NPR 2009-04-07

Italian Premier¹ Silvio Berlusconi says authorities have now raised the death toll² to at least 150 after a powerful earthquake hit a mountainous region of Italy overnight. The quake which struck just before dawn flattened³ buildings and left at least 1,500 people injured and an unknown number believed to be still pinned beneath debris⁴. Reporter Christine Spolar is in the town of L'Aquila and says many are homeless.

“Most people are talking about that they were shook out of their beds and out of their homes. I talked to a group of young students from Israel, who are medical students here, and that they had been studying into the night and just finished studying when the earthquake hit. One young man was walking home and saw the road buckle⁵ up and down in front of him as he said. And his own roommate, as he got to his home, jumped out of the front balcony as there was one story up. He said now he doesn't know where to go. And that's supposed to be dilemmas⁶ to many of these people out in the field. And in L'Aquila, um, there are thousands of people without homes right now.”

Reporter Christine Spolar. The earthquake, the deadliest in the country in nearly three decades, with a magnitude 6.3, was centered  some 70 miles to the northeast of Rome.

Saying the US is not and will never be at war with Islam, President Obama today told Turkish lawmakers America is intent on rebuilding a partnership⁷ with Turkey on a range of issues. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Istanbul.

Appearing before lawmakers in Ankara, President Obama raised a question many pundits⁸ have posed—by including this majority Muslim state in his European trip is he trying to send a message to the world? Mr. Obama said the answer is yes. He praised Turkey's secular⁹ and increasingly democratic political system, reiterated¹⁰ his support for Turkey's goal of EU membership, and called Turkey a crucial ally in the Caucasus, the Middle East and elsewhere. On the touchy¹¹ issue of the World War I Armenian genocide, a term Turkey adamantly¹² rejects, Obama did not use the word genocide as he did during the campaign; instead he focused on recent progress in talks between Turkey and Armenia. The president also portrayed¹³ the US and Turkey as united in the fight against terrorism, including the Kurdish PKK separatists that have troubled southern Turkey. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Istanbul.

Officials at both the state and federal level are vowing¹⁴ to crack down on third parties who prey¹⁵ on borrowers who have gotten into trouble with their home loans. Officials say in some cases the fraudulent firms charged borrowers upfront fees of anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 dollars while promising¹⁶ to help them modify their home loans. Treasury¹⁷ Secretary Timothy Geithner said today they will seek to halt such scams. ”We will shut down fraudulent companies more quickly than before. We will target companies that otherwise would have gone unnoticed under the radar¹⁸. And we will aggressively pursue individuals involved in mortgage rescue scams.” Government experts note help is available to homeowners behind on their mortgages for free from government-approved counselors¹⁹.

On Wall Street today, the Dow fell 41 points; the NASDAQ slid 15 points.

This is NPR.

Defense²⁰ Secretary Robert Gates said today the administration is considering deep cuts to some major weapons programs, including the F-22 fighter, as the Pentagon takes a hard look at spending. Gates listed an end to production of the fighter jets which go for 140 million dollars a piece along with the cancellation²¹ of a new presidential helicopter as areas where the military is looking to scale back. Gates also said his proposed Pentagon budget will profoundly reform the way the Pentagon buys weapons and conducts its business.

An annual report on the airline industry is out today, and it shows Hawaiian Airlines leads all domestic carriers in performance. Steve Julian of member station KPCC has more.

2007 was the worst year in a decade for customer satisfaction, but the airline industry bounced back last year. Fewer people flew but they were treated better, arrived on time more often, and still had most of their luggage after a flight. The downside? Fewer flights; prices went up; and some airlines began charging extra for any luggage. Behind Hawaiian Airlines in customer satisfaction were AirTran and JetBlue, which had the lowest rate of denied boardings for the second year in a row. AirTran did the best job of keeping track of luggage. American Eagle did the worst. Southwest Airlines had the fewest complaints. The study, based on government statistics, ranked 17 airlines. Legacy²² carriers—American, Continental²³, Delta²⁴, and United—ran into the middle with regional carriers toward the bottom. For NPR News, I'm Steve Julian in Los Angeles.

AT&T and its largest unions are continuing to negotiate with contracts covering tens of thousands of workers expiring over the weekend. Under discussion are five contracts covering between 80 and 90 thousand workers of the giant telecommunications company.

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

4 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

5 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。

6 dilemmas   

n.左右为难( dilemma的名词复数 )；窘境，困境

参考例句：

• They dealt with their dilemmas by mixing perhaps unintentionally an explosive brew. 他们――也许是无意地――把爆炸性的佐料混合在一起，以此来应付困难处境。 来自辞典例句
• Ten years later we encountered the same dilemmas in Vietnam. 十年后，我们又在越南遇到了同样进退两难的局面。 来自辞典例句

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

9 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

10 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

11 touchy   

adj.易怒的；棘手的

参考例句：

• Be careful what you say because he's touchy.你说话小心，因为他容易生气。
• He's a little touchy about his weight.他对自己的体重感到有点儿苦恼。

12 adamantly   

adv.坚决地，坚定不移地，坚强不屈地

参考例句：

• "Come over here,"he told her adamantly. “到这边来，”他对她坚定地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His family were adamantly opposed to the marriage. 他的家人坚决反对这门亲事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

15 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

16 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。

17 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。

18 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

19 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

20 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

21 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

22 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

23 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

24 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。