CNN 2009-11-01

Somali pirates, they are demanding a seven million-dollar ransom¹ for a British couple kidnapped from their boat last week. The British Foreign Office says it will not meet the pirates’ demand for money in return for the release of Rachel and Paul Chandler.

More cases of the H1N1 flu to report this weekend, but we can also report more of the vaccine² to deal with H1N1. Forty-eight states now reporting widespread flu activity, that’s two more states than we had a week ago. Also, more than twenty-six million doses of H1N1 vaccine are now available in the US. That is ten more million than we had just a week ago. However, it’s still far less than the government predicted. There have been some production delays. It has affected³ the supply.

Now the White House is now telling us who is visiting the president’s home and we will, too, see this list.
Yes, around a hundred thousand people visit the White House each month, so a pretty big list. Now, when we talk about the list of folks, this doesn’t just include the folks over there to visit the president and visit his advisors⁴. When we talk about people who just come through and take a tour of the White House. Anybody you know, they had officially log-in.

Two radically⁵ different views on the effects of the stimulus⁶ this weekend, President Obama credits the plan for saving nearly a million jobs so far. In his weekly address, he sees signs of recovery.
“The economy grew for the first time in more than a year and faster than at any point in the preview two years. So while we have a long way to go before we return to prosperity. And there will undoubtedly⁷ be ups and downs along the road. It’s also true that we’ve come a long way. It is easy to forget that it was only several months ago that the economy was shrinking rapidly and many economists⁸ feared another Great Depression.”

Now the Republicans not so impressed in their own address this weekend, they say the Democrats’ plan for the economy of health care will lead to more taxes and fewer jobs.

Also President Obama has extended benefits for HIV/AIDS patients across this country. He signed a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Bill at the White House yesterday. It authorizes⁹ a five percent yearly bumping federal funding for the treatment of hundreds of thousands of underinsured and low income patients. The CDC says around a million people in the US are living with HIV.
 

1 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor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：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

5 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

6 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。

7 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

8 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。