NPR 2009-12-01

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

The health overhaul² bill now being debated in the Senate will boost average premiums³ for people who buy their own coverage⁴. That’s according to a new report but they’ll get more for their money. NPR's Julie Rovner has details.

If there was ever any doubt about just how complicated tinkering with the health care system is, here’s proof. It took the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint⁵ Tax Committee 29 single-spaced pages to explain how the Senate’s health bill would likely affect health insurance premiums. The analysis found that for the majority of people who get insurance on the job the impact will be small, ranging from no change to a reduction of 3 %. Average premiums from those who buy their own coverage could rise 10 to 13% compared to doing nothing. But they’ll get substantially more coverage for those premiums compared to insurance currently available in the individual market. And the 57% of people in that market eligible⁶ for government's subsidies⁷ will see their premiums drop by more than half. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

President Obama spent part of the weekend briefing top officials on his plan for Afghanistan and tomorrow night he will spell it out to the American people in a prime time address. The president has also been making calls to key allies in the now nine-year-old war. Mr. Obama, along with expected announcement he is sending more troops to Afghanistan, will reportedly detail an exit strategy. However, he will have to win over some Democrats⁸ in Congress who want to set conditions for additional troop deployments. According to the White House, Robert Gibbs says Mr. Obama held an unannounced meeting with members of the war council last night.

US Supreme⁹ Court has thrown out a federal appeals court ruling that ordered the release of photos showing detainees in US custody¹⁰ being abused. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

The justices sent the photo case back to the federal appeals court in New York, telling that court to examine the controversy¹¹ in light of a recent change in the law. The case began in 2003 when the Bush administration while conceding that the photos were not classified information, sought to keep them secret. The federal appeals court in New York ruled unanimously that the photos must be released and the Obama administration at first said it would not appeal. Three weeks later though, President Obama reversed course and ordered an appeal to the US Supreme Court. While the case was pending¹², the administration worked with Congress to enact¹³ a new law governing such photos. And earlier this month, Secretary Robert Gates for the first time invoked¹⁴ that law, saying that widespread distribution of the photos would endanger American soldiers. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

The Institute for Supply Management, a key purchasing managers group, says business activity in the Midwest and New York City region expanded more than expected. The group says its key index rose to more than 56. And a reading above 50 denotes economic expansion.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 34 points to end the session at 10,344. The NASDAQ was up six points today.

This is NPR.

A top Dubai financial official says Dubai World, the large conglomerate¹⁵ that last week announced it would seek a 6-month reprieve¹⁶ on billions of dollars in debt is not guaranteed by the emirate’s government. That news sent more shockwaves to already worried global markets which sold off last week on concerns a possible collapse¹⁷ could harm a number of large global banks, especially European banks. Dubai's main stock exchange fell more than 7% today. Dubai World announced it was seeking a reprieve on some 60 billion dollars in debt.

Police are still hunting for the man they think shot and killed four police officers in a coffee shop in suburban¹⁸ Tacoma, Washington yesterday. NPR's Martin Kaste reports.

Investigators¹⁹ are looking for a man named Maurice Clemmons, an ex-con from Arkansas who was facing prosecution²⁰ here in Washington State on multiple felonies. He reportedly told an associate that he wanted to kill police and watch it on the news. Meanwhile, in the small Tacoma suburb of Lakewood, Police Chief Bret Farrar made his first public statement since losing four of his officers.

"We will get through this. However, it is a very very tough time for us and the families of our fallen officers. In that respect I had the opportunity to meet with the families yesterday and it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And I hope I never have to do it again."

The police officers were shot while sitting in a coffee shop, working on their laptops. Officials are calling the killings²¹ "an execution". Martin Kaste, NPR News, Seattle.

For Notre Dame²² Football coach Charlie Weis the hammer fell today. The Notre Dame announcing it is firing Weis who has been estimated six years left on his current contract in a buyout that could reach as much as 18 million dollars. Weis finishes his career with a 35-27 record.

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 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。

3 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

7 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》

8 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》

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

11 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

12 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

13 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

14 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

16 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

17 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。

18 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

19 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

21 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

22 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。