NPR 2010-05-21

We're seeing another steep slide in US stocks and in other major market over fears Europe's debt troubles could undermine global economic recovery. At last check, the Dow was down more than 330 points at 10,109. NASDAQ was down 84 at 2,213. S&P 500 down 37 at 1,075. The S&P 500 dropped 10% from a height in April. Analyst¹ Alec Young of Standard & Poor's says the euro is clearly under a lot of pressure.

"There's real concern that the euro as it's currently constituted may have to be broken up, that the other currency may not survive, and because it is the world's second biggest, most popular currency behind the dollar, you know, that's a pretty significant shock."

While Wall Street grapples with the third consecutive² day of losses, President Obama's campaign to revamp the financial regulatory system is entering the next phase. Today, the Senate voted to end debate. That could mean a final vote later today or tomorrow on the biggest overhaul³ of financial regulation since the 1930s. We're expecting here more details from President Obama within minutes.

The Environmental Protection Agency is ordering BP to find a less toxic⁴ chemical to break up oil gushing⁵ from its offshore⁶ well in the Gulf⁷ of Mexico. Eileen Fleming reports from member station WWNO that the order applies to chemicals applied⁸ above and below the water.

The EPA says BP has 24 hours to find an alternative dispersant and 72 hours to start using it. BP has been spraying the surface spill with dispersants since it developed about a month ago. BP executive Doug Suttles says that as underwater robots proved unable to stop the leak, the company reached out for ideas.

"Subsea dispersants was an idea submitted by an email to us, actually quite some time back. It was about day five or six of the event, and we've been obviously using that technique since."

Dispersants had never been applied directly on oil spilling underwater and a mile below the surface. The EPA and Coast Guard had approved the plan but now want different pre-approved chemicals used and extensive environmental testing. For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.

Turkish state media is reporting another attack on suspected Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. The airstrike reportedly involved about 20 Turkish warplanes. Authorities say it's still uncertain if there were casualties in this incident. The Turkish government says rebels often use northern Iraq as a staging ground for attacks on Turkey.

YouTube has become the latest target in Pakistan's bid to block Internet content that, the government says, are blasphemous⁹ to Muslims. It shut down the video-sharing Web site hours after closing off access to Facebook. The government criticized Facebook because of an online competition to draw Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

An update from Wall Street. Dow's down 376 points at 10,068.

This is NPR.

A day after South Korea reported that one of its ships was sunk by a North Korean torpedo¹⁰, Defense¹¹ Secretary Robert Gates says the US military is working with South Korean officials on that matter. NPR's Tom Bowman has details.

Secretary Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that he accepts the findings of the South Korean investigation¹² that a North Korean torpedo destroyed the warship¹³, killing¹⁴ 46 sailors. Both Gates and Joint¹⁵ Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen declined to answer whether the attack was an act of war. Mullen replied "We've said all we want to say on this right now." Neither of them would say a word of the possible options being discussed with the South Koreans, and Admiral Mullen said US forces in South Korea and offshore, some 28,000, have not been placed on a higher alert. Meanwhile, the State Department spokesman, PJ Crowley, told reporters there will definitely be consequences for what North Korea has done. Tom Bowman, NPR News, the Pentagon.

Members of Afghanistan's opposition¹⁶ including the Taliban have been meeting in the Maldives this week, but the Afghan government says it does not believe any active Taliban militants¹⁷ are at that meeting. A spokesman for Prime Minister Hamid Karzai says Kabul did not send delegates. Karzai plans to host a national conference later this month to promote peace negotiations¹⁸ with insurgents¹⁹.

In Thailand, order is returning to parts of the capital, Bangkok, that were under siege for some two months before the military's latest crackdown. However, the capital and 23 other provinces will remain under a nighttime curfew for three more days.

In the US, the number of people filing new claims unexpectedly rose last week by the largest amount in three months. It's up 25,000 to 471,000.
 

1 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

2 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

3 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。

4 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

5 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 blasphemous   

adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的

参考例句：

• The book was declared blasphemous and all copies ordered to be burnt.这本书被断定为亵渎神明之作，命令全数焚毀。
• The people in the room were shocked by his blasphemous language.满屋的人都对他那侮慢的语言感到愤慨。

10 torpedo   

n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏

参考例句：

• His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
• Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。

11 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。

12 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。

13 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

17 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。

18 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

19 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