NPR 2011-10-18

 All the major US market indexes are down around 2%. They were retreating from last week's gains after Germany downplayed the idea that a solution for Europe's debt crisis might be reached during a summit this Sunday. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down 222 points around 2% at 11,422. NASDAQ off more than 15 points at 2,617. S&P 500 down 21 at 1,204.

 

Opponents of a long-term care program included in last year's health overhaul¹ are cheering a decision by the Congressional Budget Office that could make it easier to repeal² the program. As NPR's Julie Rovner tells us, the CBO says that wiping the CLASS Act from the books would have no impact on the federal deficit³.

 

The Obama administration announced last week that it couldn't implement⁴ the home-based long-term care program as written because it couldn't figure out how to set premiums⁵ low enough to attract enough people to make the program self-supporting. But it stopped short of calling for repeal because officials say, the need for long-term care insurance remains⁶ substantial. Republicans want the program scrapped⁷ permanently⁸, but they faced a budget problem. The program was structured to collect five years' worth of premiums before anyone could collect benefit. That is technically⁹ cutting the deficit. But now CBO says with no implementation¹⁰, it won't count repeal as cost to the budget. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

 

A prisoner swap¹¹ agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is unfolding. The Israeli Supreme¹² Court has heard petitions to block a deal with Hamas that would have hundreds of Palestinian inmates¹³ released in exchange for one imprisoned¹⁴ Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. The BBC's Kevin Connolly says Palestinians in Gaza are already preparing for the release of more than 450 prisoners. 

 

It is a little premature¹⁵ and somewhere, i's are still being dotted and t's crossed, but the sound of celebration already fills the air in Gaza City. This was a wedding party making its way towards the main square, where in less than 24 hours, huge crowds are expected to gather to welcome home their returned prisoners. To Israelis and to many in the wider world, they are men and women of violence but Gaza is preparing to acclaim¹⁶ them as heroes. That's the BBC Kevin Connolly reporting from Gaza.

 

Yemeni authorities are reporting at least 18 deaths and 30 injuries in the latest clashes in the capital Sana'a. Witnesses say people were caught in the crossfire¹⁷ between those for and against president Ali Abdullah Saleh who continues to fight mounting demands for his resignation.

 

The Dow was down more than 200 points at 11,431, down about 1.8%. 

 

This is NPR.

 

Higher demand for home electronics, vehicles and planes is a big factor behind September's increase in overall factory production. The Federal Reserve finds factory output rose 0.4%, the third straight monthly increase. Chad Moutray, chief economist¹⁸ for the National Association of Manufacture, says US manufactures have overcome earlier troubles caused by natural disasters and resulting nuclear crisis in Japan this year.

 

It's nice to see that we are moving beyond the supply chain disruptions that we had in the spring and you know, the Middle West and the West are doing relatively¹⁹ well and a lot of that is because of increased output in machinery²⁰ and motor vehicles and honestly in computers. 

 

Industrial production has also risen slightly contributing to a nearly 13% increase since June of 2009.

 

An American Catholic priest at the center of the debate about women's ordination²¹ has been detained by police in Rome. As Sherry Nosson from Member Station of WNKU reports, Father Roy Bourgeois²² traveled to the Vatican in support of his non-conformance belief.

 

Father Roy Bourgeois is facing dismissal from his Maryknoll order because he supports women's ordination. In 2008, after he delivered the homily at the ordination ceremony of Janice Sevre-Duszynska in Lexington Kentucky, the Vatican ordered Bourgeois to recant his support for women priests or risk excommunication. Bourgeois has consistently said he will not recant and calls the issue one of justice.

 

"Who are we as men to say that our call from God is authentic²³ but God's call of women is not?" 

 

Bourgeois and members of the women's ordination conference are in Rome asking the Vatican to lift its ban on women priests. For NPR News, I'm Sherry Nosson.

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 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

3 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。

4 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

5 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》

6 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。

7 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

10 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。

11 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

15 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

16 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

17 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

18 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。

19 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

20 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

21 ordination   

n.授任圣职

参考例句：

• His ordination gives him the right to conduct a marriage or a funeral.他的晋升圣职使他有权主持婚礼或葬礼。
• The vatican said the ordination places the city's catholics in a "very delicate and difficult decision."教廷说，这个任命使得这个城市的天主教徒不得不做出“非常棘手和困难的决定”。

22 bourgeois   

adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子

参考例句：

• He's accusing them of having a bourgeois and limited vision.他指责他们像中产阶级一样目光狭隘。
• The French Revolution was inspired by the bourgeois.法国革命受到中产阶级的鼓励。

23 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。