NPR 2010-03-23

President Obama is expected to sign the healthcare overhaul¹ legislation into law tomorrow. The president says the House action approving the bill last night proves Americans are still capable of doing big things and tackling big challenges.

 

“We proved that this government, a government of the people and by the people, still works for the people.”

 

But many Americans are wondering how and when the new law will work for them. NPR’s Joanne Silberner reports the changes will unfold over the next few years.

 

First up, includes help for parents and people on Medicare. Parents will be able to keep their dependent children on their health insurance plans until their kids hit 26. People who have the Prescription² Drug Program through Medicare can get $250 toward drug payments in the donut hole when their insurance drops out. The bill provides five billion dollars in the next three months to set up insurance plans for people who have preexisting conditions. Insurers will no longer be able to retroactively cancel a policy after someone gets sick, unless there’s problem involved. No more co-payments would be required for preventive care, no more lifetime caps on insurance payouts and there’s an immediate³ tax credit for some small businesses that buy health insurance for their workers. Joanne Silberner, NPR News.

 

The community group ACORN⁴ says it plans to shut down in the coming months. NPR’s Pam Fessler reports the move follows months of struggle after Congress cut off federal funding to the controversial organization.

 

ACORN has been under siege since the release last year of embarrassing undercover videos. They showed ACORN workers advising a couple pretending to be a pimp and a prostitute and how to conceal⁵ their activities. Congress quickly cut off millions of dollars in funding for the group which used the money to advise low-income individuals on housing and other issues. A federal judge has since ruled that move unconstitutional, but many of ACORN state chapters have already shut down or reorganized into new groups. In a statement, ACORN says it will close its remaining state chapters by April 1st and make plans to phase out all other operations. CEO Bertha Lewis has blamed a unwarranted right-wing attack for the group's demise⁶, although ACORN officials have admitted that the group was poorly managed over the years. Pam Fessler, NPR News, Washington.

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is reaffirming the administration’s opposition⁷ to Israel’s policy of expanding Jewish settlements. Clinton says that policy endangers the process of reaching an agreement that would include establishment of a Palestinian state.

 

“A two-state solution is the only viable⁸ path for Israel to remain both a democracy and a Jewish state.”

 

Clinton speaking in Washington. Israel’s prime minister has arrived in Washington for talks tomorrow with the president.

 

Stocks are higher just before the close. Analysts⁹ say the market was bolstered¹⁰ today by gains in healthcare related stocks following last night’s vote in the House. The Dow up 51 points.

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

Vice¹¹ President Biden says the income tax refunds¹³ Americans are getting this year are up nearly 10% on average compared to last year. The IRS says the average refund¹² is just over $3,000. Biden credits the administration’s economic stimulus¹⁴ plan.

 

“Because of the Recovery Act providing $300 billion in tax cuts, millions of middle-class Americans are going to get hundreds of thousands of dollars in relief.”

 

Biden speaking at a news conference with Treasury¹⁵ Secretary Timothy Geithner who urged Americans to take advantage of every tax break to which they're entitled.

 

“Don’t leave your money on the table. The more you can claim, the more money is put back into the economy, helping¹⁶ us grow out of this crisis.”

 

The IRS says it has already paid out about $175 billion in tax refunds.

 

JetBlue Airline says it will keep its headquarters in New York City. NPR’s Margot Adler reports the decision ends a months-long competition between New York and Orlando.

 

For the last ten years, the airline which went from a small startup to being the seventh biggest airline in America has been based in New York with financial officers in Connecticut. But it has a training center in Orlando. Last year, JetBlue said it would consider moving its headquarters and in October, it said it was considering Orlando and New York. The Orlando Sentinel reported that while Orlando offered the company a package worth millions of dollars, it was not nearly enough to build a new headquarters. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

 

Google says it will not pull out of China altogether but will shift much of its search engine operations to Hong Kong off the mainland. Google’s top lawyer says the move is an effort to make good on the company’s promise to stop China’s censoring¹⁷ of searches onto Google.

 

1 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。

2 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 acorn   

n.橡实，橡子

参考例句：

• The oak is implicit in the acorn.橡树孕育于橡子之中。
• The tree grew from a small acorn.橡树从一粒小橡子生长而来。

5 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

6 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

7 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。

8 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

10 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

13 refunds   

n.归还，偿还额，退款( refund的名词复数 )v.归还，退还( refund的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Tomorrow he would return them to the store and claim refunds. 明天他要把它们退还给商店并要求退款。 来自辞典例句
• The new method means that taxpayers get refunds much faster. 这种新办法意味着纳税人可以较快地领到退还款。 来自辞典例句

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 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。

16 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

17 censoring   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Therefore, exhibitors shall not make use of these materials before censoring. 展商在审查前不可使用这些资料。
• The company then said it would end self-censoring search results, putting it at odds with Beijing. 随后该公司表示，将停止自我审查搜索结果，从而与中国政府发生对抗。