NPR 2008-03-28

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack¹ Speer.

In the wake of fierce fighting between Shiite militiamen and security forces, officials in Baghdad have now put in place a weekend curfew in an effort to calm things down. The BBC's Crispin Thorold is in Baghdad. He says it shows the extent of the violence there.

All movement has been banned in Baghdad from now until early on Sunday morning. The enforcement of curfew is an indication of how insecure the capital has become. There have been several clashes here, including one between American forces and the fighters from the Mahdi Army. Throughout the day, rockets and mortars² were fired towards the Green Zone where the governments and embassies are based. Many reached their targets, but some fell short, killing³ civilians⁴. There has also been extensive fighting in Basra, where the number of dead has risen steeply. Local people say that they're beginning to run out of food and water. The BBC's Crispin Thorold.

Among the dead today was a US government official killed in a rocket attack. The violence comes as followers⁵ of radical⁶ Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have gone on the offensive after a government crackdown against his military forces in Basra.

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton unveiled a new economic proposal at a campaign stop in North Carolina today. From member station WUNC, Laura Leslie reports.

Clinton kicked off her primary campaign in North Carolina at one of the state's top community colleges, where she announced a 2.5-billion-dollar initiative for workforce⁷ training. Clinton said she will start a universal assistance program to help retrain all workers who lose their jobs. And she wants to offer financial aid to workers who are still employed. "You shouldn't have to produce a pink slip to get help training for a new higher paying job, you should be able to get help while you are still in the job that you currently have." Clinton also proposed universal tax deferred⁸ retirement⁹ accounts for workers whose employers don't offer 401k(s). She says she'll pay for the programs by cutting corporate¹⁰ tax subsidies¹¹ for oil and drug companies. For NPR News, I'm Laura Leslie in Raleigh.

Speaking in New York today, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama outlined his plan to boost the lagging economy. Along with calling for an overhaul¹² of government regulation on Wall Street, the Democratic frontrunner also proposed a 30-billion-dollar economic stimulus¹³ package to help rescue homeowners on the brink¹⁴ of losing their homes. "It's not a windfall for borrowers, as they will have to share any capital gain. Instead, it offers a responsible and fair way to help bring an end to the foreclosure crisis." Obama made his remarks not far from Wall Street which has been affected¹⁵ by problems in the housing market and the ongoing¹⁶ credit crunch¹⁷. He said it shows problems long faced by middle class Americans are now being felt more widely.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 120 points to end the session at 12,302. The NASDAQ dropped 43 points today, the S&P 500 was down 15 points.

This is NPR.

All Americans crossing the border from Canada and Mexico by land will soon be required to show a passport or similar secure document. That's beginning in June of next year. That's according to a new rule announced today by the Homeland Security Department. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

The rule is no surprise. The department has been phasing in stricter ID requirements at the border for a few years. In January, travelers had to start showing either a passport or some other proof of citizenship¹⁸ such as a birth certificate. But many border state lawmakers and businesses think the stricter passport requirement will be an impediment to cross border travel and trade. Congress passed legislation last year forbidding the department from implementing¹⁹ the new rules before June 1st, 2009. And then, only if steps are taken to ease the transition. The Homeland Security Department says it will accept a new secure driver's license²⁰ issued by Washington State as an alternative to the passport requirement. The agency is negotiating similar deals with other border states. Pam Fessler, NPR News, Washington.

State police around the Charlottesville Virginia area say they are still looking for multiple suspects in a number of vehicles, after an incident where vehicles were fired upon on the interstate highway there. The shootings left several people injured, apparently²¹ none critically. The incident has resulted in the shutdown of a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 64 for around 6 hours this morning. Police say they have no motive²² for the shootings.

Well, the economy appears to have dodged²³ the traditional definition of recession for now to find its back-to-back quarters of negative growth clearly was decelerating sharply in the final 3 months of last year. In its final reading of fourth quarter economic growth, the government says the economy grew at just a six-tenths of a percent rate.

I'm Jack Speer, NPR News, in Washington.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

3 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。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

7 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

8 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

9 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

10 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

11 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

14 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

17 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

18 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

19 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

20 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

21 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。

22 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

23 dodged   

v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He dodged cleverly when she threw her sabot at him. 她用木底鞋砸向他时，他机敏地闪开了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He dodged the book that I threw at him. 他躲开了我扔向他的书。 来自《简明英汉词典》