees are transferred to the custody¹¹ of other governments. The CIA also retains the authority to interrogate¹² detainees but only in accord with Army Field Manual guidelines. And Panetta said the agency will not contract that work out as it has done in the past. Tom Gjelten, NPR News, Washington.

The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell a bit last week, giving some reason to hope perhaps, layoffs¹³, if not ending, are at least leveling off. Labor¹⁴ Department figures show initial claims for first time unemployment benefits fell to a seasonally¹⁵ adjusted 654, 000 last week, down 20, 000 from the previous week.

On Wall Street today, the Dow rose 246 points; the NASDAQ was up 61 points.

This is NPR.

According to the prime minister of Moldova, authorities in the former Soviet¹⁶ republic are prepared to use all means necessary, including weapons, to restore order in the event that opposition¹⁷ protests turned violent. In a televised address to the nation, Zinai Greceanii said that it's believed the opposition will stage new rallies Friday and over the weekend against the Communist Party's election victory last week. He warned such rallies could lead to casualties. The prime minister said police will useall means, including weapons, to keep order.

In Pakistan, riots erupted in the southwest province of Baluchistan, following the murder of three nationalist politicians. The unrest represents a further assault on the country's deteriorating¹⁸ security. From Islamabad, NPR's Julie McCarthy has more.

Public anger boiled over in the city of Quetta, capital of Baluchistan, after the mutilated bodies of three dissident politicians were found dumped in a remote location. Rioters took to the streets, setting fire to vehicles that belonged to the United Nations. Police fired tear gas at protesting students. There has been a long simmering insurgency¹⁹ in Baluchistan for a greater share of natural resources and autonomy. Demonstrators say the three slain²⁰ Baluchi nationalist leaders were detained by Pakistani security forces last Friday and had been missing since. Amnesty International has urged the Pakistani government to investigate the killings²¹. Meanwhile, fears of deteriorating security in Islamabad prompted the United States to close its consulate²² there on Friday. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

So many people showed up today at a New Hampshire job fair. Organizers said they were forced to turn some of them away. Organizers of the event at Southern New Hampshire University said more than 10, 000 people showed up. They'd been expecting half that number.

I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 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

4 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

5 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。

6 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。

7 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

10 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

11 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

12 interrogate   

vt.讯问，审问，盘问

参考例句：

• The lawyer took a long time to interrogate the witness fully.律师花了很长时间仔细询问目击者。
• We will interrogate the two suspects separately.我们要对这两个嫌疑人单独进行审讯。

13 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

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 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

16 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

17 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

18 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

19 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

20 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

21 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

22 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。