NPR 2009-05-27

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Jack¹ Speer

Two moderate Republican senators from Maine could be key in a confirmation² vote of President Obama’s Supreme³ Court nominee⁴; both praised Judge Sonia Sotomayor for her stellar credentials⁵, but are giving no early indication of whether they will support the nomination⁶. Josie Huang of Maine Public Broadcasting reports.

Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins crossed party lines in 1998 to vote in favor of Sotomayor for her current seat on the US Court of Appeals, but Collins points out Sotomayor has had 11 years on the bench since then.

“She’s ruled on many, many cases since then, so I look forward to looking at her decisions, to reading a lot of them personally and to talking with her before making a judgment⁷.”

For her part, Senator Snowe in a statement commends the President for the nomination and says she will evaluate the nominee’s record and temperament⁸ before making a final decision. For NPR News, I’m Josie Huang in Portland, Maine

California Supreme Court today upheld a ban on gay marriage adopted by voters in November. Proposition Eight overturned an earlier Supreme Court ruling, legalizing gay marriage. More from NPR’s Ina Jaffe.

The attorney for the supporters of Proposition Eight applauded the court’s decision. Andrew Punio said that the voters had decided¹⁰ this issue and their view should be respected. During the few months that gay marriage was legal, roughly 18, 000 same-sex couples tied the knot. The court ruled that those marriages are still valid¹¹. While disappointed with the ruling, many advocates of same-sex marriage remained hopeful. Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a statement “I believe that equal marriage rights will one day be the law of the State”. Chaz Lowe, co-founder of the Yes! on Equality coalition¹² said his organization is gathering¹³ signatures to put a measure on the 2010 ballot¹⁴ to overturn Prop⁹. Eight.  Ina Jaffe, NPR News.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said today he feels frustrated¹⁵ by the lack of progress in dealing¹⁶ with North Korea in terms of the country’s nuclear status. Ban’s comments followed the country’s underground nuclear test yesterday and its move today to reportedly launch two short-range missiles. The US Treasury¹⁷ Department is also said to be considering further financial sanctions against North Korea.

Consumers were slightly more upbeat about the future direction of the economy this month. The business research group, the Conference Board says its consumer confidence index rose by around 14 points this month. Lynn Franco is director of Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center and says confidence appears to be on the rise.

“We’ve seen now a back-to-back month of substantial improvement. Basically, people are becoming I guess less pessimistic.”

Then the index itself, key gauges¹⁸ measuring both the present situation and future expectations for the economy both picked up.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 196 points to close at 8,473. The NASDAQ rose 58 points. The S&P500 was up 23 points today.

This is NPR.

Under terms of a tentative deal being voted on this week by hourly workers at General Motors, the company will give the United Auto¹⁹ Workers up to 20% of the company’s common stock, roughly 6.5 billion worth of preferred shares and 2.5-billion-dollar note to fund retiree health care costs. That’s in exchange for concessions²⁰. Workers at GM’s Canada operations have already approved the wage and other concessions. The agreement comes as GM seeks to restructure the company ahead of June 1st government mandated²¹ deadline.

Following a quiet swearing-in ceremony late last week, the new head of the Food and Drug Administration and her chief deputy have laid out ambitious plans for the agency. NPR’s Joanne Silberner has more.

Commissioner²² Margaret Hamburg and Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein lay out their plans for the agency in the New England Journal of Medicine. They note that the FDA has been said to have two speeds for approving drugs and other products: too fast and too slow. They vow²³ to get it just right. They note that both the FDA and scores of food manufacturers have failed to adequately police food safety and they say they’ll do better. They promise to work closely with other federal agencies in Congress and communicate better with the public. They say that overall success depends on focusing on what’s in the best interest of the public. Joanne Silberner NPR News, Washington.

Washington DC Appeals Court has dealt a blow to some cabled TV operators, ruling cable firms do not have exclusive rights to provide service in the apartment buildings they wire. Federal Appeals Court ruled deals that involve a company exchanging a service, such as wiring a building for cable in exchange for exclusive rights to provide service to residents in the building are anticompetitive.

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 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

3 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。

4 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。

5 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

6 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

7 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

8 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

9 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

12 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

13 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

14 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

15 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

17 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。

18 gauges   

n.规格( gauge的名词复数 )；厚度；宽度；标准尺寸v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的第三人称单数 )；估计；计量；划分

参考例句：

• A thermometer gauges the temperature. 温度计可测量温度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fuel gauges dropped swiftly. 燃料表指针迅速下降。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 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。

20 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

21 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

22 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

23 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。