NPR 2010-11-30

The White House is calling the whistle-blowing group Wikileaks and anyone linked to the release of classified materials criminals. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is threatening aggressive steps to get to the source of the leak.
"This disclosure is not just an attack on America's foreign policy interests. It is an attack on the international community."The government's trying to find out how Wikileaks got hold of a quarter million diplomatic cables that reveal candid¹ and, in some cases, unflattering opinions of world leaders and policies. But noting a possible positive out of all of this, Clinton says the cables reaffirm growing concern about Iran, including from governments in the Middle East. From Jerusalem, NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports on the Israeli prime minister's reaction today to the Wikileaks reports, saying the cables vindicate² Israel's position on Iran.
The Arab world has long labeled Israel as the greatest threat to the region. But the newly released Wikileaks documents show that privately³ Arab leaders have been exhorting⁴ the US to take out Iran's suspected nuclear program by any means necessary. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt variously used words like "existential threat" and "evil" to describe Iran's regime. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long publicly warned of the Iranian threat, told reporters here today that the documents show there is consensus⁵ in the region. He added, if leaders will say in public what they say in private, there might be a breakthrough. Leaders should be ready to tell their people the truth, he said. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Jerusalem.
This week we'll get the latest report on home prices across the US. NPR's Chris Arnold says the closely watched Case-Shiller Home Price Index has been showing that a recovery in home prices may be stalling out.
Home prices have fallen around 30% from their peaks. Earlier this year, prices were starting to claw their way back up, but last month's report showed them slipping lower again.
"I think we are suffering kind of a secondary hangover."Chris Mayer is a housing economist⁶ at Columbia University. He says that the market was stabilized⁷ when the Federal Reserve brought down interest rates and the Congress passed tax credits to encourage home buying. But now the tax credits have expired and many Americans are finding it hard to qualify for those low mortgage rates.
"... which has again slowed the housing market, then we have kind of this excess sort of hangover ahead which is all of these delinquent⁸ mortgages."So Mayer's in the camp of economists⁹ who want to see more action to help the housing market. He'd like the federal government to make it easier for millions more Americans to qualify for those low interest rates. Chris Arnold, NPR News.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 43 points at 11,049.
From Washington, this is NPR News.
The presidential election in Haiti is still a big question mark after most of the 18 candidates demanded the results be annulled¹⁰. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports from Port-au-Prince that the uncertainty¹¹ is apparent in daily life.
Here in downtown Port-au-Prince, most businesses and shops remain closed. The government offices are also still shut. Street vendors¹², however, have started to come back to the sides of the streets. Public transport is moving again. They've allowed the motorcycles back onto the streets. But things are still a bit tense here in the capital as it partially¹³ comes back to life after this election. Many people are still concerned that there could be violence in the wake of this controversial and disputed presidential election.
NPR's Jason Beaubien.
Civilian¹⁴ federal workers are subject to a two-year pay freeze under a proposal President Obama announced today. He says there will also be additional measures to help reduce the more than trillion-dollar budget deficit¹⁵.
In Minnesota, a hand recount of the state's governor's race is underway. More from Mark Zdechlik.
Hundreds of election officials will count more than 2.1 million ballots¹⁶ as part of the mandatory¹⁷ recount. State officials ordered it because Democrat¹⁸ Mark Dayton's lead came in less than 0.5% over Republican Tom Emmer. Still, Dayton has a nearly 9,000 vote lead, and Democrats¹⁹ are confident Dayton will prevail. This is Minnesota's second statewide recount in two years. Democrat Al Franken beat out Republican Senator Norm Coleman in the 2008 Senate recount. Local officials must complete the recount by early next week. A state board hopes to certify²⁰ the results on December 14th. For NPR News, I'm Mark Zdechlik in Minneapolis.

1 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

2 vindicate   

v.为…辩护或辩解，辩明；证明…正确

参考例句：

• He tried hard to vindicate his honor.他拼命维护自己的名誉。
• How can you vindicate your behavior to the teacher?你怎样才能向老师证明你的行为是对的呢？

3 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

4 exhorting   

v.劝告，劝说( exhort的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Joe Pationi's stocky figure was moving constantly, instructing and exhorting. 乔·佩特罗尼结实的身影不断地来回走动，又发指示，又替他们打气。 来自辞典例句
• He is always exhorting us to work harder for a lower salary. （（讽刺））他总是劝我们为了再低的薪水也得更卖力地工作。 来自辞典例句

5 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

6 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。

7 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》

8 delinquent   

adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者

参考例句：

• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds.多数少年犯都有未受教育的背景。
• He is delinquent in paying his rent.他拖欠房租。

9 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》

10 annulled   

v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 )；取消；使消失；抹去

参考例句：

• Their marriage was annulled after just six months. 他们的婚姻仅过半年就宣告取消。
• Many laws made by the former regime have been annulled. 前政权制定的许多法律被宣布无效。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

12 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

13 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

14 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。

15 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

16 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

18 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

19 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》

20 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。