NPR 2011-08-12

 Optimism appears to be the order of the day in the US market with stocks higher in part on news that we may not be headed into a double-dip recession after all. At last check, the Dow was up 440 points, more than 4%, at 11,161, and the NASDAQ was up 4.5% at 2,488. Last week, first-time unemployment claims dropped below 400,000 for the first time in four months. President Obama is talking jobs this hour at an advanced battery facility in Holland, Michigan, where he's linking job growth to technological¹ innovation despite the persistent² economic troubles in this country.

 

"As the economy was improving and improving through 2009, 2010, the beginning of this year, suddenly it was hit with the unrest in the Middle East that helped send gas prices through the roof. Europe is dealing³ with all sorts of financial turmoil⁴ that is lapping up on our shores."

 

But today in Europe, the markets were up nearly 3%. From Berlin, NPR's Tom Gjelten tells us that investors⁵ are getting some reassurance⁶ after their government leaders opted⁷ to cut their vacations to deal with the eurozone's troubles.

 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy had been riding his bike in the Riviera. German Chancellor⁸ Angela Merkel was hiking with her husband in the Tyrolean Alps. But both are now back at work, and Sarkozy's office says he and Merkel will meet next Tuesday to discuss what can be done to address the eurozone crisis. That announcement was enough to spur a rally in European markets. They closed up across the board after spending most of this week in a nosedive. The selling may not be finished, however. European banks are heavily exposed to high-risk government debt, and investors here know the troubles in the eurozone are far from over.

 

Japan's Trade Ministry⁹ will no longer control the country's regulatory agency after accusations¹⁰ surface that the agency has been too cozy¹¹ with pro-nuclear interest groups. John Matthews reports on the shakeup coming some five months after an earthquake and tsunami¹² damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and triggered a radiation leak. 

 

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has come under heavy fire in the past few months, most notably¹³ by Prime Minister Naoto Kan himself for not being an independent watchdog over the country's nuclear plants. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says the agency will be settling into the Environmental Ministry, noting nuclear and environmental issues share a common bond. The move is the administration's reaction to a building wave of resentment¹⁴ against regulators and their alleged¹⁵ negligence¹⁶ in handling the country's nuclear crisis. The agency will need approval from a divided parliament before relaunching next April. For NPR News, I'm John Matthews in Tokyo.

 

The Dow was up 426 points.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Sporadic¹⁷ fighting still threatens the security of humanitarian¹⁸ groups in Somalia, who are trying to reach those populations stricken by famine. But the United Nations Food Agency says food is getting to more people, especially since Islamist militants¹⁹ pulled out of the capital Mogadishu over the weekend, though they remain in control of regions most severely²⁰ affected²¹ by food shortages. More than 3.5 million people in Somalia are confronted with starvation as the Horn of Africa endures its worst drought in decades.

 

This October could be your last shot for at least a year to travel up the Statue of Liberty. The outside of the monument will still be largely visible to the public, but NPR's Margot Adler reports the interior will be closed to visitors while it gets a 27-million-dollar renovation²² to make safer and more accessible.

 

The Statue of Liberty was closed for three years after the September 11th attacks. The base reopened in 2004 after a 20-million-dollar security upgrade. The crown reopened in 2009. Stairways, elevators and bathrooms will be upgraded as well as electrical and fire suppression systems. Current fire codes mandate²³ that the statue be evacuated²⁴ within two hours if necessary, but the current staircases on either side of the pedestal don't meet these standards. Liberty Island will remain open, and views of the statue will mostly be unobstructed. About 3.5 million people visit the Statue of Liberty every year, although only about 240 people a day are allowed to visit the observation deck at the top of the crown. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

 

All indexes up more than 4% with the Dow up 445 points at 11,165.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

2 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 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。

5 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

6 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

7 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

8 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。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

11 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

12 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

13 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

14 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

15 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

16 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

17 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

18 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

19 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

20 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

21 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

22 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

23 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

24 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。