NPR 2010-01-04

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.

 

The United States and Britain have shut down their embassies in Yemen in light of what President Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor¹ John Brennan called "alive and active threat of Al-Qaeda attacks in Yemen's capital". Brennan noted² that the Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda was apparently³ behind the attempted bomb attack against a US jetliner that was thwarted⁵ on Christmas Day. NPR's Jeff Brady has more.

 

Brennan said Yemen is not a new front in the fight against terrorism. But speaking on the NBC's Meet the Press, he did not rule out US military action in that country. "There are several hundred al-Qaeda members right now inside of Yemen, and the fight is being taken to them. Events during last month demonstrated the Yemeni government resolve, and there are a number of operatives and leaders of al-Qaeda in Yemen that are no longer with us today because of those actions." Brennan also addressed concerns that the attempted attack could result in more invasive searches at airports. He expressed the belief that a balance could be struck between respecting individuals' privacy and security. Jeff Brady, NPR News.

 

Some lawmakers say the US should reconsider sending any Guantanamo detainees back to Yemen, given the heightened concern about al-Qaeda activity in that country. GOP Congressman⁶ Peter Hoekstra of Michigan. "The core group of al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula is formed by former Gitmo detainees. These are people that were held in Gitmo, have been returned and have now gone back to the battlefield." And the head of the House Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee Jane Harman of California voiced similar concerns about returning any detainees to Yemen." I believe the prison should close, but I also believe we should review again where we are going to send the detainees. I think it is a bad time to send the 90 or so Yemenis back to Yemen." Harman said she still supports President Obama's decision to close down the Guantanamo facility. Both Harman and Hoekstra were on ABC's This Week.

 

The British government says it will install full-body scanners at airport security checkpoints for flights headed to the US. Security experts say that such scanners are likely to have detected the explosives that a man carried onto a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas. Larry Miller⁷ has more.

 

Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he’s given an approval for full-body scanners to be introduced at UK airports. The privately-owned British Airports Authority says it will install the machine as soon as practical at Heathrow, the country's main airport and Europe's busiest. Brown says passengers will see a gradual introduction of the scanners and hand luggage will be checked for traces of explosives. He also indicated passengers in transit⁸ between flights would undergo these checks. It's not yet clear if the scanners will be used on just US-bound flights or for all destinations. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

 

At least four people were killed by avalanches¹⁰ in Switzerland today. One avalanche⁹ shed a group of skiers when rescuers came to help them, they were hit by a second avalanche.

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says stronger regulation is the best way to keep financial speculation¹¹ from running rampant¹² and plunging¹³ the US economy into a new crisis. In a speech to the American Economic Association in Atlanta today, Bernanke did not rule out raising interest rates though to help keep new speculative¹⁴ investment bubbles from forming. Some critics blame the Fed for a feeding the speculative boom in housing by holding interest rates too low for too long after the recession of 2001.

 

When lawmakers return to Washington, one of the issues they will face is financial regulatory reform. While the nation's financial system has stabilized¹⁵, some economists¹⁷ say significant problems remain. Daniel Karson has the story.

 

Last year, millions of people's finance has buckled¹⁸ under the weight of a recession. So consumer spending is likely to remain frugal¹⁹. Economists say 2010 should get better. They expect the economy to grow anywhere from 2% to 4%, but that's not close to the 6% to 7% growth following the recessions in the 70s and 80s. Troubles in the banking²⁰ system are far from over according to University of Maryland Economist¹⁶ Peter Morici.

 

'They will have a lot of problems with commercial real estate loans, shopping centers failures so forth²¹. So it's going to be a halting recovery and one that doesn't really take off.'

 

And the housing sector²² isn’t out of the woods either. Economists expect up to 200,000 foreclosures a month and housing prices to drop as much as 10% thanks to a glut²³ in inventory²⁴. For NPR News, I'm Daniel Karson in Washington.

 

NFL Commissioner²⁵ Roger Goodell says the league will review policy regarding late-season games where teams might be tempted⁴ to rest their starters for the playoff says the Indianapolis Colts they’ve been in the last two weeks.

 

I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

5 thwarted   

阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
• Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。

6 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。

7 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

8 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

9 avalanche   

n.雪崩，大量涌来

参考例句：

• They were killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.他们在瑞士阿尔卑斯山的一次雪崩中罹难。
• Higher still the snow was ready to avalanche.在更高处积雪随时都会崩塌。

10 avalanches   

n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
• Avalanches poured down on the tracks and rails were spread. 雪崩压满了轨道，铁轨被弄得四分五裂。 来自辞典例句

11 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

12 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

13 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 speculative   

adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的

参考例句：

• Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
• The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。

15 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》

16 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

17 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》

18 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

19 frugal   

adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的

参考例句：

• He was a VIP,but he had a frugal life.他是位要人，但生活俭朴。
• The old woman is frugal to the extreme.那老妇人节约到了极点。

20 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

21 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

22 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

23 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

24 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

25 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。