NPR 2012-05-12

 The head of JP Morgan Chase is doing a lot of apologizing today, saying he and other bank executives have a lot of egg on our face. CEO Jimie Dimon is under scrutiny¹ by federal regulators and customers after he announced that the bank which managed to weather the 2008 financial crisis better than its peers had suffered a 2 billion dollar trading loss and that figure could get bigger . In a conference, Cole Dimon said it was inexcusable.

These were Greece's mistakes, they were self-reflected we're accountable and we haven't violated our own standards and principles by how we want to  upgrade the company. This is not how we want to run the business.

 

 

The loss was the result of a failed hedging strategy that leading many critics to ask if Morgan Chase learned anything at all from the banking² practices that cause the economy to run to ground just a few years ago. 

 

 

Well, Greece is stalking a political impasse³. The socialists⁴ of the third party to announce they have been unable to build a coalition⁵ government, without a deal, new elections have to be held next month. Sunday's vote failed to give any one party enough parliamentary seats to govern alone. It was widely described as a reflection of the people's anger over the country's decision to impose a strict cost cutting program to receive a massive bailout from its European and IMF lenders.

 

 

Syrian State Media reporting that the Syrian military has foiled a suicide bomb plot in the northern city of Aleppo. Forces say they have killed the bomber⁶. The report came a day after two suicide bombers⁷ attacked the Syrian capital, Damascus, and killed at 55 people.

 

 

Consumer confidence is at its highest level in more than four years in the US. NPR's ** reports the Thomson Reuters University of Michigan preliminary index for May unexpectedly climbed to 77.8.

The survey suggests consumers are more optimistic about the economy. Mark Vitner is a senior economist⁸ at Wells Fargo. He links that feeling to job growth and falling fuel costs.

I think that the dropping gasoline prices is an unexpectedly blessing⁹ for many consumers and they really take it to heart.

Perhaps because of that, extra-income consumers are packeting from cheaper gasoline price. The survey shows they are more willing to buy big ticket items such as, cars and computers. Vitner says that's a good sign.

In the economy recoveries, that's generally where the economy gets a lot of list promises that the consumers became the makeup¹⁰ for purchases that were postponed¹¹ when times were less certain. 

The data also suggests consumers expect inflation to slow down. **, NPR News, Washington. 

 

 

US stocks mixed with the Dow off 16 points at 12,893 in trading of 2 billion shares; NASDAS is up 10 points at 2,943; and the S&P 500 down slightly at 1,357.

 

 

This is NPR News.

 

 

The trail of confessed Norwegian killer¹² Anders Behring Breivik was interrupted today  when one of the victims' relatives threw a shoe at him. Teri Schultz reports the act got mixed reactions inside the courtroom.

Hayder Mustafa Qasim, traveled from Baghdad to Oslo to be presented at the trial of the man accused of shooting his brother and 68 other people last summer in an anti-immigrant rampage. While autopsy¹³ details were being read out in the court, Qasim suddenly took off his shoe and threw it at Breivik, screaming you, killer, go to hell. The shoe hit one of the defense¹⁴ attorneys and  Qasim was removed from court and taken to the hospital to undergo an evaluation¹⁵. He tells Norway's Daily  Aftenposten that Breivik ruined his families life by killing¹⁶ his brother and that he isn't sorry for his actions which reportedly made some of the spectators in the court clapped and cheered and made others cry. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz.

 

 

Federal agents have searched the Connecticut home of a reputed mobster, who, authorities believe, has information about an unsolved art heist. As ** of member station WNPR reports, authorities  found something but it was an artwork.

For over 20 years, authorities have been searching for paintings worth half a billion dollars, including some by ** and **. They were stolen from Boston's Elizabeth Stewart Gardner Museum 1990. The FBI searched 75-year-old Robert Gentiles' Manchester Connecticut property. They believe he has the information about the heist. But what they did remove were boxes of evidences and two weapons from his property. Gentiles' lawyer says they won't find any paintings. Last month, Gentiles pleaded not guilty to federal weapons, and prescription¹⁷ drug charges. For NPR News, I'm ** in Hartford.

1 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

4 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

5 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。

6 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

7 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

10 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

11 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

12 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

13 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

16 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

17 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。