NPR 2011-12-15

 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Afghanistan, visiting US troops for the holidays, says the US has reached a turning point in the-decade long war.

 

“For all the sacrifice that you are doing, the reality is that it is paying off and that we are moving in the right direction and we are winning this very tough conflict here in Afghanistan.”

 

Panetta does admit there are still challenges, but says the US will take them on.

 

The Senate is saying ‘no’ to two proposals to amend¹ the Constitution to compel Congress to come up with a balanced budget every year. The votes effectively shut off the constitutional approach for forcing Congress to live within its means. Passing a balanced-budget amendment² has been a key goal of Republicans and a minority of Democrats³, who say it's the only way to make lawmakers take meaningful action to eliminate deficits⁴ of a trillion dollars a year. 

 

A new government study finds as many as 2.5 million young adults have gained health insurance since last year. Apparently⁵ it’s a direct result of the Affordable⁶ Care Act. As NPR's Julie Rovner reports, the study is a small piece of good news for the embattled federal health law.

 

Both the Census⁷ Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics reported earlier this year that more young adults were gaining coverage⁸ because of the law's requirement that they be allowed to stay on their parents' health plan until they reach age 26. But those earlier estimates were much smaller around a half million and one million additional people respectively. The new estimates take into account both students who graduated last spring and those who had to wait to re-enroll in their parents' plans during an open season. Republicans, however, are still intent on repealing⁹ the entire health law, which includes a requirement that nearly every American have health insurance starting in 2014. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

 

Americans bought more cars, electronics and clothing last month, pushing retail¹⁰ sales up a modest 0.2%. Danielle Karson reports online spending has been strong, even though there’s usually a low in early December.

 

While retail sales overall were lackluster in November, e-commerce shot up a whopping 15%. To date, Americans have shelled out more than 24 billion dollars online. John Morris, a retail analyst¹¹ with EMO Capital markets, says the Internet has become a power tool for shoppers this holiday season.

 

“We have a consumer that's really getting used to shopping on the Internet. This year is the year of free shipping¹², and I think that’s what’s in part enticing¹³ the consumers to shop a little bit more in e-comm, and that is also helping¹⁴ to drive the e-commerce sales.”

 

Online sales are expected to peak this week. Analysts¹⁵ say most shoppers complete their orders by mid-month to allow time for presents to arrive by Christmas. For NPR News, I'm Danielle Karson in Washington.

 

Losses today on Wall Street, the Dow is down 144.

 

This is NPR News.

 

New efforts are underway to restore the Gulf¹⁶ Coast after the massive oil spill last year. A group of state and federal environmental officials wants to start with eight projects, including one that would help oyster¹⁷ beds in Mississippi and Louisiana and another that would improve beaches in Alabama and Florida. The report concluded the damage to the gulf was widespread and extensive and will take years to assess completely.

 

Police in Indonesia's Aceh province are in hot pursuit of punks, punk rockers that is. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Jakarta police in the region, which enforces Islamic law, arrested more than 16 punks over the weekend and are now trying to reform them. 

 

Young Indonesians with mohawks and body piercings flocked to a charity concert in Banda Aceh, the provincial¹⁸ capital, on Saturday night. They were promptly¹⁹ rounded up by the Shari’ah police, the only such unit in the Muslim majority but secular²⁰ nation. Banda Aceh's deputy mayor declared the punks part of a new social disease, which was at odds²¹ with Islam. The punks were not charged with any crime, but were nonetheless taken to a police school to be shaved, issued new cloths and toothbrushes. The Jakarta Globe newspaper published a picture of the punks shown off their spiky²² hairdos and sitting on the ground in neat roads, looking much like a gang of crest-fallen skinheads. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Jakarta.

 

The Reverend Billy Graham is said to be recovering well from his latest bout²³ of pneumonia²⁴. His son Franklin told CBS’s the Early Show today that his 93-year-old father is the only person he knows who enjoys the hospital and the people he meets there. He also says his father tries to work a little every day, answering mail.

 

I'm Nancy Lyons, NPR News in Washington.

1 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

2 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

3 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》

4 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

7 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

9 repealing   

撤销，废除( repeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In addition, repealing the alternative minimum tax would also help. 此外，废除替代性最低税也会有所帮助。
• Repealing the investment tax credit. 取消投资税款扣除。

10 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

11 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。

12 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

13 enticing   

adj.迷人的；诱人的

参考例句：

• The offer was too enticing to refuse. 这提议太有诱惑力，使人难以拒绝。
• Her neck was short but rounded and her arms plump and enticing. 她的脖子短，但浑圆可爱；两臂丰腴，也很动人。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 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。

16 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。

17 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

18 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

19 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

20 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

21 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

22 spiky   

adj.长而尖的，大钉似的

参考例句：

• Your hairbrush is too spiky for me.你的发刷，我觉得太尖了。
• The spiky handwriting on the airmail envelope from London was obviously hers.发自伦敦的航空信封上的尖长字迹分明是她的。

23 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

24 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。