NPR 2009-11-20

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack¹ Speer.

 

President Obama is home from an eight-day trip to Asia after a final round of talks with South Korea's president. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

 

"The two presidents talked about how to respond to the nuclear threat from North Korea and how to promote freer trade between South Korea and the United States. South Korea is eager to see ratification² of a long-stalled free trade agreement that was worked out during the Bush administration. President Obama said freer trade could be beneficial, but added there're still some differences to work out.

 

'One of my goals is to make sure that as we work through these issues, that the American people, American businesses, American workers recognize that we have to look at each agreement and each country on its own merits, and make sure that we can create the kind of win-win situation that I know president Lee is interested in seeing as well.'

 

South Korea's president said the two men agreed to redouble their efforts towards finalizing³ a trade pact⁴. Scott Horsley, NPR News, traveling with the president."

 

Air travelers across the country found themselves grounded and scrambling⁵ today to revise their plans after a computer glitch⁶ caused widespread cancellations and flight delays. The Federal Aviation Administration says it appears the problem started with a circuit board in a piece of networking equipment in the computer center in Salt Lake City. The failure which lasted some four hours prevented air traffic control computers in different parts of the country from talking to one another. That forced controllers to type in complicated flight plans by hand. Delays lasted even longer were specially⁷ bad at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the world's busiest along with airports in Chicago, Washington DC and New York.

 

The chairman of the board of Oversee⁸ Stimulus⁹ Spending says the administration's claims about jobs created by the stimulus probably are not accurate. NPR's Martin Kaste reports.

 

“The administration points to 640,000 jobs saved or created so far. That comes from reports filed by thousands of stimulus recipients¹⁰. But it turns out many of these reports contain errors. Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, has now told the congressional oversight¹¹ committee that the 640,000 figure isn't reliable.

 

'I have no doubt that there's a lot of jobs being created. I think it could be above or below 640. I think missing reports might drive the job numbers up, and I think there's enough inaccuracies yet to question the 640 number.  It might go down.'

Devaney says many stimulus recipients seem confused about how to count jobs saved or created while others simply haven't filed proper reports. Martin Kaste, NPR News.”

 

A economic forecasting gauge¹² was up in October. A New York-based conference board says its index of leading economic indicators¹³ rose three tenths of one percent. The index is designed to predict the direction of the economy 36 months down the road.

 

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 93 points. The NASDAQ was down 36 points today.

 

This is NPR.

 

A bomb blast has claimed the lives of two police officers in Peshawar, Pakistan. The latest attack comes just a day after a suicide bomber¹⁴ killed at least 18 people outside a courthouse in northwestern Pakistan. The bombing is now bringing to eight the number of militant¹⁵ attacks carried out in and around Pakistan's largest city in the past two weeks. The attacks have claimed a total of more than 80 lives.

 

The World Health Organization says a small number of people have died after being vaccinated¹⁶ against swine flu. But so far no death has been linked to the vaccine¹⁷. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

 

“The WHO says at least 65 million doses of the new H1N1 vaccine have been given in 16 nations. Side effects are occurring in one out of every ten thousand doses. The vast majority are things like temporary soreness. Only five vaccinations¹⁸ in a million involve serious events. There have been 30 deaths. Doctor Marie-Paul Kieny of the WHO says so far investigations¹⁹ have ruled out the vaccine as a cause of these deaths.

 

'Reporting so far reconfirms that the pandemic flu vaccine is as safe as seasonal²⁰ flu vaccines²¹.'

 

Kieny says WHO knows of a dozen cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome²², a nerve disorder²³. A few of them may be linked to the vaccine. All patients have recovered. The report involves all types of vaccines including those containing immune-boosting chemicals not used in the US. Richard Knox, NPR News.”

 

Two of the space shuttle Atlantis astronauts carried out the spacewalk today outside the International Space Station, moving through a laundry list of chores, including the installation of a spare antenna²⁴. The astronauts also greased some mechanism²⁵ outside the space station. Atlantis' crew is scheduled to head home today before Thanksgiving.

 

I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

3 finalizing   

vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• You may edit registered information any time during the finalizing period. 您可以在规定期限内随时编辑修改注册资料。 来自互联网
• Natsun Trimming & Ironing, Finalizing the Perfection. 40南山整烫，完美在此定格。 来自互联网

4 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

5 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 glitch   

n.干扰；误操作，小故障

参考例句：

• There is a glitch in the computer program somewhere.这个计算机程序中的某个部分有点小问题。
• It could just be a random glitch that can be solved by restarting the machine.可能只是一个小故障，重新启动主机就能解决了。

7 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

8 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

9 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

10 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

12 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

13 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

14 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。

15 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

16 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

17 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

18 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

20 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

21 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

22 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

23 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

24 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

25 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。