NPR 2011-04-22

President Obama's taking his domestic agenda to voters in the western US. His latest stop is Reno, Nevada, where he pledged to protect consumers from price gouging¹ in the wake of higher oil and gas costs.

"The Attorney General's putting together a team whose job is to root out any cases of fraud or manipulation in the oil markets that might affect gas prices - and that includes the role of traders and speculators."

The president will head back to California, where NPR's Ari Shapiro reports Mr. Obama earlier encountered protesters whose voices broke through the campaign rhetoric².

The Presidents Day started with a fundraiser, San Francisco St. Regis hotel. There were about 200 guests in all. Some paid more than $35,000 for breakfast with the president. A few minutes into Mr. Obama's comments, a woman stood up and said, "We wrote a song for you, Mr. President." Then the table began to sing. The chorus was "We paid our dues. Where's our change?" They held up signs that said "Free Bradley Manning." Manning has been held in solitary³ confinement⁴ for allegedly leaking documents to the website Wikileaks. The president seemed to take the protest in stride. When the song ended, he said "over the last two and a half years, change turned out to be tougher than a lot of us expected." But he added, "I could not be prouder of our track record." Ari Shapiro, NPR News, traveling with the president.

BP's agreed to provide a billion dollars to repair damage to the Gulf⁵ of Mexico's environment caused by the oil spill a year ago. More details from NPR's Christopher Joyce.

The BP money is meant to restore beaches, marshes⁶, barrier islands and wildlife habitats that were damaged by the four million barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf from the broken well. Half the money is available now with the rest due in six months. The federal government and the five Gulf states - Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama - negotiated the deal. The states will get $100 million each for projects they choose. The federal government will choose restoration projects of its own. The one billion dollars does not substitute for any damages the BP is expected to pay under a legal assessment⁷ now underway at the Department of Justice. Christopher Joyce, NPR News.

Hundreds of Libyans and foreigners were ferried to Benghazi from Misrata, Libya, site of some of the deadliest fighting in the civil war, and the bodies of two photojournalists killed yesterday in Misrata were on that ferry. British and US officials are watching in Benghazi to collect the journalists' remains⁸ to be flown out of the country.

Defense⁹ Secretary Robert Gates says President Obama is green-lighting the use of armed Predator¹⁰ drone aircraft in Libya.

"The president has said that where we have some unique capabilities¹¹, he is willing to use those, and in fact he has approved the use of armed predators¹², and I think that today may in fact have been their first mission. So I think that will give us some precision capability¹³."

NATO's still in charge of enforcing no-fly operations.

This is NPR.

New restrictions¹⁴ are under way around the nuclear plant damaged in Japan's big earthquake last month. John Matthews reports from Tokyo that authorities are preventing people from getting within 12 miles of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant without prior approval.

Government cars traveled in places like Minami Soma, broadcasting to residents inside the 12-mile zone to evacuate¹⁵ as soon as possible. According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, the ban is meant to secure the health and safety of area residents. Temporary visits will be allowed, so people can get their belongings¹⁶ except within two miles of the plant, where no one's allowed. Many residents have raised concerns that the radiation levels are by no means equal in the evacuation zone. But Edano says that prevailing¹⁷ winds could change, shifting the threat within the zone. He also says that although the situation is solely¹⁸ improving, there is potential for a further disaster, threatening the entire 12-mile area. For NPR News, I'm John Matthews in Tokyo.

Jobless claims are down from their sharp rise a week earlier in the US. The number of American filers dropped by 13,000 to a seasonally¹⁹ adjusted 403,000, a much different picture from the week before when applications rose by more than 30,000. Economists²⁰ attribute the increase in part to disruptions in the auto²¹ industry and more workers waiting until the new quarter to file for benefits.

More encouraging news for economic activity in the coming months. The Conference Board's Index of leading economic indicators²² rose 0.4% in March. That's the ninth monthly increase in a row.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 53 at 12,506, and NASDAQ had gained 18; it was at 2,820.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 gouging   

n.刨削[槽]v.凿( gouge的现在分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Banks and credit-card companies have been accused of gouging their customers. 银行和信用卡公司被指控欺诈顾客。 来自辞典例句
• If back-gouging is applied, grinding to bright metal is required. 如果采用火焰气刨，则应将其打磨至可见光亮的金属表面。 来自互联网

2 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

3 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

4 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

8 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。

9 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。

10 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

15 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

16 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

17 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

18 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

19 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

20 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

22 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。