NPR 2011-09-22

 The Federal Reserve is taking another unorthodox step to try to stimulate¹ the US economy. NPR's Chris Arnold says the Fed is engaging in what's being called the "Twist."

 

The Fed says it'll sell 400 billion dollars in short-term treasuries² and buy up to 400 billion dollars worth of longer-term treasury³ debt. The hope is that the move will push down or at least keep down interest rates for home loans and some business loans.

 

"The Fed has declared its commitment to continue this policy for a while, probably at least two more years."

 

David Kotuck is chief economist⁴ at Cumberland Advisors⁵. He says that stability for low rates could help to encourage businesses and average Americans to spend some more money. But many economists⁶ say that the Fed can't do everything itself, and they wanna see more action and less fighting in Congress. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

 

President Obama's calling on Israelis and Palestinians to stand in each other's shoes and be ready to compromise. "Peace is hard," he told the UN General Assembly today in a wide-ranging speech that NPR's Michele Kelemen reports recounted uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East.

 

President Obama calls it a "remarkable⁷ year." The longtime rulers of Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Ivory Coast are no longer in power.  

 

"Osama bin⁸ Laden⁹ is gone, and the idea that change could only come through violence has been buried with him."

 

He used his speech to the UN General Assembly to keep the word focused on supporting human rights, and he challenged countries to step up the pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But most attention at the UN this week has been on the Palestinian bid to join the world body as a full member, a move the US opposes. President Obama is trying to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks, saying peace requires negotiations¹⁰ and compromise. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the United Nations.

 

The two American hikers jailed for more than two years in Iran on charges of spying are now in Amman. Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal were released from an Iranian prison earlier today.

 

Georgia death row inmate¹¹ Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed tonight 7 p.m. local time in a case that's been drawing worldwide attention. We have details from Jeanne Bonner of Georgia Public Broadcasting.

 

Georgia's Governor Nathan Deal can't intervene, and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Davis's request for clemency¹² on Tuesday. Doubt about Davis's guilt¹³ remains¹⁴, says University of Georgia law professor Donald E. Wilkes Jr.. He says the Paroles Board said in 2007 it wouldn't execute Davis unless his guilt was certain.

 

"This time they denied clemency, and they said nothing about whether guilt was certain or not."

 

Seven of the nine witnesses who testified against Davis at his 1991 trial have recanted their testimony¹⁵. For NPR News, I'm Jeanne Bonner in Atlanta.

 

At last check, the Dow was down more than 280 points.

 

This is NPR.

 

(Everybody hurts…) It's an end of era for REM. (Sometimes…) The group considered one of America's best rock & roll bands is calling it quits after more than 30 years millions of record sales and numerous hits including "The One I Love," "Losing My Religion" and "Everybody Hurts." (Hold on, hold on...)

 

Stability has returned to college sports for now. Late last night, the Pac-12 Conference announced it will not expand. As NPR's Tom Goldman reports, that ends the recent frenzy¹⁶ over conference realignment.

 

Saying we have a strong conference structure, Pac-12 Commissioner¹⁷ Larry Scott made the no expansion announcement Tuesday night that kept the dominoes of college sports from falling. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech were poised¹⁸ to leave the Big 12 for the Pac-12, which would have made it the first 16-team super conference. That also would have left the Big 12 in tatters and prompted a possible merger¹⁹ between the Big 12 and Big East, which lost two teams this past weekend to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now it appears the Big 12 will survive as long as the schools can work out a way to share TV money more equally. Texas has its own cable network. The university president says he is willing to talk about a new model for revenue sharing. Tom Goldman, NPR News.

 

Here's the latest from Wall Street. Dow Jones Industrial Average down 284 points before the close or about 2.5% at 11,125; NASDAQ off more than 50 points or more than 2% at 2,538.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

2 treasuries   

n.（政府的）财政部( treasury的名词复数 )；国库，金库

参考例句：

• Yields on Treasuries, Bunds and gilts can remain at historically low levels. 美国国债、德国国债和英国国债的收益率仍然可以维持在历史低位。 来自互联网
• Treasuries and gold rose in response but the dollar fell sharply. 接着，国债和黄金的价格上涨，而美元价格则猛跌。 来自互联网

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 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。

5 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

6 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》

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

12 clemency   

n.温和，仁慈，宽厚

参考例句：

• The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题，将由国王决定。
• They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。

13 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

14 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。

15 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

16 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

17 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

18 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

19 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。