NPR 2010-03-06

The economy showing signs of turning a corner. The Labor¹ Department reports today that employers cut 36,000 jobs last month far fewer than predicted. As Hugh Johnson, chief economist³ of Johnson Illington Advisors⁴ notes the unemployment rate remains⁵ steady.

"For the unemployment rate stays at 9.7, most of us has been expecting an increase of 9.8, maybe as high as  9.9, so that's good news."

But these numbers don't include people who have stopped looking for jobs and can only find part-time work, factor these in the jobless rate, it’s closer to 17%.

The Obama administration may force the self-confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants to be tried in a military rather than a civilian⁶ court. Sources tell NPR the White House is close to making a decision. The Justice Department announced last year that it would try the suspects in federal court in New York. That decision triggered heavy Republican and Democratic criticism.

In the country's ongoing⁸ effort to avert⁹ another 9/11 terrorist attack, the government is installing advanced body-scanning equipment at 11 more airports across the country. NPR's Brian Naylor tells us the first machines are going in at two of the country's largest airports, Boston's Logan and Chicago's O'Hare.

The full body-scanners are aimed at detecting explosives and weapons hidden underneath¹⁰ a traveler's clothing. They are being installed at airports across the country, 19 already have the equipment. In a statement, Napolitano said by accelerating the deployment¹¹ of this technology, in her words, we are enhancing our capability¹² to detect and destruct threats of terrorism across the nation. Civil libertarians have criticized the scanners as amounting to virtual strip searches. It's not clear whether the scanners could have detected the type of explosives that a Nigerian man carried in his underwear in an alleged¹³ attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas Day. The scanners are being funded by the stimulus¹⁴ bill which included money for 150 of the machines. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Washington.

Another member of Congress will not be running for reelection this year. Dan Tritle of member station WCAI has the story.

Democrat⁷ William Delahunt has represented Southeastern Massachusetts including Cape¹⁵ Cod¹⁶ and the Islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket for seven terms. The 68-year-old former prosecutor¹⁷ says he spent nearly four decades in public office and that it's a time for a change. Friends say Delahunt has been considering leaving Congress for some time but was talked out of it two years ago by his friend, the late Senator Ted² Kennedy. Delahunt was among those in Massachusetts surprised by the recent election of Republican Scott Brown to Kennedy's seat. Delahunt has been pegged¹⁸ as a liberal for many of his votes but also has been known to work comfortably with Republicans. For NPR News, I am Dan Tritle in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

The Dow is up 116 points.

This is NPR News.

At least six people are dead and more than a dozen injured following a tour bus crash south of Phoenix¹⁹ Arizona this morning. Peter O'Dowd of member station KJZZ has details.

The bus was headed west on Interstate 10 when it rear-ended a pickup²⁰ truck, veered²¹ off the road and flipped²² over. Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves says the crash happened about 25 miles south of Phoenix at 5:30 this morning.

"First responders immediately converged²³ on the scene to help those that were badly injured. There were some folks that were trapped inside the bus, so they broke some windows to get people out."

Four men and two women were killed when they were ejected from the bus. Graves says at least 15 other bus passengers were injured and taking by helicopter or ambulance to local hospitals. Graves says the bus was owned by a Los Angeles company. The trip originated in central Mexico and the crew was scheduled to change drivers in Phoenix. Meanwhile, authorities have shut down the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 as they investigate the crash. The road is expected to be close for hours. For NPR News, I am Peter O'Dowd.

The parents of a suspected gunman in last night shooting at the Pentagon reportedly warned authorities about their son. The Associated Press reports the relatives of John Patrick Bedell reported him missing in January and warned about his mental stability. Bedell opened fire on the Pentagon's subway entrance and injured two officers. The gunman was shot to death.

Chile is still getting powerful aftershocks nearly a week after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck this while emergency crews continue to search for victims. Hundreds of people were killed in the earthquake and much of central Chile's infrastructure²⁴ is in ruins. President Michelle Bachelet has said that it could take three or four years to rebuild.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 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。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

10 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

11 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

12 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

13 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

14 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

15 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。

16 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。

17 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

18 pegged   

v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的过去式和过去分词 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• They pegged their tent down. 他们钉好了账篷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She pegged down the stairs. 她急忙下楼。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

20 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

21 veered   

v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。
• The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

23 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。