NPR 2008-11-14

The Senate Banking¹ Committee held a hearing where lawmakers expressed frustration² about the continually changing Treasury³ Department program to help financial institutions. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has more.

Banks testified on how they are spending funds they've got through the government's 700-billion-dollar rescue plan. But even before the executives testified, Senators let loose their criticisms of the plan. Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd took aim at the administration's failure to accelerate the rate at which troubled mortgages are being worked out to save more people's homes. "It is still confounding to me why the Secretary of the Treasury and others refuse to understand this is the heart of the problem. And until we address this, this problem is not going to go away. “Representatives from Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JP Morgan told the committee their banks plan to ramp⁴ up lending to borrowers. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

The head of domestic automaker Chrysler is saying that without an alliance with another automaker in the US or abroad and some sort of federal funding, the company may not be able to ride out the current economic crisis. Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli said today the automaker has yet to announce how much it might seek in its second government bailout in 30 years. He said that would depend on liquidity⁵ needs and Chrysler's business plan. Nardelli suggested Detroit automakers might be able to share production and sourcing arrangements as a way to cut costs, as the government also takes equity⁶ stakes in the companies.

President-elect Barack Obama is resigning a seat as the junior US senator from Illinois effective Sunday. More from NPR's David Welna at the Capitol.

President-elect Obama's resignation from the Senate becomes effective the day before his colleagues there are to meet in a post-election lame-duck session. In a written statement, Senator Obama did not explain why he chose the day he did to step down from his Senate seat, he simply said it had been one of the highest honors and privileges of his life to have served the people of Illinois and the US Senate. The Democratic governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich will appoint a replacement⁷ to serve the remaining 2 years of the President-elect's Senate term. Senator Obama is leaving the Senate 65 days before he is to be sworn in on the steps of the US Capitol as the nation's 44th president. Vice⁸ President-elect Joe Biden who was also just reelected to his Senate seat from Delaware has not yet announced when he will formally leave the Senate. His successor will be named by Delaware's Democratic governor. David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.

The post office is feeling the heat from the weak economy. The US Postal⁹ Service announced today that it ended its current fiscal¹⁰ year   2.8 billion dollars in the red. Postmaster General John Potter said today the agency is making sharp cutbacks in hours and overtime¹¹, but he said there were currently no plans for layoffs¹². The Post Office says all told 9. 5 billion fewer items were mailed during the fiscal year that ended in September.

On Wall Street today, investors¹³ moving back in the market to buy up beaten-down shares sent top stocks soaring today. The Dow was up 552 points. This is NPR.

A UN aid agency said today it has run out of food supplies for 750, 000 Palestinians in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, that's after Israel blocked deliveries by the world body. Palestinian officials also shut down Gaza's only power plant as Israel kept commercial crossings with the coastal¹⁴ territory closed for a tenth day. Israel has blamed the closing and partial blackouts in Gaza on cross-border rocket attacks by Palestinian militants¹⁵.

Astronomers¹⁶ say they have snapped pictures of planets orbiting other stars. 2 teams are unveiling the provocative¹⁷ images today. NPR's Richard Harris has more.

Since 1995 scientists have used clever methods to detect more than 300 planets orbiting nearby stars, but getting an actual picture has been quite a trick. Now one group from UC Berkeley says it has taken a picture of a planet that sits next to a giant cloud of gas that surrounds a star called " Fomalhaut ". Another group of astronomers says it has images of 3 objects orbiting a distant star. These newly discovered planets are all giant balls of gas like Jupiter though most are likely to be much larger, in the solar system they inhabit much younger than ours. Still, it's another step in the search for planets like our own elsewhere in the universe. The new findings are published online by Science Magazine. Richard Harris, NPR News.

The number of adult Americans who smoke has fallen below 20% for the first time on record though health analysts¹⁸ say the death toll¹⁹ from cigarettes remains²⁰ high, or nearly half a million people a year dying as a result of smoking. Officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say around 19. 8% of US adults just over 43 million people were smokers²¹ in 2007.

1 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

2 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

5 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

6 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。

7 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

8 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。

9 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

10 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

11 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

12 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

14 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

15 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。

16 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

18 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。

19 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。

20 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。

21 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。