NPR 2009-04-23

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

General Motors, already under the gun to retool² ahead of a government deadline, apparently³ is planning a major summer shutdown to a number of US factories. According to sources familiar with the plan, GM will close most of its US plants, some for as long as nine weeks. Its company seeks to deal with slowing sales in the mounting backlog⁴ of unsold vehicles. Beck Leman is an analyst⁵ of Global Insight. She says the shutdowns would have only a modest effect on hourly employees. “They do tend to get the majority of their salaries, um, anywhere from, from, it can be from 70 to 90 percent of their salary. So the actually union workers would not be negatively, really negatively impacted by this.”  The exact timing⁶ of the plant closures is not known, though Leman says it's likely to occur around GM's normal two weeks summer shutdown in July. GM has already received more than 13 billion dollars in government loans but has to meet a government deadline to restructure further or possibly file for bankruptcy⁷.

The International Monetary⁸ Fund or IMF today cut its forecast for the global economy, saying the world wide recession will be deeper and longer than previously¹⁰ thought. NPR's John Ydstie reports.

The IMF predicts the world economy will shrink 1.3 percent this year. That's the worst decline since World War Two. The forecast does predict a global recovery starting later this year and positive growth of nearly 2 percent in 2010. Among the reasons for the gloomier report, a slower than expected stabilization¹¹ of the world financial system. And IMF chief economist¹² Olivier Blanchard says there are risks things could get even worse if governments don't continue to take strong action especially in cleaning up their banking¹³ systems. The IMF predicts the US economy will shrink 2.8 percent this year. It says Japan will have the sharpest decline, a contraction¹⁴ of 6.2 percent while China continues to grow but more slowly at a 6.5 annual rate. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

The Obama administration is rejecting a proposed FAA regulation that would keep secret information about collisions between airplanes and birds. NPR's Brian Naylor has more.

The FAA proposed last month to keep data on airplane bird strikes secret, fearing that publicizing it will discourage airports and airlines from voluntarily reporting it. The issue came to the fore⁹ after a US Airways¹⁵ jet made an emergency landing in the Hudson in January after striking a flock of birds. But Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is overruling the FAA. According to a spokeswoman, LaHood believes at a time when the CIA is releasing sensitive information about torture, the FAA can release data about birds. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 82 points, to close at 7,886. The NASDAQ was up 2 points, the S&P 500 fell 6 points today.

This is NPR.

An attack by a suicide bomber¹⁶ at a Sunni mosque¹⁷ north of Baghdad has left at least 5 people dead today. According to Iraqi officials the attacker appeared to be mingling¹⁸ with worshipers just before he detonated an explosive belt. A dozen others were reported to be injured in the blast. The bombing took place in a mosque some 45 miles north of Baghdad.

An internal investigation¹⁹ by the Israeli military into the conduct of Israeli troops during the GAZA offensive has found no evidence of serious misconduct. Human rights groups are protesting the findings, NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports from Jerusalem.

According to the report, Israel operated under “international law and according to a very high standard of professionalism and moral standards". The report said investigators²⁰ did not find one incident where Israeli soldiers intentionally²¹ harmed innocent civilians²². A group of prominent Israeli human rights groups immediately called for an independent investigation, saying the findings were problematic. Israel launched its offensive into Gaza in December with the aim of stopping rocket attacks on Israeli coastal²³ towns from the Hamas controlled territory. Palestinian groups say the death toll²⁴ was over 1,400, among them 947 civilians. The Israeli government says the bulk of those killed were armed militants²⁵. Ten Israeli soldiers and three Israeli civilians were also killed in the fighting. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Jerusalem.

Law enforcement officials in Boston say they’ve now linked the items in the apartment of a Boston medical student to the two victims in the so-called Craigslist case. Authorities yesterday charged 23-year-old Philip Markoff with the killing²⁶ of one woman and the assault of another, both women apparently advertised their services as masseuses on the popular online site. Law enforcement officials are looking into robbery as a possible motive²⁷ in the case, saying Markoff is a frequent visitor to the Foxwood Casino.

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 retool   

v.改组，重新装备

参考例句：

• Each time the product changes,the machines have to be retooled.每次更换产品，就得重新装备机器。
• In the computer industry,engineers have to retool frequently.在电脑业中，工程师必须经常以新知识充实装备自己。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

5 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。

6 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

7 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

8 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

9 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

10 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。

11 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

12 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

13 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。

14 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

15 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

16 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。

17 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

18 mingling   

adj.混合的

参考例句：

• There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间，已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
• The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。

19 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

20 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

22 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。

23 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

24 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。

25 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

26 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

27 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。