NPR 2008-03-29

From NPR News in Washington, I am Jack¹ Speer.

 

On the fourth day of an intense fighting between Iraqi forces and Shiite militia² loyal to Muqtada Al-Sadr, the US has increasingly been sucked into the conflict. NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston reports from Baghdad.

 

Amid reports that the Iraqi security services in Basra and Baghdad were having trouble fighting followers³ of Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, coalition⁴ forces swept in. In the Mahdi army stronghold of Sadr city, an US chopper came in firing Hellfire missiles, after Iraqi forces called for help. Down south, in the oil-rich city of Basra, US pilots conducted their first air strikes. They bombed some areas of Basra after Iraqi forces called for reinforcements. One official said security forces have been surprised by the resistance they've encountered from Sadr’s forces. The concern at this point is that the US help will draw the US and its allies into an internal battle between Shiites in Iraq. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR news, Baghdad.

 

At a White House news conference today, following a meeting with the prime minister of Australia, President Bush termed the decision by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to launch an offensive in Basra "conformation of his leadership capabilities⁵". President described the situation in Iraq as a defining moment in the history of Iraq. Mr. Bush also said that while conditions there are dangerous, he said it does not alter the administration’s mission in the region.

 

Barack Obama picked up an endorsement⁶ in Pennsylvania today. The state’s junior Senator Democrat⁷ Bob Casey said he is now backing the Illinois senator. Casey made the announcement standing⁸ with Obama in Pittsburgh. He also planned to appear with Obama at other events in the state which holds a Democratic primary April 22nd. NPR’s David Greene has more.

 

Hillary Clinton’s been leading in the polls in Pennsylvania and she enjoys support from big name Democrats⁹ like Governor Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter¹⁰, but Senator Bob Casey decided¹¹ to go another direction.

 

"I believe in my heart that there’s one person who’s uniquely qualified¹² to lead us in a new direction and that’s Barack Obama."

 

Casey favors gun rights and he also opposes abortion¹³ and some of the people who supported him, Catholics and working-class white voters, are groups Obama has struggled to win over in other states. Before endorsing¹⁴ Obama Casey said he gave Hillary Clinton a heads-up by phone. Casey also had some kind words for Clinton in the speech, calling her a great leader. David Greene, NPR News, Washington.

 

Federal Reserve has announced plans to auction¹⁵ off another 100 billion dollars to troubled commercial banks as it seeks to get the still largely frozen credit markets unstuck. The Fed, which to the end of this month has already provided more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in liquidity¹⁶ to banks do short-term loans, says it plans to auction off the additional capital to banks next month.

 

A tough end of the week for Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 86 points today, for the week the Dow lost just over 1 percent.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to meet next week with House Republican leaders while he'll discuss the current problems baffling the US economy. House minority leader John Banner said today the meeting with the Fed Chairman will focus on the threat posed by the slowdown in the housing market. The meeting has tentatively been scheduled for next Tuesday.

 

In the City of Brotherly Love, they appeared to be taking a somewhat unique approach to the housing crisis. Philadelphia Sheriff John Green announced today the city plans to halt sales of foreclosed properties in April in an effort to give struggling homeowners some relief. Green said the city will also seek a court order extending a moratorium¹⁷ on the sales of foreclosed upon properties for an as-yet-unspecified time.

 

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 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

3 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。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 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。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 nutter   

n.疯子

参考例句：

• Don't call him nutter because it is such a bad term.别叫他“疯子”，这不是个好词。
• But it's awfully ruthless and cold-blooded for a nutter from the other side.但是对那边的疯子们来说，却也实在太冷血无情了。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

13 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

14 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

15 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

16 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。

17 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。