NPR 2011-08-16

 President Obama is on an economic bus tour through America's heartland , looking to build support at a time when voters were way down by high unemployment and reports pointing to more trouble ahead for the economy. NPR's Scott Horsley says the president is trying to make headway in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

 

At an outdoor town hall meeting in Cannon¹ Falls, Minnesota, Mr Obama says the US remains² the envy of the world despite its less x economic record. He argues there's no shortage of debt that government could take to reduce the high unemployment rate. And he complains that part of gridlock in congress is keeping those ideas bottled up.

 

"There's nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed³. What's broken is our politics".

 

Mr Obama repeated his call for extension of the payroll⁴ tax cut, new trade agreements and financing republic works projects. On Tuesday he'll host a forum⁵ devoted⁶ to rural economic development in Iowa, Scott Horsley , NPR news, travelling with the president.

 

Still no major relief insight for the housing market if today's report is any indication. Home builders remained pessimistic there will be a turnaround. The National Association of Home Builders says its index remains  unchanged on August 15. But chief economist⁷ David Crowe says some home builders are finding a couple of areas of opportunity.

 

"A few builders are going into remodeling. That 's one bright spot right now and the multifamily sector⁸ and the apartment rental⁹ sector is showing a little more light as we get more renters in market place."

 

Any reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment and it has not reached that level since April of 2006. 

 

Flags are flying at half staff in Indiana for the 5 people killed and dozens more injured over the weekend when a stage collapsed¹¹ at the Indiana State Fair. Today the ground is turned into a memorial gathering¹² attended by victims' families, politicans and first responders. Sarah Wittmeyer reports from member station WFIU that the death toll¹³ Saturday could have been higher if not for the many spectators who quickly pitched in the hall.

 

It's been called a fluke but adverse¹⁴ to win that tour staged at Indiana State Fair Saturday left behind a trail of devastation¹⁵ as the stage crashed down. Spectators waiting to see a concert by the country music duo surgerland rushed to lift scafolding off people and helped those who were injured.  Junie Byrd's son Nathan was running the spotlight¹⁶ on the top of the stage. He died in the collapse¹⁰.

 

"Everybody left anything. He was sent by Jesus, whether they are strangers or anybody. And he was a hardworker."

 

The fair was closed Sunday at the respect for the victims but at today's ceremony governor Mitch Daniels said it was important for Hoosiers to get back to the business of living. For NPR news, I'm Sarah Wittmeyer in Bloomington Indiana.

 

This is NPR news.

 

Oil continues to spill into the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. NPR's Philip Reeves reports it's one of largest x in the last decade.

 

Oil's leaking from a flow line to a platform operated by Shell UK just over 100 miles east of the Scottish coast. Shell's not sure how much it has been spilt since the leak began last Wednesday. But it estimated about 1300 barrels. This is small when compared with the Golf of Mexico disaster but say Shell and also Britain's energy department substantial by the standard of operaters in the North Sea. Shell expects the spilt oil to be broken up by wave action before hitting shore. But environmental groups remain worried it will harm wild life at sea. Philip Reeves, NPR news, London.

 

The Associated Press is reporting a theft of thousands of sacks of food aid intended for Somalia's famine victims. It says the UN world food program is investigaing how the food ended up solding in markets. The same neighbourhoods were people dying of hunger. The AP reports said in one of the refugee camps some families alleged¹⁷ food aid will be snatched from them once journalists took their picutres with it. WFP says there's no way that can suspended this operation given the scale and intensity¹⁸ of the famine crisises. UN says more than 3 million Somalis need food aid.

 

Google is acquiring Motorola Mobility¹⁹ giving the internet browsing²⁰ giant direct control over the maker²¹ of many of its Android phones. The 12.5-billion- dollar deal is Google's biggest acquisition yet.

 

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up more than 200 points nearly 2% at 11,483.

1 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

2 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。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

5 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

6 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

7 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。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

11 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

12 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

13 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

14 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

15 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

17 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

18 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

19 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

20 browsing   

v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• He sits browsing over[through] a book. 他坐着翻阅书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cattle is browsing in the field. 牛正在田里吃草。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。