NPR 2012-03-07

 The Obama administration is out with new initiatives to help struggling homeowners. Under the plan outlined at the White House today, borrowers with FHA-insured mortgages will be able to refinance at half the fee currently charges. The president also says service members and veterans who have been wrongfully foreclosed upon that is will get additional compensation for their losses, on top of that announcing a settlement with major banks a few weeks ago. 

 

President Obama was also peppered with questions about escalating¹ tensions in the Middle East on the issue of Iran. The president says the world has a window of opportunity to convince Iran to suspend its nuclear work and any ambitions of building a weapon. But he’s not ruling out military action.

 

“My policy is not containment². My policy is to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon. Because if they get a nuclear weapon, that could trigger an arms race in the region. It would undermine our non-proliferation goals. It could potentially fall into the hands of terrorists.”

 

When asked to respond to calls for US-led air strikes on Syria, where a military crackdown on dissent³ is believed to have killed thousands in the last year, President Obama says unilateral military action would be a mistake. He says the situation in Syria is more complicated than it was in Libya, where the US and allies helped rebels oust⁴ Muammar Gaddafi last year.

 

The Obama reelection campaign is watching the outcome of this Super Tuesday primaries, where voting is underway in ten states and could determine who runs against the incumbent⁵ in November. Newt Gingrich campaigns in Georgia and Alabama, while Mitt⁶ Romney and Rick Santorum have focused on Ohio. NPR's Kathy Lohr reports Gingrich says it is the South that will keep him in the GOP race. 

 

Polls show Gingrich is far ahead in Georgia which he represented in Congress for 20 years. But it’s Romney and Santorum, who are battling it out in Ohio. Gingrich has now won a primary since South Carolina back in January. The former speaker predicts he’ll win his home state easily, and he’s already looking ahead to Alabama, visiting space camp in Huntsville, even though that state doesn't hold its primary until next week. Santorum hopes to win support in Oklahoma and Tennessee, places where Gingrich says he has the advantage as the non-Romney candidate. Kathy Lohr, NPR News, Atlanta.

 

Republicans who want to run for office in one South Carolina county may have to sign a pledge to not commit adultery or watch pornography if one local group gets its way. Bobby Smith, chairman of the Laurens County Republicans, says it's an attempt to encourage good values in the party's candidates. But the so-called purity pledge is unlikely to get the state GOP's endorsement⁷, which says it would be illegal to prevent candidates who refuse to sign that pledge from getting on the ballot⁸.

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down 196 at 12,766.

 

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The FBI is offering a one-million-dollar reward for information leading to the safe return of one of its retired⁹ agents. Robert Levinson disappeared five years ago this week on Kish Island, Iran. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports authorities are worried about his health.

 

Levinson worked at the FBI for 22 years. Before he retired, he worked as a private detective. It was that job that sent him to Iran in March, 2007 where he went missing. US government officials believe he may be a hostage held by a group in Afghanistan or Pakistan. So they are launching a new reward campaign and putting out leaflets and billboards¹⁰ across Southwest Asia. FBI Director Robert Mueller told Levinson's wife Christine that agents share her heartache and they are working every day to bring her husband home. Authorities released  a video of Levinson in 2010. But since then, there have been no public hints of his well-being¹¹ and no demands for a ransom¹². Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

 

At least 37 people have been killed, dozens trapped by an avalanche¹³ that's buried a village in Afghanistan. More from NPR's Ahmad Shafi.

 

Local authorities say the avalanche has destroyed more than 190 homes in the village of Dasty in Shekay district in Badakhshan province. Officials say they still fear scores of people remain trapped in the avalanche. Local authorities are asking the US-led NATO coalition¹⁴ to send aid and helicopters. The area remains¹⁵ closed by land because of the heavy snow. Badakhshan province lies in the northeastern corner of Afghanistan. The geography is dominated by the Hindu Kush Mountains that rise to more than 20,000 feet. Many areas of the province are only accessible by air. 

 

That's Ahmad Shafi reporting.

1 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

2 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

3 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

4 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

5 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

6 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

7 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

8 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

11 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

12 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

13 avalanche   

n.雪崩，大量涌来

参考例句：

• They were killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.他们在瑞士阿尔卑斯山的一次雪崩中罹难。
• Higher still the snow was ready to avalanche.在更高处积雪随时都会崩塌。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 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。