NPR 2009-06-09

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

The Supreme² Court has put the sale of Chrysler on hold. The court granted a temporary stay in the bankruptcy³ proceeding⁴ that would allow the company be acquired by the Italian automaker Fiat⁵. NPR's Adam Hochberg has more.

Fiat had hoped to complete its acquisition of Chrysler by June 15th. But the deal was challenged by Indiana State Treasurer⁶ on behalf of three state pension funds. The challenge contends that the sale of Chrysler is unfair to the company's investors⁷ because it puts the rights of several creditors⁸ including the US government ahead of the rights of investors. The challenge also says Congress should not have used TARP money to finance Chrysler's restructuring. The emergency request to stop the deal ended up before Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who issued a one-sentence order staying the bankruptcy case pending⁹ further review. It’s not immediately clear when that review will take place. Fiat has said it would back out of the deal if it’s not completed by June 15th. Adam Hochberg, NPR News.

The decision by North Korea to sentence two American journalists to 12 years of hard labor¹⁰ will be appealed through "all possible channels" by the Obama administration. Administration officials said today the president is deeply concerned by the sentence handed down to reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee. The sentences were in connection with North Korea's, what make North Korea maintains was an illegal border crossing by the pair. The White House says the sentencing should not be linked to the current dispute of Pyongyang's nuclear program. President Obama will meet with South Korea's president later this month to discuss recent actions by the North.

Pentagon has completed its investigation¹¹ into an airstrike in Afghanistan that killed dozens of civilians¹³. Pentagon spokesman says review shows the US troops did not follow all the proper procedures during the incident on May 4th. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports.

Defense¹⁴ Secretary Robert Gates has now been briefed on the results of the investigation which show that there were problems with the way airstrikes against Taliban fighters were carried out. In particular, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell cited a B-1 bomber¹⁵ that got permission to launch an attack, but then broke away and did not reconfirm its target before dropping a bomb. But Morrell says the investigation found that overall US troops took great pains to limit civilian¹² casualties. And Morrell stressed that the number of Taliban militants¹⁶ killed in the May strikes "greatly outnumbered the number of civilians who died". The full investigation is expected to be released in the coming days. Mary Louise Kelly, NPR News, Washington.

Members of the Boston Globe's biggest union will be voting today on a package of deep wage and benefit cuts designed to prevent the possible closure of the paper. Officials said the vote from the Boston Newspaper Guild¹⁷ comes as the paper owned by the New York Times Company is losing more than a million dollars a week. Times has said it needs at least 20 million dollars annual savings¹⁸ in order to keep the money-losing 137-year-old newspaper afloat.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained a point to close at 8,764. The NASDAQ fell seven points today.

This is NPR.

South Carolina governor Mark Sanford has followed through on a promise to drop legal challenges in his fight over millions of dollars in federal stimulus¹⁹ funds. Republican governor's lawyers today asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit²⁰ that had tried to prevent Attorney General Henry McMaster when enforcing a law requiring Sanford to request 700 million dollars for the state's schools. Sanford, a former Congressman²¹, objected to the federal government's stimulus program on several levels, claiming the states accepting the money will raise the national debt while devaluate the US dollar.

Search teams continue gathering²² debris²³ from an area of the Atlantic Ocean some 600 miles east of Brazil where Air France Flight 447 crashed last week. Sixteen bodies have been recovered by French-Brazilian teams. Frank Browning reports.

French investigators²⁴ say they are encouraged that having located the place where the airbus A330 hit the sea, thereby²⁵ increasing the promise that subsurface craft may be able to find the voice and data recording²⁶ devices that were affixed²⁷ to the tail of the airplane. Preliminary analysis continues to focus on the likelihood of faulty speed readings from monitors attached to outside of the plane. Analysts²⁸ say that the altitude of the plane, mixed with heavy humid stormy weather and false speed readings, could well have caused the plane's auto-pilot to malfunction²⁹, leading to loss of control.  French submersible capsules are expected in the area tomorrow. So far none of the recovered bodies has been identified. For NPR News, I'm Frank Browning in Paris.

Major price drop for Apple. The Cupertino, California based company said today it will cut the price of its least expensive model of its popular Iphone from 199 dollars to 99 dollars. Apple said it will also introduce two new versions of the Iphone.

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 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。

3 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。

4 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

5 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。

6 treasurer   

n.司库，财务主管

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
• The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 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》

9 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。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 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。

12 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。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

18 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

19 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

20 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

21 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

22 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。

23 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

24 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》

25 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

26 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

27 affixed   

adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章）

参考例句：

• The label should be firmly affixed to the package. 这张标签应该牢牢地贴在包裹上。
• He affixed the sign to the wall. 他将标记贴到墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

29 malfunction   

vi.发生功能故障，发生故障，显示机能失常

参考例句：

• There must have been a computer malfunction.一定是出了电脑故障。
• Results have been delayed owing to a malfunction in the computer.由于电脑发生故障，计算结果推迟了。