NPR 2009-05-21

A parked car detonated on a crowded street in Bagdad today, killing¹ at least 35 people and wounding more than 70 others. NPR’s JJ Sutherland reports from the Iraqi capital.

It was just after sunset when families were out in the street, having dinner at an outdoor restaurant, taking their children to the ice cream store next door. The bomb ripped through the crowd, bodies-men, women and children-tossed about. The neighborhood is in northwestern Bagdad, and it's poor Shiite. On the whole, violence is dramatically down in Iraq, though a spate² of bombings last month killed hundreds of civilians⁴. For the past week, it has been extraordinarily⁵ quiet. US troops are scheduled to leave Iraqi cities by the end of June. Just yesterday, Security Ministers testified before Parliament that the Iraqi security forces are more than ready to keep the peace. JJ Sutherland, NPR news, Bagdad.

A court in Washington has partially⁶ rejected the Obama administration’s standard for holding terrorism detainees. The judge says support for terrorism is different from being a terrorist. NPR’s Ari Shapiro has more.

President Obama inherited court cases from hundreds of men at Guantanamo challenging their detention⁷. Before the challenges could proceed, a judge asked the administration to explain the standard for whom the military can detain. President Obama dropped the use of the term "enemy combatants", but he said these men are not civilian³ criminals. He argued the military has the authority to hold anyone who is a member of a terrorist group, who participates in terrorism or who supports terrorism. He said Congress gave the president that authority in a law passed right after 9. 11. Now Judge John Baits says that law is not as sweeping⁸ as the Obama administration claims. Judge Baits wrote that the military can detain members or participants in terrorist groups, but he said the authority does not extend to those who merely support terrorism. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

Treasury⁹ Secretary Timothy Geithner told lawmakers on Capitol Hill today there were signs the US financial system is in his words starting to heal . Geithner also told members of the Senate Committee that major banks have raised 56 billion dollars in the capital markets since the government s recent stress tests, something the Treasury Secretary says appears to be making it easier for consumers and businesses. The cost of credit is starting to ease, interest rates on mortgages have dropped to historic lows and refinancing has surged, as I said, putting additional money into the pockets of millions of Americans; businesses are finding it easier to raise money in the capital markets On another topic Geithner says he sees continued federal involvement with insurance giant AIG. Government has already injected 70 billion dollars into the company.

New Hampshire lawmakers have unexpectedly rejected the measure that would’ve made the state the 6th in the nation to legalize gay marriage. The Democrat-controlled State House in a 188 to 186 vote narrowly defeated the measure authorizing¹⁰ same-sex couples to marry. The legislation was approved in the New Hampshire Senate.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 53 points, the NASDAQ lost six points. This is NPR.

Officials with the World Health Organization are expressing concerns that all of the attentions being paid to swine flu is lessening¹¹ attention to other much more common and potentially far more deadly diseases. After the group’s annual World Health Assembly in Geneva, officials say that cancer and diabetes¹² pose a much greater health risk to millions of people. Other officials, including the chief medical officer of Uganda said malaria¹³ and drug resistant¹⁴ TB are also killing people every day. So far the swine flu virus, while has been blamed for some deaths and thousands of illnesses, appears to pose a little more of a threat than a normal seasonal¹⁵ flu.

In California, lawmakers meet today to discuss major spending cuts. That’s after voters rejected some gap measures to patch up the state's budget deficit¹⁶. Nova Safo reports, Los Angeles.

California voters rejected all five budget measures in a special election. The measures would have generated 6 billion dollars to help with the state s massive deficit, which has now projected to equal almost a quarter of the state s income in the next fiscal¹⁷ year. With less tax revenue coming in, California could start running out of money by the end of July. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers now must agree on 20-billion dollars in spending cuts and new high interests loans. Governor Schwarzenegger outlined some of the proposed cuts, less education spending that could result in a shortened school year and laying off 5, 000 state workers. Thousands of state inmates¹⁸ convicted of nonviolent crimes may also be released early. For NPR News, I’m Nova Safo in Los Angeles.

Crude oil prices hit a six-month high today; futures¹⁹ prices rose $1.94 a barrel to settle at $62.04 a barrel in New York.

I’m Jack²⁰ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 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。

5 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 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。

8 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

9 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。

10 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

11 lessening   

减轻，减少，变小

参考例句：

• So however much he earned, she spent it, her demands growing and lessening with his income. 祥子挣多少，她花多少，她的要求随着他的钱涨落。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The talks have resulted in a lessening of suspicion. 谈话消减了彼此的怀疑。

12 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

13 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

14 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

15 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

16 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

17 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

18 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

20 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。