NPR 2009-6-10

A large bomb that exploded at a luxury hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan has claimed the lives of at least 11 people and left 55 others wounded today. Officials say militants¹ attacked the Pearl Continental² Hotel popular with foreigners with guns and a truck bomb. Intelligence officials say it appears some of the attackers were also able to scale the wall of the hotel and entered a compound and opened fire just before the bomb went off. Dozens of cars were also destroyed in the blast. The bombing is the latest in a string of attacks in Pakistan which officials say appear to be a retaliation³ for an offensive against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley.

Treasury⁴ Department said today it will allow ten of the nation's biggest banks to repay some of the funds they received as part of the troubled asset relief program last year. More from NPR's Yuki Noguchi.

The banks will repay 68 billion of the 199 billion in capital investments the government made at the height of the financial crisis. Although the banks have resumed some lending, the government was concerned about their continued health. So the banks were required to raise billions in private funds without the backing of a federal guarantee. The government did not name the ten banks repaying the funds, although it likely includes the healthiest including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon and American Express. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said the funds including several billion in dividends⁵ will return to government coffers, but they may still be needed to shore up other problem banks including some smaller ones. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

A House panel has voted to recommend an impeachment⁶ of a federal judge in Texas. Judge Samuel Kent has admitted lying about sexual assaults on two women who worked for him. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

Judge Kent was the first sitting judge to face sex crimes charges. In a week, he will begin serving his sentence of nearly three years in prison, but Kent still has a job. Impeachment is the only way a federal judge can be removed from office and now the House has moved one step closer to impeaching⁷ Kent. A panel voted 10 : 0 on four articles of impeachment-those  essentially⁸ charges. They alleged⁹ that Kent sexually assaulted two women and lied about it to federal investigators¹⁰. One woman was his case manager; the other his secretary. As a federal judge, Kent has life tenure¹¹. He had offered to resign in a year, but that still would have given him an annual salary and benefits. Members of the House panel voting on impeachment rejected that offer. Kent told them in a letter that if he is impeached¹², he will be penniless. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

A bankruptcy¹³ court judge in New York has approved plans by bankrupt automaker Chrysler to cut ties with 789 of its dealers¹⁵, however, the dealers have already indicated they will appeal. Chrysler yesterday had its sale to Fiat¹⁶ temporarily put on a hold by the Supreme¹⁷ Court, which said it needs time to reduce its dealer¹⁴ networks by 25%. High Court is reviewing complaints filed by Chrysler creditors¹⁸.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down a point. The NASDAQ gained 17 points.

This is NPR.

As searchers continued to find additional bodies and wreckage¹⁹ from an Air France jetliner that went down in the waters of the Atlantic. Investigators are looking at speed monitors aboard the airplane. Early attention is focused on the monitors as perhaps playing a role in the May 31st crash by feeding false information to computers aboard to the doomed²⁰ jetliner. So far searchers said they'd pulled a total of 28 bodies from the sea along with various pieces of wreckage including a portion of the downed plane's tail section.

US employers plan to stabilize²¹ hiring activity in the third quarter of the year. From member station WUWM in Milwaukee, Marti Mikkelson reports.

The latest Manpower survey shows 15% of employers plan to hire more workers in July, August and September, while 13% expect to cut staff. Manpower surveyed more than 28,000 employers across the country. Chief executive officer Jeffrey Joerres says attitudes toward hiring remains²² virtually the same since the second quarter. He says employers are watching the economy with guarded optimism, hoping a few stable quarters will spark a recovery. Job prospects²³ look best in construction, wholesale²⁴ and retail²⁵ trade while employers in government, education, and health services anticipate a downturn in hiring. Hiring is relatively²⁶ stable in the south, mid²⁷ west and north east. The west has a weaker outlook compared to the second quarter. For NPR News, I'm Marti Mikkelson in Milwaukee.

Nation's airlines did a better job of arriving on time in April. That's according to the US Department of Transportation which says airlines reported a combined on-time rate of just over 79%. That is up from the previous month and well ahead of last April's 77.7%.

I'm Jack²⁸ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 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。

3 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

6 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

7 impeaching   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的现在分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

10 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》

11 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

12 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

14 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

15 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

16 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

17 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

18 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

20 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

21 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

23 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

24 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

25 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

26 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

27 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

28 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。