NPR 2008-11-12

The mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are announcing a new plan to help several hundred thousand homeowners facing foreclosure. NPR’s Chris Arnold has more.

The move is the biggest step by the government so far to use Fannie and Freddie to help stem the tide of foreclosures. Some homeowners say that the plan will see their interest rates lower effectively down below 3% in order to make their payments more affordable¹. The loan payments will be set at 38% of the homeowners’ income. Still helping² several hundred thousand homeowners sounds like a lot of people, but economists³ say the scale of the problem is such that 5 to 7 million more people are going to lose their homes in coming years. And they said that would push the economy into a much more severe recession. Sheila Bair, the head of the FDIC, has been proposing a much more sweeping⁴ plan that could help several million homeowners. She says the Fannie Mae initiative is a step in the right direction, but it falls short of what is needed. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

 Some big banks now are saying they may plan to try to help people falling behind on their home loans. Giant Citigroup has launched an initiative aimed at helping at-risk borrowers by agreeing to halt foreclosures for people who live in their homes, have decent incomes and could possibly make lower payments. In addition, the New York-based financial services firm says it will reach out to as many as half a million homeowners who are delinquent⁵ on their mortgages.

President Bush marked Veterans Day by making a trip to New York where he spoke⁶ in the shadow of the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid⁷ at a rededication ceremony. The vessel⁸ was a floating museum. Mr. Bush praised those veterans in the audience for their service. Today we send a clear message to all who have worn the uniform: thank you for your courage, thank you for your sacrifice, and thank you for standing⁹ up when your nation needed you most. The retired¹⁰ aircraft carrier first saw services in the Pacific during World War Two, Korea and Vietnam.

Armistice¹¹ Day was celebrated¹² in France today without a single living World War I veteran for the first time in the nation’s history. Aya Batrawy reports from Paris.

Between 1914 and 1918, the Great War fought largely on French soil, cost the lives of nearly 2 million German, a million British and a million and a half French soldiers. Bells tolled¹³ throughout France at 11 o'clock this morning marking the minute the guns fell silent 90 years ago. And leaders from the powers that fought the war now allies gathered at the side of the 1916 battle of Verdun where 300, 000 French and Germen were slaughtered¹⁴ over 11 months of bloody¹⁵ trench¹⁶ warfare¹⁷. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, flanked by the speaker of the German parliament and Britain’s Prince Charles, gave a message of European reconciliation¹⁸. The last living French and German soldiers to fight in World War One both died earlier this year. For NPR News, I’m Aya Batrawy in Paris , NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 176 points today. The NASDAQ lost 35 points. This is NPR.

Voters in the state of Ohio have sent a message to so-called payday lenders, opposing tougher restrictions¹⁹ on the interest rates those companies can charge customers. Payday loan industry officials say as a result of the barren initiative, they are looking at other business options in the state, whereas some consumer groups worry that the lenders are simply trying to find a way around the vote by offering loans under other state laws.

Two leading British communications companies have announced cost cutting and programs to increase efficiency as ways to handle the economic crisis. Larry Miller²⁰ reports from London.

The British cable TV company Virgin²¹ Media says it's cutting 2, 200 jobs or 15% of its workforce²². It said the move is part of a group wide overhaul²³ designed to save the company nearly 200 million dollars over the next four years and that it’s critical to ensuring its future. Earlier this month, Virgin Media was given until 2, 012 to refinance 6. 7 billion dollars of debt. Efficiency is also on the agenda for the Vodafone cell phone group which plans to reduce cost by nearly 1. 7 billion dollars. It would not say whether jobs were on the line as it announced that its half year net profit fell 35%. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

Imagine if you could get a handle on how many people are contracting the flu nationwide, or even in your home state, perhaps weeks before the official statistics begin coming out. That’s pretty much what Google is offering to a new site called Google Flu trends. It tracks a number of inquiries²⁴ from people typing in key words like flu symptoms or muscle aches into the Internet search engine and plots it on a graph. Based on early trends, the company says it may be able to detect flu outbreaks a week to 10 days before they’re reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 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》

4 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

5 delinquent   

adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者

参考例句：

• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds.多数少年犯都有未受教育的背景。
• He is delinquent in paying his rent.他拖欠房租。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 intrepid   

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

• He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
• John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

8 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 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。

11 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

12 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

13 tolled   

鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Bells were tolled all over the country at the King's death. 全国为国王之死而鸣钟。
• The church bell tolled the hour. 教堂的钟声报时。

14 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

16 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

17 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

18 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

19 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

20 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

21 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

22 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

23 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

24 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》