NPR 2008-10-22

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is campaigning in Pennsylvania today. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

Obama has a solid lead in Pennsylvania but McCain is still battling to turn Pennsylvania red. If he is to pull an upset, he'll have to take a blue state like Pennsylvania on November 4th. And today he urged his supporters to get out and vote. "We need to win in Pennsylvania on November the 4th and with your help, with your help we are gonna win." McCain appeared in Bucks² County which was once solidly Republican but it's been part of the trend in the Philadelphia's suburbs, which have been experiencing big Democratic registration³ gains. From Pennsylvania McCain travels to New Hampshire-- the site of two of his crucial primary victories, but also a state that has been trending Democratic. Mara Liasson, NPR News, Bensalem, Pennsylvania.

Barack Obama campaigned in the State of Florida for a second day today where he sought to advance the message that neither the current President George Bush or his Republican rival John McCain have done enough to help average Americans during the current financial crisis. Obama accused McCain of what he termed "willful ignorance and wishful thinking" in terms of his approach to the country's current economic crisis. Obama will briefly⁴ leave the campaign trail later this week to spend time with his ailing⁵ grandmother in Hawaii.

President Bush says the US must continue to help the world's poor especially in this time of global financial crisis. NPR's Michele Kelemen has more.

The White House held a one-day summit on international development to highlight some of the programs that the administration started to fight HIV/AIDS and malaria⁶ and help countries develop. President Bush said the US would stay committed to development, a thought echoed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "What we must not do is to allow our generosity⁷ and our concern for others to fall victim to today's crisis. Reneging on our commitments to the world's poor can not be an austerity measure." This is a legacy⁸ issue for the Bush administration as well.  Administration officials are trying to make sure the programs that have been successful continue in the next administration. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

Federal investigators⁹ say letters containing a suspicious white powder were mailed to Chase Bank branches in at least 9 cities across the US, though all initial tests so far have been negative for any dangerous toxins¹⁰. Law enforcement officials say the threatening letters were sent to Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Newark, New York, Oklahoma City and Washington. FBI spokesman Rich Kolko says even if the substance is harmless, sending such letters is a serious matter. "Just sending these letters, even if the substance is inert¹¹, is still a serious crime. It's not a hoax¹², it's not a joke, and when we catch that person, they're gonna be going to jail." Officials say all the letters appeared to be from the same source and were apparently¹³ mailed from Texas.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 231 points, the NASDAQ lost 73 points.

This is NPR.

Giant heavy equipment maker¹⁴ Caterpillar¹⁵ announced today it's laying off an as yet unspecified number of workers in the US, England and France. The giant multinational¹⁶ says the cuts are coming as it seeks to deal with what it calls 'recessionary conditions'. The cutbacks will affect contract workers in North Carolina, Illinois and Europe who work at facilities that make heavy machinery¹⁷ or diesel¹⁸ engines for residential¹ construction or the highway truck market. Caterpillar employs more than 112, 000 people worldwide. It's the world's largest maker of heavy construction equipment.

United Airlines parent company UAL Corporation posted a loss for the third quarter but not as bad as expected. NPR's Cheryl Corley has more.

United's parent company says the airline had a loss of 779 million dollars. The reason why--record jet fuel prices in July, plus United lost out when its hedge contracts which locked in its ability to buy fuel at a set price ended up being higher than the cost of fuel when oil prices dropped recently. So this quarter loss is a lot different from a year ago when United had a profit of 334 million. Even so, excluding one-time costs, United says its loss figured to be about $1. 99 per share, much lower than what analysts¹⁹ had expected. And what's also lower these days is fuel prices which CEO Glenn Tilton says "may have a significant positive impact on future profitability". But Tilton says it's still a volatile²⁰ situation. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Chicago.

AAA reported today the national average price for self-serve unleaded fell by another 3 cents a gallon to $2. 89 a gallon. Crude oil prices have been falling despite concerns that OPEC may move to cut production in an effort to keep oil prices from dropping too quickly. Members of the cartel will meet on Friday.

1 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

2 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

4 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

5 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

6 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

7 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 inert   

adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• Inert gas studies are providing valuable information about other planets,too.对惰性气体的研究，也提供了有关其它行星的有价值的资料。
• Elemental nitrogen is a very unreactive and inert material.元素氮是一个十分不活跃的惰性物质。

12 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

13 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

15 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

16 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

17 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

18 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

19 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

20 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。