NPR 2009-08-18

President Obama says US military operations in Afghanistan are crucial to national security. "If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency¹ will mean an even larger safe haven² from which al-Qaeda would plot to kill more Americans. So this is not only a war worth fighting, this is fundamental to the defense³ of our people."

 Mr. Obama made the comments at a convention of veterans of Foreign Wars in Phoenix⁴. They come just days ahead of Afghanistan's presidential election on Thursday--an effort to fortify⁵ American support for the US mission there. The President also tried to reassure⁶ vets⁷ his health care overhaul⁸ proposal will improve the delivery of their health benefits.

 The Federal Reserve is extending a program aimed at providing credit for commercial real estate loans as concern mounts about potential defaults. NPR's John Ydstie has more.

 Commercial property values have fallen more than 1/3 since they peaked in 2007. Officials are worried there won't be adequate credit available to roll over the nearly 165 billion dollars in commercial mortgages that come due this year. To help meet the need for new credits, the Fed is extending its TALF lending program, the acronym⁹ stands for Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility. The Fed says that instead of ending on December 31st, the program will run through June 30th of next year. The Fed said it would consider a further extension if circumstances warrant. The Fed is also extending the TALF program for consumer and business loans through March 31st. The TALF has helped reduce interest rates in the auto¹⁰, credit card and commercial real estate markets. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

 California firefighters say they are making progress on several blazes in the northern and central parts of the state. Capital Public Radio's Ben Adler has details.

 You know how California's gusty¹¹ winds often make fires worse. Well this time, says CalFire's Daniel Berlant, it's the other way around. “Across northern California, our weather pattern has changed over last few days. We still have warm temperatures, but fortunately the winds had decreased. Um, it's that dissipation in the wind that has really allowed our crews to make a good stand against all the different fires across the state.

 Right now the state is focusing on two of those fires. The first is in the coastal¹² mountains about 90 miles south of San Francisco. It's burned more than 11 square miles in Santa Cruz County and is 65% contained. Most residents have been allowed to return to their homes. The other fire is in Yuba County, 70 miles north of Sacramento. That one still threatens hundreds of homes and is only 25% contained. For NPR News, I'm Ben Adler in Sacramento.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow closed down 186 points at 9,135. The NASDAQ lost 54 points to close at 1,930 and the S&P fell 25.

This is NPR News.

 The nation's second largest home improvement store chain says worries over the economy continue to hurt its bottom line. From member station WFAE in Charlotte, North Carolina, Scott Graf reports.

 North Carolina-based Lowe's says its second quarter earnings¹³ were off 19%, compared to the same period a year ago. Income totaled 759 million dollars or 51 cents a share. Sales were down 4.5%. In a statement, the company's CEO says business lag as consumers have continued to pull back on spending. Same-store sales, a measure of retail¹⁴ vitality¹⁵, fell for the 12th straight quarter. Lowe's is reacting by cutting back on planned expansion in North America, although, it still plans to open dozens of stores this year. The nation's largest home improvement chain, the Atlanta-based Home Depot¹⁶ reports its earnings tomorrow. For NPR News, I'm Scott Graf in Charlotte.

 The State of New York has filed a civil lawsuit¹⁷ against discount broker¹⁸ Charles Schwab. The New York Attorney General's Office says the firm misled investors¹⁹ about the safety of auction²⁰ rate securities. Schwab has maintained it played a peripheral²¹ role in the sale of auction rate securities and had no way of knowing the market for them would collapse²².

 The Justice Department has charged three computer hackers²⁴ with stealing 130 million credit and debit²⁵ card numbers in what they called the largest card data breach²⁶ in US history. The government says Albert Gonzalez of Miami, Florida and two unnamed co-conspirators used a sophisticated technique to hack²³ into the network supporting major financial and retail organizations including Heartland Payment Systems, 7-Eleven and Hannaford Brothers.

1 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 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。

4 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

5 fortify   

v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化

参考例句：

• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
• This treaty forbade the United States to fortify the canal.此条约禁止美国对运河设防。

6 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

7 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

8 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

9 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

10 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。

11 gusty   

adj.起大风的

参考例句：

• Weather forecasts predict more hot weather,gusty winds and lightning strikes.天气预报预测高温、大风和雷电天气将继续。
• Why was Candlestick Park so windy and gusty? 埃德尔斯蒂克公园里为什么会有那么多的强劲阵风？

12 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

13 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

14 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

15 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

16 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

17 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。

18 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

19 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

20 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

21 peripheral   

adj.周边的，外围的

参考例句：

• We dealt with the peripheral aspects of a cost reduction program.我们谈到了降低成本计划的一些外围问题。
• The hotel provides the clerk the service and the peripheral traveling consultation.旅舍提供票务服务和周边旅游咨询。

22 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

23 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

24 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

25 debit   

n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项

参考例句：

• To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方？
• We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱，只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。

26 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。