NPR 2010-04-02

President Obama is on a quest to get skeptical¹ Americans on board with new health care law. In Portland, Maine this afternoon, the president echoed key selling points of that law: greater accountability for insurers, coverage² for millions more Americans, and hefty savings³ for the economy.

 

“And over time, costs will come down for families, businesses, and the federal government, reducing our deficit⁴ by more than one trillion dollars over the next two decades. That’s what this reform will do.”

 

But Republicans including two Senators from Maine say the plan at the cost of nearly a trillion dollars over ten years will burden the economy and affect job growth.

 

The Obama administration’s setting tougher gas mileage⁵ standards for new cars and trucks. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, in signing final rules that raise mileage standards by 5% a year. Automakers also have to make sure cars and trucks emit about 5% less in greenhouse gases annually⁶. LaHood says it’s a win-win proposition.

 

“Putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road isn’t just the right thing to do for our environment, it’s also a great way for Americans to save a lot of money at the pump.”

 

The rules are supposed to be fully⁷ implemented⁸ by 2016. The new rules are expected to bolster⁹ development of gas-electric hybrids¹⁰ and efficient engines.

 

That once-a-decade head count of Americans is back around again and today’s especially important. It’s the reference point for census¹¹ data, as NPR’s Howard Berkes reports.

 

Today is the day that counts when filling out census forms since the data referred to in response to census questions, including where you live and the size of your household. But it’s not a deadline day. There are still several weeks before the failure to return a form triggers a visit from a census taker. The Census Bureau has events scheduled around the country today to urge people who’ve already received forms to fill them out and mail them back. About half the mail forms have been returned so far. The states with the highest mail-back rates are the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska. More than 60% of the forms delivered in those states have been returned. The lowest return rates are down near 40% in Puerto Rico, Alaska and Washington, D.C. Howard Berkes, NPR News.

 

Flood damage assessment’s underway in New England, especially in Rhode Island where the governor said it experienced the worst flooding in some 200 years. Some financially strapped¹² businesses may be forced to close for good after enduring extensive damage from recent storms.

 

We are seeing another drop in the number of Americans who file their first unemployment claims. A Labor¹³ Department report shows applications for jobless insurance dropped last week by 6,000 to a seasonally¹⁴ adjusted 439,000. By the way, we’re expecting the monthly jobs report to be out tomorrow.

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up more than 70 points at 10,927.

 

This is NPR News.

 

In an unannounced trip, Russia’s president has gone to Dagestan today, a day after 12 people were killed in twin bombings in the southern Russian republic. The trip also came three days after suicide bombers¹⁵ struck the Moscow subway system and killed 39 people. As Peter Van Dyk reports from Moscow, the Russian leader is calling for harsher methods to fight terrorism.

 

President Dmitry Medvedev flew into Dagestan’s capital for an emergency meeting with security officials and regional leaders. He outlined his strategy to more effectively fight terrorism in Russia’s North Caucasus, including by strengthening security agencies and the courts, helping¹⁶ people who want to leave militant¹⁷ groups, and developing the region’s economy. Medvedev has been trying to improve the security situation in the North Caucasus with social and economic initiatives, but too little effect. He was accompanied by the head of Russia’s Security Service who said several suspects had been arrested over the attacks in Moscow and Dagestan, and that the organizers had been identified. A militant leader in Chechnya has claimed responsibility for the Moscow subway bombings. For NPR News, I’m Peter Van Dyk in Moscow.

 

In China, state media reporting a gas explosion killed at least 12 people in central China today. Authorities say 32 other people are believed missing. This as rescuers search for victims at another mining site in northern China. On Sunday, more than 150 people were trapped underground when the shaft¹⁸ they were working in flooded.

 

In the US, a latest snapshot of new projects: Builders scale back faster than expected in February. Construction spending fell 1.3% to their lowest point in eight years.

 

I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.
 

1 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

2 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。

3 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

4 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

5 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？

6 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

10 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句

11 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

12 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

15 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

18 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。