NPR 2009-08-07

The Senate has confirmed the nomination¹ of Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme² Court. NPR's Audie Cornish reports.

 Minnesota Senator Al Franken read the tallies³ at the end of the confirmation⁴ vote. "On this vote, the yeas are 68 and the nays⁵ are 31. The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor of New York to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is confirmed." Nine Republican Senators joined the Democratic majority in approving the nomination over criticism from their colleagues that Sotomayor would be a liberal activist⁶ on the High Court. Democrats⁷ touted⁸ her personal story, arising from the New York project, the elite⁹ Ivy¹⁰ League's and finally 17 years on the federal bench. They argued that Sotomayor had proven in her Senate testimony¹¹ last month that she would put the law above all else. Sonia Sotomayor will be sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court Saturday morning in a private ceremony at the High Court. Audie Cornish, NPR News, the Capitol.

 First time claims for unemployment fell more than expected last week, 38,000 fewer people applied¹² for benefits from the week before. But the total number of people on unemployment continues to climb to more than 6.3 million. The head of the President's Council of Economic Advisers¹⁴ says while unemployment is still horrendous¹⁵, the country might have lost nearly a half million more jobs without the government's stimulus¹⁶ efforts. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

 White House Economic Adviser¹³ Christina Romer told the Washington Economic Club the government's stimulus efforts are absolutely working to help turn the recession around. She pointed¹⁷ to better-than-expected numbers from the Commerce Department last week, saying given what we now know about the depth of the downturn, it would be hard to recover any faster. "After we administered the medicine, the economy that was in free fall stabilized¹⁸, and stabilized substantially. And now looks as though it could begin to recover in the second half of the year." Romer also credited the efforts by the Treasury¹⁹ Department and the Federal Reserve. She cautioned the economy is still far from healthy and said the recovery has a long way to go. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

 Film director, writer and producer John Hughes has died of a heart attack at the age of 59. Hughes is credited with some of the most successful comedies of the 1980s and 1990s including "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "The Breakfast Club", "Planes, Trains and Automobiles²⁰" and "Home Alone I and II".

 A New York judge has blocked a 33-million-dollar settlement reached this week between the Bank of America and the Securities and Exchange Commission, pending²¹ a hearing on Monday. The bank had agreed to the fine to settle charges it misled shareholders²².

 On Wall Street today, the Dow closed down 24 points at 9,256. The NASDAQ was off 19. 

 This is NPR News.

 The Senate is debating amendments²³ to legislation that would add two billion dollars to the "Cash for Clunkers" program. A vote is expected later today. The car trade-in initiative is expected to run out of money as soon as tomorrow.

 The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering airlines to modify jet fuel pumps on all Boeing 767s. The government says automatic shutoff systems must be installed to ensure to prevent a buildup of explosive air and fuel mixtures in empty tanks.  That hasn't happened in a 767, but a similar situation is believed to have caused a 747 to explode off the Coast of Long Island in 1996.

 The front man for the rock band Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, was taken to a hospital after falling off a stage at a campground in South Dakota last night. Some in the audience weren't sure if that was part of the act. From South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Jennifer Jones has the story.

 Alicia Gomez was at the concert. She says in the middle of the song "Love in an Elevator", Tyler walked out on the catwalk and looked like he was going to spin around. She says he slipped and fell. When security pulled him up, Gomez says Tyler was holding his head and it looked like his shoulder was bleeding. "I think everyone kind of hoped that they would come back out; but then you could hear the ambulance siren in the back and that's when everyone kind of knew that was it." The crowd waited for a while until officials came out and said they'd taken Tyler to a hospital. The 61-year-old suffered head, neck and a shoulder injury, though the severity of his injuries hasn't been released. For NPR News, I'm Jennifer Jones in Vermillion, South Dakota.

 And I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

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 tallies   

n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• Cash on hand tallies with the figure in the accounts. 现款跟账上的数目没有出入。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He tallies his own marks. 他把自己的得分记了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 nays   

n.反对票，投反对票者( nay的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tally was two ayes and three nays. 投票结果是两票赞成，三票反对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tally was three yeas and two nays, so the yeas have it. 投票结果是三票赞成两票反对，投赞成票者胜利。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

9 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

10 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

11 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

12 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。

13 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

14 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

15 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

16 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。

17 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

18 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 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。

20 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 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。

22 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

23 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。