NPR 2009-05-05

Turkish media reports are now saying at least 41 people are dead and 3 others have been wounded following an attack on a wedding ceremony in southeastern Turkey today. According to reports, assailants with bombs and automatic weapons opened fire on the ceremony being held in the village there, the wounded were taken to nearby hospital. It’s still not clear who carried out the attack. Turkish soldiers and pro-government village guards have been fighting Kurdish guerrillas in that region.

Mexican officials have dialed down their swine flu alert and also announced today they would allow universities, cafés, museums and libraries to reopen this week. There are 700 confirmed cases of swine flu with 26 confirmed deaths there. But officials said there were signs that the spread of the virus may be leveling off. Meanwhile, in the US, there are now 298 confirmed swine flu cases in 37 states. Briefing reporters today, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sounded somewhat optimistic but said US officials want to avoid being overconfident. “We have started to see encouraging signs that this virus may be mild and that the spread may be limited. We are therefore cautiously optimistic. But nevertheless we realize this is not the time to rest.” Napolitano did say the public should not be alarmed that the World Health Organization ups its threat level, saying a pandemic declaration would describe geography and not necessarily severe of the current outbreak.

Mexico City’s mayor says the economic disruption the swine flu virus is currently causing won't have a long lasting² effect on the economy. James Blears reports.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard says the economic effect will very much depend on how many weeks or even months of suspending, controlling, curbing⁵ the H1N1 flu virus, but things looking more hopeful all the time. “I think that the middle term effect is not going to be so severe as we can imagine a week ago.” Ebrard also says it's irrelevant⁶ in which country this virus started rather it’s vital for coordinated⁷ international cooperation to curb⁴ its progress any further. For NPR News, I am James Blears in Mexico City.

Defense⁸ Secretary Robert Gates is in the Mideast this week, meeting with US allies. NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly reports.

Secretary Gates will not be stopping in Iran, but questions and concerns about Iran are sure to rank high on the agenda everywhere he does stop. Speaking with reporters on the plane en route to Cairo, Gates noted⁹ concerns throughout the region about Iran’s influence in Baghdad. Gates praised Egypt for taking steps to re-engage with the Iraqi government and he said sending more ambassadors and stepping up engagement with regional security initiatives would help. “I think that if the Arab world is concerned about Iranian influence in Baghdad than the way to deal with that is to have more Arab influence in Baghdad.” After Cairo, Secretary Gates heads next to Riyadh. Mary Louise Kelly NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 214 points today, that’s a gain of 2.6%.

This is NPR.

President Obama has been on the phone to a number of key Senators who will play a role in the process of confirming any Supreme¹⁰ Court nominee¹¹. According to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, the president today spoke¹² with Senators, Orrin Hatch of Utah and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, to talk about the vacancy¹³ created by last week’s announcement by Supreme Court Justice David Souter. He will leave the court before the start of the next term. Both Senators are members of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee.

The NAACP says Detroit and its auto¹ industry should be its focus. That message was delivered last night by the Reverend Jesse Jackson at the organization’s annual dinner. Amy Miller¹⁴ with member station WDET reports.

The election of the country’s first black president is a significant milestone¹⁵ for the nation’s largest civil rights organization. But it’s not the end of the mission. The annual NAACP fight for freedom fund dinner in Detroit draws about 10,000 people. Last night, keynote speaker, Reverend Jesse Jackson told the crowd that fighting to save jobs, carmakers and schools should be part of the new mandate¹⁶ for the NAACP. Jackson said blacks are disproportionally suffering in the current economic crisis as evidence by Michigan having the highest jobless rate in the country. NAACP Chapter President reverend Wendell Anthony told attendees that the unemployment rate for blacks is still more than double that of whites. Jackson told the crowd the Detroit’s automakers are the lifeline, and that it’s time for a righteous rebellion to help save the industry. For NPR News, I am Amy Miller in Detroit.

Some better than expected economic numbers: according to the Commerce Department, construction spending was up  0.3 percent in March, the best showing since last September. And the National Association of Realtors says its Pending³ Home Sales Index rose by 3.2 percent.

1 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。

2 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

3 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

4 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

5 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

6 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

7 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 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。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

11 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

14 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

15 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

16 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。