NPR 2010-12-17

President Obama is expressing cautious optimism about the way the war's progressing in Afghanistan. NPR's Rachel Martin reports the White House releases its long-awaited progress report today.

The president took the podium flanked by the Vice¹ President Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense² Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It was meant as a show of solidarity³ for a war strategy in Afghanistan that the president says is working despite challenges.

"In many places, the gains we've made are still fragile and reversible. But there is no question we are clearing more areas from Taliban control and more Afghans are reclaiming⁴ their communities."

The administration's review says that success in Afghanistan depends on getting rid of the insurgents⁵' safe havens⁶ in Pakistan. Still, the president said enough progress has been made to move forward with plans to bring some US troops home in July of 2011. Rachel Martin, NPR News, Washington.

The Wikileaks founder⁷ under diplomatic fire for releasing secret documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is out on bail⁸. Today, a British judge allowed Julian Assange to walk free on more than $300,000 bail. Sweden lost its appeal to keep Assange locked up while it tried to extradite him for questioning in a sex crimes investigation⁹. Today, Assange said this was a welcome break in what's turned out to be a lengthy¹⁰ ordeal¹¹.

"If justice is not always an outcome, at least it is not dead yet."

While he fights extradition¹², Assange also faces diplomatic fire for releasing record amounts of secret diplomatic cables and other clssified documents.

There's a fresh sign that consumers are more willing to spend. NPR's Giles Snyder reports that stronger demand for imported goods helped push the trade deficit¹³ wider in the third quarter.

The Commerce Department says imports were up 1.7 percent from the previous quarter, growing to more than $494 billion and pushing up the current account deficit by more than three percent. It's the fifth straight quarterly increase and the current account deficit is now at its highest in two years. The new data suggests that consumers are more optimistic about where the economy is headed. They're buying more imported products, especially clothing, shoes and household appliances. Exports also showed healthy gains up to 2.2 percent, as a weaker dollar makes some American-made products more attractive overseas. The current account is the broadest measure of foreign trade, because it includes investiments between the United States and other countries. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

The tax-cut compromise President Obama struck with congressional Republicans last week is under review in the House. A day after it easily passed the Senate, House Democrats¹⁴ are trying to make changes to the more than 800-billion-dollar package that includes a two-year extension of Bush-era tax cuts or also extending unemployment insurance to millions of Americans.

This is NPR News.

Two young men have pleaded guilty to setting a series of church fires in East Texas earlier this year. Bill Zeeble with member station KERA in Dallas reports the defendants¹⁵ face life in prison.

In a Tyler Texas court, 20-year-old Jason Bourque and 22-year-old Daniel McAllister admitted to setting the fires in January and February. Nobody was injured, but ten churches were destroyed or damaged and state and federal officials launched an investigation. Thanks to security video and other evidence, the two boyhood friends were arrested in February. They waived¹⁶ the jury trial. Bourque pleaded guilty to five counts of arson¹⁷ and three counts of attempted arson. McAllister admitted to a pair of arson counts and two attempted arson counts. Prosecutors¹⁸ want life sentences for both men. Sentencing is set for January 10th of next year. For NPR News, I'm Bill Zeeble in Dallas.

New signs fell for the week. Housing market construction rose nearly four percent from October to November. Following two months of declines, the gains attributed mainly to breaking ground on single family homes. But overall, the sector's recovery remains¹⁹ sluggish²⁰. The pace of housing starts is the slowest as it's been since April of 2009.

Pakistani intelligence reporting today a suspected US missile strike against militants²¹ in the Khyber region, they say seven people were killed.

Here's the latest from Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average up 47 points at 11,505; on use of some positive economic news out today, the NASDAQ Composite Index rising 80 at 2,635; S&P 500 up six at 1,242.

I'm Lakshimi Singh, NPR News, Washington.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 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。

3 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

4 reclaiming   

v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

6 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

11 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

12 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

13 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。

14 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》

15 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

16 waived   

v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等）

参考例句：

• He has waived all claim to the money. 他放弃了索取这笔钱的权利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I waived the discourse, and began to talk of my business. 我撇开了这个话题，开始讲我的事情。 来自辞典例句

17 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

18 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

20 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

21 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。