NPR 2008-12-02

President-elect Barack Obama has named his top national security team, Senator Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State, Robert Gates, the current Secretary of Defense¹ to stay on and retired² Marine³ General James Jones as National Security Advisor⁴. NPR Pentagon correspondent JJ Sutherland has more.

A presidential transition is a dangerous time as power changes hands. Mr. Obama noted⁵ that, as he chose what he called an experienced team able to deal with two wars at the same time, and the continuing danger of terrorism, as seen in last week's deadly attacks in Mumbai. "Both myself and the team that stands beside me are absolutely committed to eliminating the threat of terrorism and that is true wherever it is found. We cannot have, we cannot tolerate, a world in which innocents are being killed by extremists based on twisted ideologies⁶. " Mr. Obama also named his choices for attorney general, ambassador to the UN, and Secretary of Homeland Security. JJ Sutherland, NPR News.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the US expects Pakistan to cooperate fully⁷ with the investigations⁹ into the bloody¹⁰ attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai last week. Rice is to visit India on Wednesday. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Secretary Rice is cutting short her trip to Europe to show her support to India in the wake of the Mumbai rampage. She told reporters in London that the perpetrators must be brought to justice. "This is a time when everyone in the civilized¹¹ world needs to unite, not just in condemnation¹² of these terrorist attacks, but also in a commitment to be decisive in following up whatever leads there are.” Asked whether she believes Pakistan might have been involved, Rice said that she doesn't want to jump to any conclusions, but expects complete transparency and cooperation from Pakistan in the investigation⁸. Six Americans were among the dead in Mumbai. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

A private research group is confirming what a lot of average Americans probably have suspected for a while now. The US economy is in recession and it has been for some time. National Bureau of Economic Research, the group that officially marks recessions in the US, says the current recession began in December of 2007. Speaking to a group of business executives in Washington today, Treasury¹³ Secretary Henry Paulson also did not appear surprised. "The American people know that, and I think the American people have known that for some time, so I don't think this is gonna be big news, I think they know the economy slowdown we focused on it, and everything I'm doing is to address that slowdown the best way I know how, which is through stabilizing¹⁴ the financial system.” Paulson says the administration is looking at additional ways to tap into the government's 700-billion-dollar financial rescue program.

On Wall Street, the Dow plunged¹⁵ 679 points today. This is NPR.

New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was led out of a New York police precinct in handcuffs today after surrendering on a weapons possession charge. Authorities say a teammate is also under investigation in connection with an accidental shooting at a Manhattan nightclub. Burress, the wide star receiver, who helped the Giants win the Super Bowl accidentally shot himself in the thigh¹⁶ while at a nightclub Friday. He was treated at a New York hospital and released on Saturday. It's not clear to what extent his injury will affect his ability to play. The star player had already been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Texas Chicken Processor Pilgrim's Pride has filed for bankruptcy¹⁷ protection. The company operates 35 processing plants and employs more than 48, 000 people. From Dallas, NPR's Wade¹⁸ Goodwyn reports.

Pilgrim's Pride has been suffering large losses of late. It is expected to post an 802-million-dollar loss for the quarter ending in September. Some of its wounds are self-inflicted after its acquisition of competitor Gold Kist Incorporated last year for more than a billion dollars. It now cannot pay the loans. And like Southwest Airlines, which recently posted its first quarterly loss in years, after taking big write-downs on its fuel hedges. Pilgrim's Pride lost money on its chicken-feed hedges when the price of feed dropped unexpectedly, added to that an oversupply¹⁹ of chicken which has kept prices lower in stores and you have the perfect holiday recipe for Chapter Eleven. The company says it expects to continue operations as it moves to the process. Wade Goodwyn, NPR News, Dallas.

Commerce Department says construction spending fell 1. 2% in October as builders had to deal with the economic downturn as a severe credit crisis. Much of that drop was due to the falloff in homebuilding.

1 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。

2 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。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 ideologies   

n.思想（体系）( ideology的名词复数 )；思想意识；意识形态；观念形态

参考例句：

• There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态，都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比，才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 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。

10 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。

11 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

12 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

13 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

14 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

15 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

16 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

17 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

18 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

19 oversupply   

n.供应过量；v.过度供给

参考例句：

• The market softened because of oversupply.市场因供过于求而疲软。
• Overexpansion of tea fields has led to oversupply.茶园过度扩张，使得市场上逐渐供过于求。