NPR 2008-07-01

President Bush today signed a 162-billion-dollar war funding bill. The president thanking both sides of the aisle¹ in Congress for giving him a measure to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for another year. Speaking at the Oval Office signing ceremony today, Mr. Bush said it showed there can be cooperation in Washington. "This bill shows the American people that, even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats² can come together to stand behind our troops and their families. " According to congressional officials, the measure brings to more than 650 billion dollars, the amount that Congress has provided for the war in Iraq and nearly 200 billion spent so far in Afghanistan. The president says the nation has no greater responsibility than to support its troops and their families.

 As part of a legislation to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president today also approved a new GI Bill for college education of veterans. The new measure comes close to the benefits accorded to GIs at the end of World War II. NPR's John McChesney has more.

 The measure was authored by Senator Jim Webb of Virginia who said this, shortly after he introduced it over a year ago: "The veteran who is able to get a good education is generally a more well-adjusted veteran.” The measure faced opposition³ from the Pentagon where it was felt that it would be an enticement⁴ for soldiers to leave the military when recruitment and retention⁵ are tight. But a congressional study showed that the number of people attracted to the military would offset⁶ the potential losses. The new bill guarantees a full scholarship at the most expensive state university where the soldier lives, along with a generous monthly housing stipend⁷. It applies to anyone who has spent at least three years on active duty. Past benefits will be more than doubled, from 40, 000 today to 90, 000. The measure had exceptional bipartisan support. John McChesney, NPR News.

 Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama spelled out his views on patriotism¹⁰ at a speech today in Independence, Missouri. Maria Carter reports from member station KCUR in Kansas City.

Missouri voted for President Bush in 2004 and is expected to be a swing state this year. Detractors have questioned Obama's commitment to his country. But the Illinois senator sought to reassure¹¹ Missouri voters, telling a packed crowd in Harry¹² Truman's hometown, that he's always been a patriot⁹. "Throughout my life, I've always taken my deep and abiding¹³ love for this country as a given. It was how I was raised. It is what propelled me into public service. It is why I'm running for president. " Obama went on to outline his view of patriotism, which he said was loyal to American ideals but embrace dissent¹⁴ when those ideals weren't met. Obama plans to travel to the battleground states of Colorado and Ohio later this week. For NPR News, I'm Maria Carter in Kansas City.

 On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose three points today, closing at 11, 350. The NASDAQ lost 22 points. The S&P 500 was up a point.

 This is NPR.

 Another lawsuit¹⁵ against giant mortgage lender Countrywide and the company's CEO Angelo Mozilo. The latest suit filed by the State of Florida alleges¹⁶ the company engaged in unfair and deceptive¹⁷ trade practices in terms of its mortgage lending operations. The suit against California-based Countrywide was filed by the Florida Attorney General's Office. Details of the suit are expected to be announced tomorrow. Illinois and California sued the mortgage giant last week, accusing it of persuading homeowners to apply for risky¹⁸ mortgages beyond their means.

 Autopsy¹⁹ results on Eve Carson, University of North Carolina student body president killed in March, were released today. Dave DeWitt of North Carolina Public Radio has more.

According to the report, Carson raised her right arm to protect herself from the shotgun blast that struck her hand and her right temple. She was shot four other times. Court documents unsealed over the last few days have given new details of the case. According to interviews with informants, Carson was abducted²⁰ from her home and taken to an ATM machine. She was then shot and killed in a residential⁸ neighborhood in Chapel²¹ Hill. According to the autopsy, she was not sexually assaulted. Demario Atwater and Lawrence Lovett Jr. were arrested a week after the incident and charged with first-degree murder. Both men are in jail awaiting trial. For NPR News, I'm Dave DeWitt in Durham, North Carolina.

 Mississippi River is cresting²² today in Saint Louis. But so far, city officials there are reporting no problems. They say low-lying areas are protected by a floodwall. And they say the downtown rises sharply from the river and is not threatened. National Weather Service reported that the river appears to have levelled off at Saint Louis just slightly less than nine feet above flood stage where it's expected to remain before slowly receding²³ this week.

1 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

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 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 enticement   

n.诱骗，诱人

参考例句：

• He fell victim to her enticement. 他被她的魅力征服了。
• He ought to curb his excessive internal desires and resist unreasonable enticement. 控制过度内欲、抵制不当外惑。

5 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

6 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

7 stipend   

n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金

参考例句：

• The company is going to ajust my stipend from this month onwards.从这一个月开始公司将对我的薪金作调整。
• This sum was nearly a third of his total stipend.这笔钱几乎是他全部津贴的三分之一。

8 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。

9 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

10 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

11 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

12 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

13 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

14 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

15 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

16 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

17 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

18 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

19 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

20 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

21 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

22 cresting   

n.顶饰v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的现在分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• The old man stood with his back to the fire, cresting up erect. 老人背火昂然而立。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Various shapes of returns like triangular, semi-circular are available for cresting your own office. 极富创意的办公桌，有着不同形装如三角形、半圆形、曲尺形及四边形，以创造您个人品位的办公室。 来自互联网

23 receding   

v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远，他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
• Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句