NPR 2009-05-01

Chrysler has been forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy¹ after the struggling US automaker failed to reach an agreement with its creditors². David Cole is the head of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor³, Michigan. He says Chrysler hopes to be able to pass through bankruptcy quickly. “They wanna do a, what is called a surgical⁴ or pre-package bankruptcy. And the real question is without bankruptcy law, can they achieve that? And already, for example, some of the Chrysler's suppliers have stopped sending their components⁵ to Chrysler plants that they are now shut down immediately.” As part of the filing, the US government will provide Chrysler with up to 3.5 billion dollars in debtor-in-possession financing and up to 4.5 billion in exit financing. Chrysler has agreed to partner with an Italian automaker Fiat⁶. The Obama administration called the bankruptcy filing critical to protecting 30,000 jobs at the third largest domestic automaker.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the public today on the spread of the new swine flu virus in the US. NPR's Julie Rovner has more.

The biggest increase since yesterday came with the addition of South Carolina with 10 confirmed cases, but still only one death reported that of a toddler in Texas who came with his family from Mexico. Still acting⁷ CDC head Richard Besser warned that he expects the outbreak to continue to worsen. “So I think as we see this virus in more communities, as we see more people who are infected by this virus, we are gonna continue to see a broad spectrum⁸ of disease, a from milder infection to more severe infection. Unfortunately, I do expect that there will be more deaths.” Besser said the public as well as the government needs to take responsibility to prevent the virus from spreading by taking measures such as staying home when sick. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

Defense⁹ Secretary Robert Gates says the administration is still trying to determine what to do with prisoners who remain in Guantanamo Bay. President Obama has ordered the controversial military detention¹⁰ camp to be closed within nine months. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

Secretary Gates testifying before the Senate Appropriations¹¹ Committee said high level discussions are underway to determine how many of the roughly 240 remaining Guantanamo detainees can be transferred to another country, how many can be tried in the US and under what legal system. Gates hinted that several dozen of the detainees could continue to be held without trial under a policy of preventive detention. “The question is what’d we do with the 50 to 100, probably in that ballpark, who we cannot release and cannot try. And I think that question is still open.” Secretary Gates said no decision had been made where to hold detainees on US soil once Guantanamo closes. Several Senators made it clear the detainees were not welcome in their neighborhoods. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 17 points, the NASDAQ was down 5 points. This is NPR.

The captain of the cargo¹² ship who was held hostage by Somali pirates before being freed by US Navy Seal sharp shooters told members of Congress today there needs to be better protection for commercial shipping¹³ on the high seas. Captain Richard Philips testified before a committee on Capitol Hill. He said arming crews is not enough to protect against pirate attacks and said there should be an armed officer corps¹⁴ backed by government for piracy¹⁵.  However, others including the head of Philips-owned shipping company expressed concern that arming merchant sailors could only cause an arms race with the pirates.

A Senate amendment¹⁶ that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to rate down the mortgages failed today. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

The so-called Cram-down amendment might have helped many people facing foreclosure. It would have granted judge's leeway to set mortgage payments so people could keep their homes. After weeks of campaigning, the measure's sponsor, Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois made one final impassioned plea. “The question we're gonna face is whether or not this Senate is going to listen to the families facing foreclosure, the families facing job loss and bills they can't pay, whether they're gonna listen to the American Bankers Association.”

Durbin said Wall Street hasn't paid for creating the mess and should not skate free. The measure had already passed the House but failed in the Senate, so its future is unclear. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

Dozens of out-of-state's same-sex couples have headed to Iowa, hoping to take advantage of the state's new law legalizing gay marriage. According to officials, more than a half of the same-sex couples who applied¹⁷ for marriage licenses¹⁸ in one western Iowa county came from neighboring Nebraska, which currently has a constitutional amendment, banning gay marriage. Many of those couples said they planned to move to Iowa in order to obtain the same rights and privileges as other married couples.

1 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。

2 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

5 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

6 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

11 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

12 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

13 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

14 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

15 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

16 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

17 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

18 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句