NPR 2011-09-13

 Stocks have opened mixed on Wall Street. The stock prices are down sharply on overseas markets amid new concern that Greece may be edging toward a default and that the European debt crisis might spread to that region's banks. NPR's Paul Brown joins us now. And Paul, what seems to be behind this new anxiety?

 

Craig, I have spoken with the economist¹ Jan Randolph, he is the Director of Sovereign Risk, IHS Global Insight in London. He says we’re watching investors² react to policymakers, struggle with the effects what he calls a two-speed euro zone economic system.

 

“Until recently, a very strongly growing core, namely Germany and all the countries around Germany. But in the southern Mediterranean³ and also Ireland, we had a situation where most of these economies experience booms also busts⁴.”

 

He says a big concern is whether a default by Greece if it occurs can be handled in a way that does not hurt the whole region.

 

“Whether it is orderly, something that can be managed or the European policymakers and the Greek government lose control of then.”

 

Randolph told me that investors are worried that if Greece defaults, the other second-speed countries he just mentioned could be drawn⁵ into a default.

 

So, Paul, what does he think lies ahead for investors and financial markets globally?

 

Well, he has a lot of possible trip wires ahead in a more and more interdependent global economy, things can keep markets very unsettled. Some of these are whether Greece actually defaults, whether borrowing costs for Italy and Spain and Ireland rise further, and whether investors would be willing to remain exposed in those countries.

 

Thanks, Paul. That is NPR's Paul Brown in Washington.

 

President Obama formally sends his plan for creating more jobs to Congress today. He’s set to speak at the White House within the hour, amid a gathering⁶ of teachers, police officers and fire fighters as he urges lawmakers to act quickly on his plan. Mr. Obama says he understands the people are frustrated⁷ with the economy.

 

“They are understandably impatient. I can say to them, look, all the actions we’ve taken would be the right actions. If we hadn’t taken those actions, things would be much worse, but the bottom line is unemployment is still at 9% and there’re still a lot of folks uncertain out there.”

 

President on NBC's Today Show.

 

An explosion at a nuclear reprocessing plant in France has left one person dead, several others injured. The BBC's Christian⁸ Fraser says the country's nuclear agency insists that no radiation has leaked from the plant.

 

The explosion was in a furnace in an area of the plant where they recycle nuclear waste for energy. Built in 1956, it is one of the oldest plants in France, though the first generation of nuclear reactors⁹ had been shut down and the plant modernized¹⁰. The reactors are cooled by water from the adjacent Rhone River. BBC's Christian Fraser.

 

Floodwaters are receding¹¹ further in Pennsylvania and New York State. Barbara Billing with the American Red Cross says the organization is offering help and support.

 

“We will be going through communities with clean-up materials whether it's mops, buckets, shovels¹², rakes, what they need to mark out their basements and homes.”

 

The Dow is currently down 22. This is NPR News.

 

Police in France are questioning the former head of the International Monetary¹³ Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn about charges of attempted rape¹⁴ dating back eight years. Eleanor Beardsley reports Strauss-Kahn is back in France after charges against him in New York were dropped.

 

He faces new criminal charges in France from 32-year-old writer Tristane Banon. Banon says Strauss-Kahn attacked her eight years ago when she came to his apartment to interview him. Banon said she was disgusted by the huge media turnout on Strauss-Kahn's return to France describing it as a hero's welcome. But since the New York investigation¹⁵ against Strauss-Kahn, many more French people are inclined to believe Banon's account of events. French judges investigating the charges will decide if the case should go to trial. Strauss-Kahn also still faces civil charges by the New York housekeeper¹⁶ whose criminal case was dropped. From NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

 

A federal appeals court is considering the legality of a state amendment¹⁷ banning Muslim Sharia Law. NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports the court will decide whether Oklahoma's provision violates the constitution.

 

Some 70% of Oklahomans approved the measure in 2010 which would bar state courts from recognizing Islamic Sharia Law. Almost immediately a federal judge ruled that the state could not enforce the law. She said it violates the first amendment because it hinders Muslims from practicing their religion and it singles out Islam for discrimination. The law's supporters will argue before the appellate court that's striking down the amendment violates rights of Oklahoman voters. The case will be closely watched since several other states are considering similar bans. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR News.

 

Rechecking Wall Street the Dow is now down 34 points but the NASDAQ is up seven.

 

I'm Craig Windham. NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 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

3 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

4 busts   

半身雕塑像( bust的名词复数 )； 妇女的胸部； 胸围； 突击搜捕

参考例句：

• Dey bags swells up and busts. 那奶袋快胀破了。
• Marble busts all looked like a cemetery. 大理石的半身象，简直就象是坟山。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

10 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。

11 receding   

v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远，他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
• Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句

12 shovels   

n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
• In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天，我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句

13 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

14 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

15 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。

16 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

17 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。