NPR 2011-08-02

 The debt-ceiling agreement President Obama reached with congressional leaders over the weekend is coming under debate in the US House. Speaker John Boehner says he remains¹ opposed to any tax hikes to help balance the federal budget.

 

"We've worked with our members and listened to the American people who have a real interest in making sure that we don't get into this spot again, and that we ought to have a balanced budget amendment² to the Constitution."

 

Meanwhile, the Obama administration is urging lawmakers to approve the last-minute deal to raise the debt ceiling and prevent a government default. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the House is likely to vote on the measure by tonight.

 

Vice³ President Biden traveled to Capitol Hill today to urge Democrats⁴ in both the House and the Senate to support the measure, even though it includes no new tax revenue to balance the spending cuts. White House spokesman Jay Carney says while the deal is not perfect, it does allow the government to keep paying its bills after tomorrow and lifts the threat of a looming⁵ default.

 

"You may have noticed, if you look outside, that the cloud of uncertainty⁶ has been lifted."

 

The White House still hopes to pursue increased tax revenue as part of the deal's second round of deficit⁷ reduction. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 

The tentative debt-ceiling agreement is behind this morning surge in US stocks, and the latest manufacturing data is behind a sudden drop. The Institute of Supply Management said its manufacturing index fell to barely above 50 in July. Economists⁹ were expecting higher. John Silvia, chief economist⁸ at Wells Fargo Securities, says a pickup¹⁰ in the economy just isn't happening.

 

"I think the fundamental issue is the economy doesn't have the upside momentum¹¹ that many firms had expected, and so they're cutting back on orders."

 

But before the close, stocks were paring back losses with the Dow down just 11 points at 12,132 before the close, and the NASDAQ was off 12 points at 2,745.

 

Egyptian police and soldiers broke up the last vestiges¹² of the protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square today. NPR's Mike Shuster reports there were some scuffles as the three-week occupation of the square came to an end.

 

Protesters impatient with the pace of political change in Egypt hope their occupation of Tahrir Square on July 8th would bring back some of the spirit of the movement that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February, but the number of demonstrators in the square varied¹³ between just a few hundred and several thousand. Last Friday, the crowd in the square swelled¹⁴ to tens of thousands, mostly supporters of Egypt's emerging Islamist political parties. After that, most of the protest groups decided¹⁵ to leave the square but not all. Many Egyptians are growing tired of the protests and expressed the desire to see the demonstrators remove. Security forces were not gentle. They tore down tents that had sprouted¹⁶ in the square and in some cases used their truncheons to chase away protesters, but there were no reports of serious injuries. Mike Shuster, NPR News, Cairo.

 

This is NPR News.

 

A year from today, nearly all new health insurance plans will be required to cover a variety of women's preventive services at no upfront cost, including prescription¹⁷ birth control. NPR's Julie Rovner reports the decision by the Department of Health and Human Services is not without some controversy¹⁸.

 

The new rules are part of last year's health law. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asks the Institute of Medicine to recommend a package of women's health services that should be offered without deductibles or co-pays. It came up with a list of aid, including contraception, breastfeeding support and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. There was pushback on the contraceptive coverage¹⁹ by conservatives and some religious groups. As a result, the new rules allow religious institutions that offer health insurance to choose whether or not to cover birth control. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

 

The government is expanding its investigation²⁰ into faulty wheel studs on some 2010 model Ford²¹ Fusion²² sedans. The Mercury Milan is now under review. The National Highway Safety Administration says it received more than two dozen complaints that wheel studs, the bolts that hold the wheel to the car, had broken. There were few reports of the wheel coming loose but no word of injuries. More than 317,000 midsize sedans are under investigation.

 

"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."

 

MTV is 30 years old today. As Rolling Stone magazine put it, the first images broadcast on the 24-hour music video channel were the image of the launch of Apollo 11.

 

This is NPR.

1 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。

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 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 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》

5 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

11 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

12 vestiges   

残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不

参考例句：

• the last vestiges of the old colonial regime 旧殖民制度最后的残余
• These upright stones are the vestiges of some ancient religion. 这些竖立的石头是某种古代宗教的遗迹。

13 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

14 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

15 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。

16 sprouted   

v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• We can't use these potatoes; they've all sprouted. 这些土豆儿不能吃了，都出芽了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rice seeds have sprouted. 稻种已经出芽了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

18 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

19 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。

20 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。

21 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

22 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。