NPR 2009-08-15

President Obama traveled to Montana today to promote his administration's health care initiative, telling an audience at a town hall meeting there that the news media may have bear some of the blame for overemphasis on scenes of angry protesters at other meetings across the country. President said that "TV loves a ruckus." And in an airport hangar in Belgrade, Montana, Mr. Obama said while that time is contentious¹, the discussion of how to rework health care is important. "Across the country you're seeing people who are coming together and having a civil, honest, often difficult conversation about how we can improve the system. That's how democracy's supposed to work." President's appearance comes as his health care overhaul² plan has been running into increasing opposition³. Mr. Obama took aim at health insurance companies, saying they deny coverage⁴ based on pre-existing conditions or at times cancel coverage when people get sick.

 A cargo⁵ ship that went missing near the English Channel more than two weeks ago has reportedly been found but several mysteries remained. The French Defense⁶ Ministry⁷ says the freighter "Arctic Sea" was found off the Coast of West Africa. More from NPR's Corey Flintoff.

 The Arctic Sea was last sighted on July 30th as it steamed south out of the channel between Britain and France. It had a crew of about 15 Russian sailors and a cargo of timber valued at more than 1.6 million dollars. French officials say the vessel⁸ has been sighted about 400 miles from the tiny island nation of Cape⁹ Verde off the West African coast. Russia's Navy says it's sending a warship¹⁰ to investigate. Before the Arctic Sea disappeared, its crew had already told one strange story. They said they were boarded off the coast of Sweden by about a dozen armed and masked men who beat them, asked questions about drug trafficking and thoroughly¹¹ searched the ship. Corey Flintoff, NPR News.

Boeing has agreed to pay the US government 25 million dollars to settle a lawsuit¹². The Chicago-based company allegedly performed defective¹³ work on refueling planes for the Air Force. Chicago public radio Susie An reports.

 The US Department of Justice calls Boeing's KC-10 Extenders a mainstay of the Air Force's aerial refueling fleet in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Two whistle-blowers in Texas filed the lawsuit alleging¹⁴ the company improperly¹⁵ installed insulation¹⁶ blanket kits¹⁷ in the aircraft during maintenance. The blankets maintain temperature inside the plane during flight. The two former Boeing workers will now receive $2.6 million for drawing attention to the problem. The company also allegedly overcharged the government for installation of the blanket kits. Boeing will pay about $18 million in cash and do more than six million dollars worth of repair work. For NPR News, I'm Susie An in Chicago.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 76 points to end the week at 9,321. The NASDAQ was down 23 points. The S&P lost eight points today.

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 There is more information coming out now about an air traffic controller's actions during this past weekend's crash, involving a small private plane and a sightseeing helicopter over the Hudson River in New York. According to officials with the National Transportation Safety Board, a controller at an airport in New Jersey¹⁸ had cleared the plane for take-off and then made a personal phone call. The board says radar¹⁹ showed several blips in the plane's path including a helicopter. A total of nine people were killed in the mishap²⁰. The controller and supervisor²¹ on duty at the time of the accident have been placed on the administrative²² leave.

 Teddy Afro, the jailed popular Ethiopian singer whose songs are embraced by that nation's political opposition is now free. NPR's Gwen Tompkins reports.

Teddy Afro was the stage name of Tewodros Kasahun, a 33-year-old reggae star in Ethiopia, who spent more than a year in prison on charges related to the traffic death of a homeless man. But many of Afro's supporters believed that his conviction had political import. Afro's songs celebrate Ethiopian culture which dates back to the Queen of Sheba. But his songs also question the effectiveness of Ethiopia’s political leadership. Afro was originally given a longer sentence but few in Ethiopia were satisfied that the case was solid. Hospital records showed that the homeless man was killed while Afro was out of the country. And the records were later changed to a date when Afro was in the country. Ethiopian Supreme²³ Court commuted²⁴ the singer's sentence. Gwen Tompkins, NPR News, Nairobi.

Hurricane Guillermo is now a Category 2 storm out in the waters of Pacific, the National Hurricane Center announced today Guillermo with maximum winds around 100 miles an hour is some 1,200 miles west, southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja peninsula. The storm is expected to weaken somewhat, however, as it moves into a cooler water over the weekend.

1 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

2 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。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 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。

5 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

6 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。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 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。

9 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

10 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

11 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

12 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

13 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

14 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

15 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

16 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

17 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

18 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。

19 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。

20 mishap   

n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸

参考例句：

• I'm afraid your son had a slight mishap in the playground.不好了，你儿子在操场上出了点小意外。
• We reached home without mishap.我们平安地回到了家。

21 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

22 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

23 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。

24 commuted   

通勤( commute的过去式和过去分词 )； 减（刑）； 代偿

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment. 他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• The death sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment. 死刑可能減为无期徒刑。