NPR 2011-07-08

No breakthroughs yet on raising the debt ceiling. But President Obama calls today's bipartisan meeting at the White House "very constructive¹." NPR's Ari Shapiro has our story.

President Obama spent more than an hour meeting with eight congressional leaders from both parties. Afterwards, he told reporters that everyone acknowledged the deal will involve political pain on both sides. He says negotiators will meet through the weekend.

"I will reconvene congressional leaders here on Sunday with the expectation that at that point the parties will at least know where each other's bottom lines are."

Back on Capitol Hill, congressional leaders did not say much about the meeting. House Speaker John Boehner said: "We had a conversation. It was productive." Ari Shapiro, NPR News, the White House.

Yemen's embattled president has made his first public appearance since he was injured last month in an attack on his compound. In a video today, Ali Abdullah Saleh accuses anti-government activists² of trying to destabilize his country.

The Pakistani port of Karachi is in the grip of more violence. NPR's Julie McCarthy reports at least 42 people have been killed in the last three days.

The city known for its ethnic³ volatility⁴ has exploded in a new paroxysm of killing⁵ where the dead reportedly include women and young children. The violence was triggered by the murder of a local leader of the Awami National Party, which represents the ethnic Pashtuns, who have arrived in Karachi in great numbers from the war-torn northwestern Pakistan. They clashed with the mostly Urdu-speaking Mohajirs, who migrated from India in 1947 when the country was born. The Mohajirs are locked in a deadly struggle with the Pashtuns for control of the city. The impoverished⁶ slum of Orangi town has been the worst-affected area. Rangers⁷ have been deployed⁸ as the killing spreads to other parts of Pakistan's largest city. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

In the US, unemployment remains⁹ a leading cause of home foreclosures. NPR's Tamara Keith reports the Obama administration plans to expand the program that's designed to help unemployed¹⁰ homeowners.

Some unemployed homeowners are going to be able to put off making their mortgage payments for up to a year while they search for work under the expanded program. Before, it was just three months. But since 45% of the unemployed have been out of work for six months or longer, the Obama administration says borrowers need more time. The program's reach is somewhat limited. It will be required for Federal Housing Administration loans, but merely an option for lenders handling conventional loans. Mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won't qualify, and they're behind a majority of US mortgages. Tamara Keith, NPR News, Washington.

Investors¹¹ are responding to upbeat news from the Labor¹² Department which says that first-time unemployment claims fell last week to a seven-week low of 418,000. Before the close, the Dow was up 94 points.

This is NPR News.

Casey Anthony is expected to be out of jail next week. Two days ago, a Florida jury cleared her of charges that she murdered her young daughter Caylee. She was found guilty of lying to investigators¹³ for which she was sentenced today to four years in prison, but she's being released for time served and good behavior. Meanwhile, anger over this week's verdict continued outside the Orange County Courthouse.

"Caylee, Caylee, Caylee..."

Authorities say there are concerns about security surrounding Anthony who many believe should not have been allowed to walk.

Music sales are up barely, according to new figures from Nielsen SoundScan. But as NPR's Neda Ulaby reports, even a slight increase is better than the double-digit drops in sales that have plagued the music industry over the past decade.

OK, it's only 1%. But according to Nielsen, this is the first time in six years the music industry has seen even the slightest glimmer¹⁴ of improvement. That's thanks in part to respectable sales by Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Adele. Unsurprisingly, Adele has the year's top albums so far both physically¹⁵ and digitally, but sales of brandnew albums actually tumbled by 4%. The overall gain came from older music — stuff like the Greatest Hits of Journey, "Don't Stop Believin'" in old-fashioned vinyl records either. They sold 41% more than they did last year. Still, that's a minuscule¹⁶ fraction of sales so far this year. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

Before the close, the Dow was up 93 points or nearly 1% at 12,719, and the NASDAQ was up more than 1% at 2,873.

This is NPR.

1 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 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。

5 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。

6 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 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。

10 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

11 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

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

13 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

15 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

16 minuscule   

adj.非常小的；极不重要的

参考例句：

• The human race only a minuscule portion of the earth's history.人类只有占有极小部分地球历史。
• As things stand,Hong Kong's renminbi banking system is minuscule.就目前的情况而言，香港的人民币银行体系可谓微不足道。