NPR 2008-05-22

The US House passed a broad 50-billion-dollar income tax relief package today, including incentives¹ for alternative energy production. NPR's Debbie Elliott has more.
 
The bill extends popular and non-controversial tax incentives, ranging from expense deductions² for teachers to a research and development credit for businesses. But it also provided a forum³ for Democrats⁴ and Republicans to debate energy policy. The bill includes more than 18 billion dollars in tax credits for renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydropower. Republicans argue the best way to bring down gas prices is to step up domestic oil and gas production. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, the Capitol.
 
House lawmakers easily mustered⁵ the necessary two-thirds majority today to override⁶ a presidential veto of a 300-billion-dollar farm bill. In opposing the measure, Mr. Bush had said the bill amounts to a tax increase on regular Americans at a time of escalating⁷ food prices. The White House claimed the bill gives away too much money to wealthy farmers. About two-thirds of the measure would pay for nutrition programs like food stamps and emergency aid for the needy⁸. Forty billion is allocated⁹ for farm subsidies¹⁰. Another 30 billion dollars would go to farmers to idle their land and to environmental programs. Senate lawmakers will next take up consideration of the bill.

 In a sign of deepening trouble for the nation's airlines, American Airlines announced today it will cut thousands of jobs and impose new fees on customers for formerly¹¹ free services. From Dallas, NPR's Wade¹² Goodwyn reports.
 
The biggest impact of American's announcement is that starting June 15th, all passengers will be charged 15 dollars for the first piece of checked baggage. The company says the spike¹³ in the cost of jet fuel has meant its annual expenses have risen by more than three billion dollars, and that's just since the start of this year. CEO Gerard Arpey indicated that he intends to cut thousands of jobs and slash¹⁴ service by a little over 10%. American said it would start charging customers for telephone reservations too, and retire up to 80 jets. Wade Goodwyn, NPR News, Dallas.
 
The Federal Reserve is indicating it may be done trimming interest rates. That was contained in minutes from the Fed's April meeting. Fed is also lowering its growth forecast. Adam Davidson reports.

 It's a sign of how things have gotten that words like "bleak¹⁵" and "downbeat " count as good news about the economy. But there we are. The Federal Reserve says that the US economy will certainly stay slow for some time, that there is still a risk of more severe shocks to the global financial system, but that for now, the risks seem to have moderated a bit. In fact, the danger of economic recession has lowered just enough to allow the Fed to focus its attention on the threat of inflation. That means there will almost certainly be no further rate cuts for a while. Adam Davidson, NPR News.
 
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 227 points. This is NPR.

 Time Warner says it plans to split off its cable television business. The move by the media conglomerate¹⁶ is expected to result in a more-than-nine-billion-dollar windfall and allow the company to focus on network, entertainment and publishing operations. Time Warner Cable is currently the second largest cable TV provider in the nation behind Comcast, with more than 13 million subscribers. The split is expected to be finalized¹⁷ by the fourth quarter of this year. Though, it still must be approved by federal regulators.

 For the first time ever, astronomers¹⁹ have witnessed a star at the moment it exploded as a supernova. NPR's Richard Harris has the story.
 
When a star, much more massive than our own Sun, finally burns out, one of the most spectacular of death throes is an explosion known as a supernova. The star simply collapses²⁰ under the stress of its own gravity and generates a shockwave that creates a huge burst of radiation. The carbon in our bodies was actually cooked up in supernovas from long ago. But until now, nobody has witnessed one at the very moment it happened. Usually, astronomers see them a few days or weeks after the event starts. But now, a team of 43 astronomers from around the world reports in Nature magazine that they have caught a supernova in the act. A young astronomer¹⁸ at Princeton University was the first to notice an intense burst of X-rays from a distant galaxy²¹. Further observation showed that blast came from a dying star. Richard Harris, NPR News.

 For the first time ever, American motorists are paying a national average of $3.80 a gallon for regular self-serve unleaded, and in some states, a whole lot more than that. That's according to the latest figures from AAA and the Oil Price Information Service, which reports that gas prices rose by another seven-tenths of a cent overnight.

1 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。

3 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

4 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》

5 mustered   

v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发

参考例句：

• We mustered what support we could for the plan. 我们极尽所能为这项计划寻求支持。
• The troops mustered on the square. 部队已在广场上集合。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

7 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

8 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

9 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

10 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

12 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。

13 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

14 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

15 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

16 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

17 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

19 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

21 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。