NPR 2008-10-01

President Bush again took to the airwaves today, urging those in Congress to settle their differences and move forward on a 700-billion-dollar financial rescue package. The president, speaking before the stock market opened, said despite yesterday's failure by the House to approve a bill, it is "not the end of the legislative¹ process". And Mr Bush vowed² to keep pushing for a solution. "If our nation continues on this course, the economic damage will be painful and lasting³."

Optimism the Congress may be moving closer to a solution gave the financial markets a lift, one day after Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its single biggest one day point drop ever losing 777 points. There was a relief rally today on Wall Street, the Dow getting back more than half of those losses. On Wall Street the Dow was up 485 points, a 4.7% gain today. The NASDAQ rose 98 points. The S&P 500 closed up almost 58 points today.

Even with Wall Street's optimism, New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg says he doesn't expect Congress to agree on any major changes to the rescue package voted down by the House. New Hampshire Public Radio's Josh Rogers has more.

As the lead Senate negotiator, Judd Gregg has been in the thick of the bailout talks from the beginning. Speaking this morning, Gregg predicted that any move to significantly change the plan would be a non-starter. "Can it be adjusted dramatically? No, it cannot be adjusted at the fringes for it to give people political cover. I suppose so. But it's hard to believe that people need cover in order to cast that type of result." Gregg says he understands the public's distrust of Washington and Wall Street but argues that without the rescue proposal he likens to a tourniquet⁵, the economy will continue to weaken. Gregg added that spending up to 700 billion dollars to buy up bad assets could end up making the government money. He picks taxpayer⁶ losses in yesterday's market plunge⁷ at over $1.3 trillion. For NPR News, I'm Josh Rogers in Concord⁸, New Hampshire.

Despite a roller coaster week on Wall Street and the collapse⁹ of high-profile financial institutions, consumer confidence ticked up slightly in September, NPR's Scott Newman reports.

By the numbers Americans were slightly more upbeat about the economy in September. But the numbers are a bit misleading. Firstly, while the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index posted an ever so slight increase from August, it still hovers¹⁰ near a sixteen-year low. Secondly¹¹ and more important, the figure is out of sync with the latest dramatic events on Wall Street. The data was compiled a week ago before the full brunt of the financial sector¹² meltdown was known. Meanwhile consumers have plenty else to focus on. Home equity¹³ continues to plummet¹⁴. The Case-Shiller Housing Index just out shows housing prices falling at their steepest rate in years. Scott Newman, NPR News, Washington.

Crude oil futures¹⁵ ended the session higher. Futures were up $4. 27 a barrel to end the day at $100.64.

This is NPR.

An Alaska judge is now scheduled to hear arguments on whether to halt an abuse of power investigation¹⁶ involving Republican vice¹⁷ presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The investigation centers around allegations that while a governor, Palin acted improperly¹⁸, ousting¹⁹ her public safety commissioner²⁰ after he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper who'd been involved in a messy divorce with her sister. The judge has scheduled a hearing after five state Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit²¹ claiming the investigation by the Alaska legislature has been tainted²² by partisan²³ politics.

Efforts to produce more oil shale²⁴ in the US could move forward after tonight. Steve Zelaznik of member station KDNK explains.

Oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming is estimated to hold more energy than Saudi Arabia. The federal government created draft rules this summer but Congress banned those rules from being finalized²⁵. That ban expires tonight so the federal government can move ahead with commercial leases. But energy companies haven't found a technology that works. Democratic Senator Ken⁴ Salazar of Colorado says too many questions are unanswered. "How much water is gonna be consumed by commercial oil shale development? How much energy is it going to take to heat up the oil shale in place? Where is that energy going to come from?  None of those questions have been answered." The federal government is expected to issue final regulations in December. It could be years before any leases are granted. For NPR News, I'm Steve Zelaznik in Carbondale, Colorado.

 Federal prosecutors²⁶ say they'll take a look at a fatal shooting carried out by police in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. US attorney says his office, the Justice Department and the FBI are examining the case. At issue was an incident where seven city police officers were accused of gunning down several men on a bridge. Survivors²⁷ of the incidents said the individuals were not armed and crossing to get food.

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

5 tourniquet   

n.止血器，绞压器，驱血带

参考例句：

• Twist the tourniquet tighter.把止血带扎紧点。
• The tourniquet should occlude venous and lymphatic return.止血带应阻断静脉及淋巴回流。

6 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

7 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

8 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

9 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。

10 hovers   

鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovers in the sky. 一只老鹰在天空盘旋。
• A hen hovers her chicks. 一只母鸡在孵小鸡。

11 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

12 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。

13 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

14 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

15 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

16 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

17 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

18 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

19 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

20 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

21 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

22 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

24 shale   

n.页岩，泥板岩

参考例句：

• We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
• Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。

25 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

27 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者