NPR 2008-07-08

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama cancelled a planned appearance in North Carolina today when his plane had mechanical problems. But speaking in St. Louis where the plane landed, he outlined proposals for revitalizing the sagging¹ US economy. "Instead of Washingtongimmicks, like a three-month gas tax holiday that will only pat oil company profits, we need to do what I called for months ago, and pass a second stimulus² package that provides energy rebate³ checks for working families，a fund to help families avoid foreclosure and increased assistance for states that have been hard hit by the economic downturn.” At a town hall-style meeting in Denver, Obama's GOP rival John McCain said Obama's plans are expensive and will hurt many Americans. "The choice in this election is stark⁴ and simple. Senator Obama will raise your taxes. I won't. I will cut them where I can." McCain wants to extend President Bush's tax cuts and cut the corporate⁵ tax rate.

Congress returns to Washington this week after an Independence Week break. The Senate has been in session today with housing and domestic spying on the agenda. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

Lawmakers returned to Washingtonafter hearing from constituents⁶ about record gasoline prices, but there is little they're likely to do on that front. Another sector⁷ of the economy, the housing market, will be addressed as the Senate resumes debate on a measure aimed at providing help for some homeowners facing foreclosure. The bill would give qualified⁸ borrowers a chance to get out of adjustable-rate mortgages whose interest rates keep rising, and into lower-cost fixed-rate loans backed by the government. While it has wide bipartisan support, the measure still faces procedural hurdles⁹. The Senate also takes up a proposed overhaul¹⁰ of the nation's warrantless surveillance laws this week. Some Democrats¹¹ opposed the bill, because it would grant immunity¹² to telecommunications companies who gave information to the government. Brian Naylor, NPR News, the Capitol.

One of the three Americans rescued from a Colombian rebel camp last week spoke¹³ out about the FARC rebels today at a public ceremony in Texas. Marc Gonsalves slammed the people who held them captive for years. "The FARC are not (a) revolutionary group. They are not a revolutionary group. They are terrorists. Terrorists with a capital 'T'. Bad people." Gonsalves claimed other hostages are being punished, because he and 14 other people were rescued from the Colombian jungle.

A suicide car bombing outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan today has left 41 people dead, and injured at least 139. The explosion was the worst in Kabul since the Taliban leadership fell in 2001. Afghan officials quickly accused Pakistan of possible involvement. But Pakistan denied that.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 56 points today to close at 11,231.

This is NPR News.

Scientists in California may have come up with a novel way of someday treating kidney cancer. They have found a compound that persuades cancer cells, and only cancer cells, to commit suicide by digesting themselves. NPR's Joe Palca has more.

 Cells are constantly going through a kind of "internal recycling": breaking down internal parts and re-using the chemicals. But there has to be a balance, or the cell will digest itself out of existence, breaking down all its internal parts so the cell can no longer function. Now, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a compound that kicks this internal digestion¹⁴ process into overdrive, but only for cells that have a genetic¹⁵ defect that causes them to become cancers. The compound doesn't have this effect in normal healthy cells. The researchers cautioned it would be years before this compound would be ready for testing in patients. The research appears in the journal Cancer Cell. Joe Palca, NPR News, Washington.

There is no comment from the State Department on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's remark that his country is now interested in a timetable for foreign troop withdrawals¹⁶. In a meeting with Arab ambassadors in the United Arab Emirates, Maliki said, (quote)" we are looking at the necessity of terminating the foreign presence, and restoring full sovereignty". He said there is a need for a memorandum¹⁷ of understanding regarding the departure of foreign forces from Iraq or an understanding that a timetable will be set. Maliki didn’t specifically mention the US in his comments. However, US forces make up the vast majority of foreign troops on Iraqi soil. Maliki's government and the US have been negotiating on the terms of US troop presence after a UN mandate¹⁸ expires in December.

1 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

2 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。

3 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。

4 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

9 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

10 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

11 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》

12 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

13 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。

14 digestion   

n.消化，吸收

参考例句：

• This kind of tea acts as an aid to digestion.这种茶可助消化。
• This food is easy of digestion.这食物容易消化。

15 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

16 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

17 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

18 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。