NPR 2011-08-11

 President Obama is meeting with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in the aftermath of the central bank's decision to offer extremely low interest rates for two more years, though the announcement caused the market to rally yesterday. By the day, all that went up in smoke as the market slid yet again, and attention shifted back to the economy. On Wall Street, floor trader Keith Bliss¹ says the Federal Reserve admits it's in no position to rescue the US economy.

 

"The Fed is basically out of bullets. It's similar to those Hollywood movies where you see the guy fire all his bullets, and now the only thing he has left to do is throw his gun. I think that's where we are with the Fed right now."

 

We're seeing the Dow down more than 300 points, 2.7%, at 10,920; NASDAQ down 2.2%; it's at 2,426.

 

And Europe had it even rougher than Wall Street. Average prices across the Continent dropped about 5%. NPR's Tom Gjelten says concerns about the condition of French banks prompt a sell-off.

 

First, it was Greece, then Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy, now France, a country that had its AAA credit rating reaffirmed just last weekend. But French banks have invested in some of their risky² government debt that set the root of the current problems here. The price of shares in French banks plummeted³ today, and the French government now has to worry about losing its credit standing⁴. The European problems seem never-ending. Analysts⁵ here say at this point, Germany is the only country whose finances remain strong. The question is how long the Germans will continue to shore up their neighbors. Tom Gjelten, NPR News, Madrid.

 

A suspected US drone strike hit a compound in North Waziristan, one of Pakistan's tribal⁶ agencies. There are reports that as many as two dozens suspected militants⁷ may have been killed. NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Islamabad the strike comes just days after Pakistan called for "clear terms of engagement" in the US-Pakistan relationship.

 

Neither the Pakistani army nor the local administration would confirm the attack. But local residents, speaking on condition that they'd not been named, said that between 15 and 18 people were killed when missiles fired from a drone struck the village of Khawra, just outside Miran Shah, the main city of North Waziristan. Disputing initial reports, the sources claimed that those killed were locals not militants. Typically, there are no public investigations⁸ into claims of civilian⁹ deaths. But they are increasingly straining US-Pakistan relations. Wednesday's attack is the largest since July 12th, when US drone missiles reportedly killed more than 48 militants. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

 

Let's take another look at those numbers. The Dow down 330 points now, nearly 3%, at 10,912; NASDAQ is off more than 2%; it's at 2,430; and the S&P 500 down 2.2% at 1,146. 

 

This is NPR News.

 

The US military says it has taken out the Taliban insurgents¹⁰ who downed a US helicopter over the weekend killing¹¹ 38 people, most of them American forces. Marine¹² Corps¹³ General John Allen, the top US commander in Afghanistan, says international forces tracked down the insurgents and killed them in an early Monday morning air strike.

 

New York City reportedly will require public school students as young as 11 to take sex education. The New York Times says that for the first time in nearly 20 years, middle and high schools will reinstate the program, starting this year.

 

The nation has a new poet laureate. The Library of Congress says Pulitzer Prize-winner Philip Levine will succeed W.S. Merwin in the one-year post this fall. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports the 83-year-old Levine worked in auto¹⁴ factories in Detroit as a young man.

 

As a kid, Philip Levine hated the 'prissy' poetry they taught in school. He started writing poems at 13, but he modeled his rhythms on the preachers he heard on the radio.

 

"Detroit, at the time, was probably half-Southern. And every Sunday morning you could turn on these guys - and both white and black - and they would belt out language like I never heard. I loved it."

 

Levine, who's won virtually every major prize for his work, including a Pulitzer and two Guggenheims, is celebrated¹⁵ for evoking¹⁶ the richness of ordinary American life. Here is a reading from his poem "Call It Music."

 

"The perfect sunlight angles into my little room above Willow¹⁷ Street. I listen to my breath come and go and try to catch its curious taste, part milk, part iron, part blood, as it passes from me into the world."

 

Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

1 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

2 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

3 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 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。

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

9 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。

10 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

13 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

14 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。

15 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

16 evoking   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中，但不发生症状。
• Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前，全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。

17 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。