NPR 2009-02-05

President Barack Obama at this hour is signing a bill that will provide government-sponsored health coverage¹ to an estimated four million children. The State Children's Health Insurance Program dubbed² SCHIP was approved by a 290-135 vote in the House today. "Today with one of the first bills that I signed, reauthorizing the Children's Health Insurance Program, we fulfill³ one of the highest responsibilities that we have." The health program which also may be opened to another 2.4 million children who otherwise would have access to private insurance is expected to cost 32.8 billion dollars. The SCHIP program covers children and families that make too much for Medicaid but still struggle to afford private health insurance.

Interior Secretary Ken⁴ Salazar has canceled the sale of controversial oil and gas leases in Utah offered in the waning⁵ days of the Bush administration. The affected⁶ parcels are closed to national parks and other sensitive areas. From Salt Lake City, NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

The decision affects 77 of the federally owned parcels put up for bid in December. They're all adjacent to or near Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, Dinosaur⁸ National Monument and Nine Mile Canyon⁷, a place rich in archaeological sites. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the parcels did not get the environmental reviews sensitive lands should get. He says other last-minute Bush administration actions are also under review. "We are looking at many of those matters that are on the table. This is only one among a dozen or so of those matters that we're looking at." The canceled oil and gas leases are worth about 6 million dollars. Bidders⁹ will get their money back. Salazar says some of the parcels may be offered for leasing in the future after the appropriate reviews are conducted. Howard Berkes, NPR News, Salt Lake City.

New Secretary of Veterans Affairs is promising¹⁰ a top-down review of the embattled VA. Retired¹¹ General Eric Shinseki made his first appearance before Congress today. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.

The former Army Chief of Staff told the House Veterans Affairs Committee that he would review every line of operation to see that veterans get timely access to the highest quality of benefits and services. Shinseki takes over the government's second largest agency with a 6-month backlog¹² of disability claims and a host of other problems. He said he would hire more staff to work through the backlog and switch the VA from paper processing to an electronic claim system. House Veterans Affairs Chairman Bob Filner said the VA must work hard to restore its credibility. The Californian Democrat¹³ said many veterans view the VA as "Veterans adversary¹⁴". Shinseki promised a change of culture at the agency. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 121 points to close at 7,956. The NASDAQ was down a point today. The S&P 500 dropped six points.

This is NPR News in Washington.

Police in Arkansas now are saying an explosion that injured the head of the state's Medical Board was the result of a bomb planted in his car. Officials say Dr. Trent Pierce was injured when the device blew up as he was leaving his West Memphis home for work. Pierce chairs the State Board that licenses¹⁵ and disciplines doctors. Police say it appears Pierce was outside the vehicle when the blast took place. He's currently hospitalized in a critical condition. According to the FBI official in Washington, a second person was also injured in explosion. It's not clear who's behind the planning of the explosive device or why.

Following an international outcry, the Vatican today ordered an ultra-traditionalist bishop¹⁶ to recant his statements denying the Holocaust¹⁷ before he can be fully¹⁸ admitted into the Roman Catholic Church. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome.

In order for Bishop Richard Williamson to be admitted back into the church, he must in an absolutely unequivocal and public way, distance himself from his positions regarding the Holocaust. The Vatican statement also said that Pope Benedict XVI did not know about Bishop Williamson's views when he agreed to lift his excommunication and that of three other ultraconservative bishops¹⁹ two weeks ago. An interview in which Williamson claimed there were no gas chambers²⁰ in Nazi²¹ death camps had been circulating on the Internet for several days before his rehabilitation²² was announced. Today's statement came a day after German Chancellor²³ Angela Merkel urged Pope Benedict to make a clear rejection²⁴ of Holocaust denial, which is a crime in Germany punishable with prison terms. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

The House's followed the Senate's lead today voting to postpone²⁵ the transition from analog²⁶ to digital television. The House vote/ to postpone the switchover to June 12th came amid concerns that more than 6. 5 million Americans with older televisions will not be ready for the changeover by the February 17th target day.

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

4 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

5 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

8 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

9 bidders   

n.出价者，投标人( bidder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Bidders should proceed only if they intend on using a PayPal account to complete payment. Bidders的唯一形式，应继续只当他们在使用贝宝帐户，以完成付款打算。 来自互联网
• The other bidders for the contract complained that it had not been a fair contest. 其他竞标人抱怨说该合同的竞标不公平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

13 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

14 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

15 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

16 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

17 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

18 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

19 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

20 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

21 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

22 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

23 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

24 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

25 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

26 analog   

n.类似物，模拟

参考例句：

• The analog signal contains high-frequency video information,which helps make up the picture.模拟信号包括有助于构成图像的高频视频信息。
• The analog computer measures continuously,without proceeding step by step.模拟计算机不是一步一步地进行，而是连续地进行量度。