NPR 2012-03-30

 More children are being diagnosed with an autism spectrum¹ disorder² at a higher rate than ever before. Coleen Boyle, a director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says the CDC has just released a report indicating an alarming increase.

 

“One in 88 children has been identified with autism. This represents a 23% increase since our last report,” which was more than six years ago. The rate of autism spectrum disorders³ among boys is one in 54, nearly five times that of girls. The higher numbers are due in large part to better screening and reporting. 

 

The GOP-led House is approving a 3.5-trillion-dollar budget plan that would overhaul⁴ Medicare, make cuts on a wide range of programs and rejects removing tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. It is expected to be voted down in the Senate. 

 

Weekly jobs claims are down again to their lowest level in nearly four years. Details from NPR's Chris Arnold.

 

The numbers for last week were better than expected, though the prior week was revised upwards⁵. Gus Faucher is an economist⁶ with PNC Financial Services Group. He says the unemployment situation is continuing to improve.

 

“The economy’s been creating more than 200,000 jobs on net every month. That's good news. We still got a long way to go. We’re still down by more than five million jobs from where we were prior to the recession, but that process has picked up recently.”   

 

The big question is whether that pickup⁷ will continue. Many economists⁸ are a bit worried about more sluggish⁹ overall economic growth numbers as well as higher gas prices. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

 

Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas billionaire whose 15 million dollars in super PAC money has sustained Newt Gingrich's presidential bid, says Gingrich now appears to be [slip] running out of time. NPR's Peter Overby says Adelson assessed all of the GOP candidates Tuesday during a conference at one of his casino hotels.

 

The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles posted video of Adelson talking with reporters at the conference. Adelson said Gingrich is a bold decision maker¹⁰, while Mitt¹¹ Romney is not. But he said the GOP nomination¹² seems to have slipped beyond Gingrich's reach.

 

“It appears as though he's at the end of his line.”

 

Adelson said he talked with Romney and Gingrich about forming a ticket, but realized that politically it wouldn't work. And as for Rick Santorum. 

 

“I know Rick. I like him. We’re friendly. But I got to tell you something, I don't want him to run my country.”

 

Adelson said he considered Santorum too hard-line on social issues, and he said Santorum doesn't have the entrepreneurial experience of creating things and taking risks. Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington.

 

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 21 points at 13,147; NASDAQ was down ten at 3,095; and the S&P 500 down two points.

 

This is NPR News.

 

The Arab League is holding its annual summit in Iraq for the first time in a generation. In the pursuit of regional security, ministers are endorsing¹³ a UN-backed peace plan to end the year-old conflict in Syria. But as NPR's Kelly McEvers reports from Baghdad, attendees were reminded of the security threats that exist just outside their gathering¹⁴.

 

Standing¹⁵ here on the lawn just outside the palace where the summit is taking place, we did hear a couple of booms, and it was confirmed that they were either mortar¹⁶ or rocket fire near the Iranian embassy, which is not far from the site here, but that there were no casualties.

 

NPR's Kelly McEvers.

 

The French oil company, Total, says it's figured out the source of a major gas leak beneath one of its platforms in the North Sea. NPR's Philip Reeves says it could take months to fix.

 

Total says the leak is in an old plugged well at a rock formation 4,000 meters down. Flammable gas is bubbling up to the surface, forming a large cloud around Total's Elgin platform, 150 miles east of Scotland. There are fears the gas could explode. Total's evacuated¹⁷ all the platform's 700 workers. It's also sent a couple of firefighting ships to stand by outside a two-mile exclusion¹⁸ zone that's been set up to protect shipping¹⁹. There's speculation²⁰ the gas might be ignited by a flare²¹ that’s still burning at the top of the platform, though Total’s been trying to ease these worries, saying the winds pushing the gas in the opposite direction. The main casualty so far is Total's share price. It's been dented²² by fears the company could end up with a big repair bill. Philip Reeves, NPR News.

 

US stocks ending the day mixed apparently²³ with the Dow up 21, while NASDAQ is off ten.

 

This is NPR News.

1 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

6 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。

7 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

8 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》

9 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

10 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。

11 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

12 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

13 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 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。

16 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

17 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

18 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

19 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

20 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

21 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

22 dented   

v.使产生凹痕( dent的过去式和过去分词 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）

参考例句：

• The back of the car was badly dented in the collision. 汽车尾部被撞后严重凹陷。
• I'm afraid I've dented the car. 恐怕我把车子撞瘪了一些。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。