NPR 2010-03-16

President Obama is seeking to build public pressure on lawmakers in advance of a vote on healthcare overhaul¹ legislation by putting a personal face on the issue. The president speaking at a senior center near the Ohio hometown of Natoma Canfield today. She's a self-employed cleaning woman who wrote to him, saying she had dropped her medical insurance when premiums² became unaffordable. Only to discover later, she had leukemia.

 

"I'm here because of Natoma. I'm here because of the countless³ others who’ve been forced to face the most terrifying challenges in their lives with the added burden of medical bills they can't pay."

 

The president calling on lawmakers to show courage and enact⁴ the healthcare measure.

 

Senate Banking⁵ Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd says there's another urgent need facing the country, preventing a recurrence⁶ of the financial crisis by closing loopholes, shoring up the financial system and protecting consumers from risky⁷ lending practices.

 

"The legislation I present today contains bipartisan ideas and is the result of a bipartisan effort. It does not as of yet enjoy bipartisan support. But we do need to act, and I will act. Every day we delay is a day we are unprepared for what's around the corner."

 

Dodd notes that negotiators for the two parties were substantially in agreement on nine of the bill's eleven sections, but so far no GOP lawmakers have signed on.

 

Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the changes President Obama is proposing to make in the No Child Left Behind law are, in Duncan's words, pretty dramatic. The goal, he says, is to broaden the focus of the law beyond math and reading.

 

"Not only are we focusing just on schools, but we're focusing on school districts, and we're focusing on states. And so there's much more shared responsibility and frankly⁸ shared accountability than anything that existed prior."

 

But the American Federation⁹ of Teachers says the proposal puts too much responsibility on teachers for school and students' success.

 

Thailand's prime minister says he will not give in to the demands of as many as 100,000 anti-government demonstrators who had gathered in the capital. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports the protestors want him to resign and order new elections.

 

The demonstrators had given Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva until noon to dissolve parliament. It didn't happen. In a nationally televised address, Abhisit rejected their demand but said he was willing to listen to their ideas. He didn't elaborate. Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of Red Shirt protestors converged¹⁰ on a military base on the outskirts¹¹ of the capital where the prime minister and senior members of the military were set to be gathered. Thai security forces made no effort to stop the procession, nor did the demonstrators try to force their way inside. The protestors are now returning to their staging area near the center of the city; their next move unclear. Michael Sullivan, NPR News, Bangkok.

 

Stock prices have turned mixed before the closing bell. A slight uptick in industrial production has not been enough to fuel buying on Wall Street today. The Dow is up 13 points.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Soccer great David Beckham is facing weeks in a cast and more weeks of rehabilitation¹² after surgery in Finland today to repair one of his Achilles tendons. NPR's Rob Gifford reports the surgeon says the tendon was totally torn, and Beckham will not be able to put much strain on that foot for up to three months.

 

Thirty-four-year-old Beckham who's become one of the world's most recognized sporting stars had been hoping to become the first England player to play in four successive Soccer World Cups. The four-yearly competition starts in South Africa in June. The collective groan¹³ of Beckham's injury will no doubt be heard in Los Angles, too, where Beckham is still under contract to the LA Galaxy¹⁴. And he's the highest-paid player in US Major League Soccer. He was temporarily on loan to AC Milan before the US soccer season gets started at the end of this month. Rob Gifford, NPR News, London.

 

Truckloads of sandbags are being delivered to neighborhoods in Fargo, North Dakota where volunteers are ready to assemble barriers that will hold back the rising waters of the Red River. Pat Zavoral who's the city manager in Fargo says there’s an urgency to the work now because forecasters believe the river will crest¹⁵ sooner than first thought.

 

"We've had to accelerate all of our planning that we had in place into an implementation¹⁶ mode, and now that's where we're at."

 

The river is expected to crest to about 20 feet above flood stage on Saturday. Last year, flooding along the Red River forced the evacuation of thousands of people in North Dakota and Minnesota, but communities say they’re better prepared this year. More heavy rain today in New England aggravating¹⁷ flooding there, more than 115,000 homes and businesses are still without electricity in the region.

 

I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 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。

2 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

4 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

5 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。

6 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

7 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

9 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

10 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

12 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

13 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

14 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

15 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

16 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

17 aggravating   

adj.恼人的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• How aggravating to be interrupted! 被打扰，多令人生气呀！
• Diesel exhaust is particularly aggravating to many susceptible individuals. 许多体质敏感的人尤其反感柴油废气。