NPR 2011-11-02

 Greece is reported to be in damage-control mode a day after its Prime Minister George Papandreou announced he would let the people vote on the European plan passed last week to bail¹ out Greece and shore up European banks. The decision stunned² other European governments, including economic power houses France and Germany, whose leaders plan to hold an emergency meeting with Greek leaders tomorrow amid renewed fears of a eurozone meltdown, and we have the latest from NPR's Philip Reeves.

 

This is a hastily organized meeting, at which President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor³ Angela Merkel will likely have a simple message for the Greeks: "You have your bailout deal, now get on and implement⁴ it." They are worried delays could drive up the cost of borrowing for other eurozone countries like Italy, dramatically widening the crisis. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's announcement for a referendum on the bailout came as a bombshell that sent shares tumbling, especially those of French banks heavily exposed to Greek debt. Analysts⁵ predict more market volatility⁶ and uncertainty⁷ and say if the referendum actually goes ahead and Greeks vote against the bailout package, then Europe will be plunged⁸ into turmoil⁹. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.

 

NPR's Chris Arnold has been keeping an eye on markets here in the US, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 300 points before the close.

 

Up until this week, US stocks had been on a big upswing. The Dow was up nearly 10%, not over. That's the biggest one-month gain since 2002. Barry Ritholtz, head of stock research at the money management firm Fusion¹⁰ IQ.

 

"We had an absolutely blistering¹¹ October. When that happens, investors¹² just are looking for an excuse to take some profits, trade away from that, and this latest screw-up with Greece gave them the excuse to do what they want to do anyway."

 

In other words, some investors decided¹³ that prices have just risen too high, too quickly. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

 

And we're seeing at last check Dow was down 295 points, 2.4%, at 11,660.

 

Dorothy Rodham, the mother of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton's mother-in-law, has died at the age of 92. The Clinton family says Rodham passed away shortly after midnight at a Washington hospital following an illness, and today President Obama expressed condolences.

 

"For her to have been able to live the life that she did and to see her daughter succeed at the pinnacle¹⁴ of public service in this country, I'm sure was deeply satisfying to her."

 

The president paid tribute to Dorothy Rodham's memory at the conclusion of a ceremony, in which he signed a proclamation establishing the Fort Monroe National Monument in Virginia. 

 

You're listening to NPR News.

 

The Palestinians, the newest members of UNESCO, are pursuing membership in more than a dozen other UN agencies. The Obama administration cut off funding to UNESCO after yesterday's vote and warns of a cascade¹⁵ effect on other agencies that decide to recognize Palestine as a member state. The US and Israel maintain Palestinian statehood should only be achieved through Middle East negotiations¹⁶. However, the Palestinian Authority says it has been down that road before to no avail.

 

A new study found that children taking stimulant¹⁷ drugs for ADHD don't have a greater risk of serious heart problems. But NPR's Nancy Shute reports that this latest effort still doesn't give the drugs a clean bill of health.

 

Almost three million children are prescribed stimulant drugs to treat symptoms of ADHD. The drugs can increase heart rate and blood pressure, and there's been some evidence that taking the drugs increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and sudden death. This new study looked at the medical records of more than one million children and young adults. It found that 81 had had heart attacks, strokes or had died suddenly while taking ADHD drugs. That's the same risk found in children not taking the drugs. But the researchers say their study wasn't able to nail down the exact risk posed by drugs like Ritalin, and the Food and Drug Administration says doctors should keep screening children for heart problems before prescribing the drugs. The study was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Nancy Shute, NPR News.

 

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down nearly 300 points or nearly 2.5% at 11,658; the NASDAQ was down 2.8% at 2,607.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 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。

2 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

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 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

7 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。

8 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

9 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

10 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

11 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

12 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 pinnacle   

n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰

参考例句：

• Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。
• It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。

15 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

16 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。

17 stimulant   

n.刺激物，兴奋剂

参考例句：

• It is used in medicine for its stimulant quality.由于它有兴奋剂的特性而被应用于医学。
• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。