NPR 2012-02-04

 Unexpectedly strong jobs figures for January sent Wall Street off to its fastest start in 15 years, reflecting a burst in investor¹ confidence. Employers added 243,000 jobs last month, and NPR's Scott Horsley reports President Obama is cheering the news as another sign the economy's on the mend.

 

January job gain was the biggest since last April and helped push the unemployment rate down to 8.3%. President Obama welcomed the numbers which were better than many forecasters had expected.

 

"The recovery is speeding up, and we've got to do everything in our power to keep it going."

 

Mr. Obama urged Congress to pass a full-year extension of the payroll² tax cut as well as long-term unemployment insurance. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 

Economist³ Hugh Johnson says the Labor⁴ Department figures are a pretty good sign.

 

"The turning point came really in the economy in 09, but it shows that we're getting some acceleration⁵ in the economy. A little bit of acceleration at least is measured by employment."

 

But Republicans led by Speaker of the House John Boehner say they are underwhelmed.

 

"While there are flickers⁶ of hope in our recovery, and certainly they are welcome, but the American people were promised by the president the unemployment would not exceed 8%, and here we are, 36 straight months of unemployment over 8%."

 

The Susan G. Komen Foundation appears to have reversed a decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood. As NPR's Rob Stein reports, the decision comes after the group came under intense criticism.

 

The Komen Foundation posted a statement on the group's website, apologizing for the controversial decision. According to the statement, Komen will continue to fund all existing grants, including those to Planned Parenthood. The group denied again that the original decision was politically motivated or aimed specifically at Planned Parenthood. It said the decision was aimed at making sure Komen was not funding any organizations that were under investigation⁷. But Komen said it would amend⁸ its policies only to disqualify groups that were under criminal investigation. Planned Parenthood has been under investigation in Congress. Komen acknowledged their decision had cast doubt on the group's commitment to saving women's lives. Rob Stein, NPR News.

 

In Cairo, authorities say over 1,000 people have been injured, three have died in a second day of street violence over a deadly soccer riot. Protesters blamed police for failing to prevent a melee⁹ that left 74 people dead Wednesday. After a soccer match, demonstrators in several other cities turned their anger on Egypt's ruling military.

 

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 143 points, and the NASDAQ up 44.

 

This is NPR.

 

Hollywood's famous Kodak Theatre, scene of the Academy Awards for ten years, is due for a renaming. As NPR's Amy Walters reports from Los Angeles, it's all about Eastman Kodak's bankruptcy¹⁰ filing.

 

Less than a month before Oscar night, many Hollywood stars are planning how they'll be dressing¹¹ up, while the famous theater hosting the event might be dressing down. Eastman Kodak is currently in the middle of bankruptcy, and the company has filed a motion to end their sponsorship of the theater. That would include naming rights. In a statement, the company indicated it was proud of its role in the entertainment industry. The decision reflects its commitment to customers, creditors¹² and stakeholders. The Academy Awards have been held at the theater since 2001. It's not clear if the Kodak sign will remain up for this year's awards. Amy Walters, NPR News.

 

In the Rockies, some interstates are closed as blizzard¹³ and winter storm warnings now cover four states. At the National Weather Service, forecaster Michael Eckert says the storm is heading eastward¹⁴.

 

"Winter storm warnings send from central Colorado, southeast Wyoming out into southern Nebraska, northwest Kansas, and then camps holding inside of that, we have blizzard warnings over much of eastern Colorado into extreme southwest Nebraska."

 

In Europe, snow fell in Rome today, part of Europe's unusually heavy dose of winter. Slippery cobblestones were considered a hazard for tourists, and officials decided¹⁵ to close the Colosseum, the Roman Forum¹⁶ and the Palatine Hill.

1 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

2 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

3 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。

4 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。

5 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

6 flickers   

电影制片业； （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fire flickers low. 炉火颤动欲灭。
• A strange idea flickers in my mind. 一种奇怪的思想又在我脑中燃烧了。

7 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。

8 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

9 melee   

n.混战；混战的人群

参考例句：

• There was a scuffle and I lost my hat in the melee.因发生一场斗殴，我的帽子也在混乱中丢失了。
• In the melee that followed they trampled their mother a couple of times.他们打在一团，七手八脚的又踩了他们的母亲几下。

10 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

11 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

12 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

14 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

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 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。