NPR 2009-11-02

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Carol Van Dam.

 

President Obama is in New Jersey¹ today. He is stumping² for Jon Corzine, the only governor seeking re-election this fall. The President called on Democrats³ to head to the polls on Tuesday.

 

"You've had a leader who's fought for what matters most. That's the kind of governor Jon Corzine has been and that's the kind of  governor that he will be for another four years if everybody here does their job."

 

The President is appearing at rallies for Corzine in Camden and Newark. NPR's Mara Liasson has more.

 

Of the two governors' races at stake next week, the White House believes New Jersey is the one that is possible to win. Unlike Virginia where the Republican candidate has a double-digit lead, a Monmouth University poll released today in New Jersey shows the race there between Corzine and his Republican opponent Chris Christie a dead heat. There is a third party candidate in the race, Chris Daggett and he appears to be pulling voters away from Christie. The danger for Corzine is that if Daggett’s support fades in the end as it has for independent candidates in the past, those voters could go back to the Republican column. President Obama is very popular in New Jersey and the Democrats have a strong base in the state and a good get-out-to-vote operation, but Corzine himself has high disapproval⁴ ratings and he's been hurt by the bad economy and New Jersey's high property taxes. Mara Liasson, NPR News.

 

Treasury⁵ Secretary Timothy Geithner says it's going to take some time for the economic recovery to have a sustained effect, but he says the President's committed to dealing⁷ with the enormous deficit⁸ without increasing taxes on people earning less than 250,000 dollars a year. "A lot of damage was caused by this crisis. It's gonna take some time for us to grow out of this, it could be a little choppy, it could be uneven⁹. It's gonna take a while." Geither told NBC's “Meet the Press” that the focus now is on getting growth back on track and creating jobs.

 

Ford¹⁰’s unionized workers are voting overwhelmingly against proposed contract changes. Jerome Vaughn of member station WDET has more.

 

Ford says it needs its workers to make some of the same concessions¹¹ that UAW members at General Motors and Chrysler agreed to. Without the givebacks, Ford officials say they will be at a cost disadvantage. The tentative deal includes a wage freeze for all new hires until 2015 and limitations on strikes. The Union is set to officially release the vote tallies¹² on Monday, but so far workers at only four UAW locals have approved the proposed deal. Union members at a dozen locals have reportedly rejected the contract changes. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said on Friday that there would be no reason to resume negotiations¹³, if the rank-and-file failed to ratify¹⁴ the tentative agreement. Ford has 41,000 UAW members. For NPR News, I’m Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.

 

Cleveland police are asking for help from the public in identifying six decomposed¹⁵ bodies found at the home of a convicted rapist. The coroner’s office has concluded that the females were all homicide victims. The bodies were found when police went to the home of ex-convict Anthony Sowell to arrest him on a new rape¹⁶ charge.

 

This is NPR News.

 

A senior advisor¹⁷ says President Obama will make a decision within weeks on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. David Axelrod said on CBS's “Face the Nation” today that the President is going through a rigorous decision making process because he wants to be certain it's the right strategy. Some lawmakers including House Republican leader John Boehner are urging Mr. Obama to act quickly in sending more troops. The decision may be complicated by the latest presidential election saga¹⁸ in Afghanistan where President Hamid Karzai's opponent withdrew from the runoff today.

 

Some of the bunker fuel oil that spilt from a tanker¹⁹ on Friday in the San Francisco Bay is washing onto shore, polluting local beaches and killing²⁰ birds along the way. From Capital Public Radio, Bob Hensley sends this report.

 

Officials estimate that between 400 and 800 gallons of oil has spilled into the water from the Panamanian tanker Debi Star. Large tar⁶ balls have washed up along a beach. Dozens of oil coated birds have been found and US Coast Guard spokesman Levi Read says the count is mounting. "We don't have an exact number right now. Those numbers are still coming in as people return from their searches." Commercial fishing in the Bay area has been suspended. A number of state and federal agencies are involved in the cleanup. Investigators²¹ haven't determined²² what caused the spill. Officials have indicated a mechanic problem on the vessel²³ could be a factor. For NPR News, I'm Bob Hensley.

 

The search for nine missing people after the collision of a US Coast Guard plane and a Marine²⁴ Corps²⁵ helicopter off the coast of California has turned into a recovery mission today. Officials say there is little chance of finding survivors²⁶. The two aircraft collided Thursday evening while the Coast Guard was searching for a missing boater.

 I'm Carol Van Dam, NPR News in Washington.

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 stumping   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• She's tired of stumping up for school fees, books and uniform. 她讨厌为学费、课本和校服掏腰包。
• But Democrats and Republicans are still dumping stumping for the young. 但是民主党和共和党依然向年轻人发表演说以争取他们的支持。

3 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》

4 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

5 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。

6 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

9 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

10 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

11 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

12 tallies   

n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• Cash on hand tallies with the figure in the accounts. 现款跟账上的数目没有出入。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He tallies his own marks. 他把自己的得分记了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

14 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

15 decomposed   

已分解的，已腐烂的

参考例句：

• A liquid is decomposed when an electric current passes through it. 当电流通过时，液体就分解。
• Water can be resolved [decomposed] into hydrogen and oxygen. 水可分解为氢和氧。

16 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

17 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。

18 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

19 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

20 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

21 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

23 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

24 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。

25 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• 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。

26 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者