NPR 2008-04-08

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

 Senator John McCain says Democrats² who offer a quick withdrawal³ from Iraq are not being honest about the consequences of defeat there. McCain spoke⁴ to a group of veterans at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City today. Frank Morris of member station KCUR reports.

 Presumptive Republican presidential nominee⁵ John McCain says that 4 years under a flawed military strategy in Iraq, brought the US almost to the point of no return. But he argues that the troop surge led by General David Petraeus has brought a measure of normalcy and order to Iraq. That's something he says his rivals Senator Clinton and Obama refuse to acknowledge. "We're no longer staring into the abyss of defeat, and we can now look ahead to the genuine prospect⁶ of success." McCain says establishing Iraq as a peaceful, democratic, stabilizing⁷ force in the region will be a long, hard process. But he says speedy withdrawal could uncork a civil war, boost Iran's stature⁸ and possibly draw US forces into an even more costly⁹, wider war in the Middle East. For NPR news, I'm Frank Morris in Kansas City.

 President Bush says it's too soon to talk about the need for a second economic stimulus¹⁰ package. While speaking at the White House, the president said he understands how high gas prices and falling of home values are weighing on Americans. Emerging from a meeting with owners of small and mid-sized businesses, the president said the economic stimulus measure that would deliver tax rebate¹¹ cheques to millions of Americans starting next month needs to be given time to work. "We're in a rough time right now, I'm confident we are gonna come out of it, and when we do, we're gonna be a stronger, stronger and better country." President's comments come at a time when nation's unemployment rate is at two and a half year high. Some Democrats have called for additional measures to boost the lagging economy.

 Last year home foreclosure soared more than 50% and analysts¹² expected the problem will get even worse this year. Ohio was one of the hardest hit states, but the governor there has announced what he's calling a first-in-the-nation agreement with lenders that could ease the situation. Bill Cohen of Ohio Public Radio reports.

 Nine major lenders in Ohio have agreed to sign a compact with state government here. In it they agreed to modify some existing mortgage loans so the terms are easier for homeowners, and foreclosures could be avoided. Some of the companies even have agreed to freeze their initial interest rate for a few years, and not adjust upward as scheduled. Governor Ted¹³ Strickland says it's the first time lenders have agreed in writing to make changes and have them monitored by state government. Even though the pacts¹⁴ are being labeled non-binding, Strickland expects them to be followed. "We think, that by signing these agreements, these major companies are putting their, their honor and their prestige on the line." Last year, more than 400,000 US households lost their homes to foreclosure. For NPR news, I'm Bill Cohen in Columbus.

 On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 3 points today to close at 12,612. The S&P was up 2 points. This is NPR.

 Swiss drug maker¹⁵ Novartis announced today it's agreed to pay nearly 39 billion dollars for majority stake in eye-care products company Alcon. Novartis says it will buy 25% of Alcon from Nestle with an option to purchase the rest of the Fort Worth-based company in a future date. If the deal gets regulatory approval, it will be one of the biggest in Swiss history. Novartis, which is Europe's second biggest pharmaceutical¹⁶ makers¹⁷, had been looking to broaden its business from prescriptions¹⁸ drugs amid increased competition from generic¹⁹ brands.

 Gas prices are continuing their climb higher, lifted by surging crude-oil futures²⁰ prices in the belief supplies will fall as summer driving season heats up. Oil futures were worth more than 2 dollars a barrel today, pump prices were up another 3.60 cents a gallon over the weekend.

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 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 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。

5 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

7 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

8 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 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。

11 rebate   

v./n.折扣，回扣，退款；vt.给...回扣，给...打折扣

参考例句：

• You can claim a rebate on your tax.你可以要求退回部分税款。
• Customers are to benefit from a rebate on their electricity bills.顾客将从他们的电费退费中得到实惠。

12 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。

13 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

14 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

15 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。

16 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

17 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

19 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

20 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。