NPR 2009-12-25

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

The Senate has approved the most sweeping¹ change to the nation’s health care system in decades. On a party-line vote of 60-39, this morning Senate Democrats² pushed through President Obama’s plan to provide coverage³ for virtually all Americans. It marks a political milestone⁴ for President Obama who today said the government was finally poised⁵ to deliver on the promise of better healthcare.

“What makes it so important is not just its cost savings⁶ or its deficit⁷ reductions. It’s the impact reform will have on Americans who no longer had to go with out a checkup for prescriptions⁸ that they need because they can’t afford them, on families who no longer have to worry that a single illness will send them into financial ruin and on businesses that will no longer face exorbitant⁹ insurance rates that hamper¹⁰ their competitiveness. “

But Republicans warned the legislation will lead to an economic train wreck¹¹ and were vowing¹² to keep the bill from becoming law.

The top executives of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could get paid as much as 6 million dollars for their work this past year. The plans for executive pay were reviewed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. NPR’s Tammer Keith reports.

Fannie and Freddie were seized by regulators back in September of 2008 and so far have gotten more than 100 billion dollars in taxpayer¹³ money to stay afloat. The new executive pay packages were worked out in consultation¹⁴(后面有)…

during childbirth leaving Sean(Sean Goldman) in the custody¹⁵ of her Brazilian family. US government had regarded the case as an abduction. A Brazilian judge earlier this week ruled the boy should be returned to his father.

A blast of wintery weather swept across the northern Great Plains today, canceling nearly 100 flights in Minneapolis St. Paul Airport and making road travel difficult ahead of the Christmas holiday. Minnesota Public Radio’s Tem Nelson has more.

Forecasters are calling for as much as 22 inches of snow from central Iowa to the Canadian border by the time the storm winds down on Saturday morning. Travelers drove through 6 inches of snow today and started lining¹⁶ up at the airport in the Twin Cities before 5:00 to trying to beat the worst of the storm. Glint Sanchez of Eden Prairie, Minnesota was heading to visit his family in Florida.

“Really anxious to get on the plane and get out of Minnesota coz I guess they’re talking late today, tomorrow it’s like gonna be non-stop snow. So, so, yeah I think snow might get in this coming.”

Scores of flights were cancelled overnight because of the storm, but lines were moving quickly at the airport and flights that could get out were mostly on schedule. For NPR News, I’m Tem Nelson in St. Paul.

The traditional Christmas’ Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica was briefly¹⁷ interrupted when Vatican authorities say a woman jumped barriers, knocking down Pope Benedict XVI as he walked down the main aisle¹⁸ to begin the service. However the officials say the 82-year-old pontiff was not hurt and got up to resume his walk to the basilica's main altar. Officials say the woman who they say appeared to be mentally unstable¹⁹ was taking into custody.

On Wall Street today the Dow Jones industrial Average rose 54 points. The NASDAQ was up six points.

This is NPR.

A report that Apple may be about to hit the market with a new product sent shares of the company stock to an all-time high today. The Financial Times citing sources says that Apple has rent a space for several days in late January at an art center in San Francisco. Apple is known for its highly staged product launches and reportedly may be working on a new product. Some say it’s a cross between a laptop computer and an iPod touch. The company has not commented on any new products launches.

Top executives of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could get paid as much as 6 million dollars for their work this past year. The plans for executive pay were reviewed in filings with Security and Exchange Commission today. NPR's Tammer Keith reports.

Fannie and Freddie were seized by regulators back in September of 2008 and so far have gotten more than 100 billion dollars in taxpayer money to stay afloat. The new executive pay packages were worked out in consultation with the Obama administration’s so called Pay Czar. The CEOs will each receive 900,000 dollars in base salary, 3.1 million in deferred²⁰ payments and another 2 million in bonuses if they meet certain goals. In a statement, the firm’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said that on average compensation at Fannie and Freddie for 2009 was down 40% from before the government take over. But the director of the agency insisted the multi-million dollars pay packages were needed to attract and retain talent. Tammer Keith, NPR News, Washington.

Crude oil futures²¹ prices moved higher today. Oil was up a dollar and 38 cents a barrel to settle at just over 78 dollars a barrel in New York.

I' m Jack²² Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 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》

3 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。

4 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

5 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

6 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

9 exorbitant   

adj.过分的；过度的

参考例句：

• More competition should help to drive down exorbitant phone charges.更多的竞争有助于降低目前畸高的电话收费。
• The price of food here is exorbitant. 这儿的食物价格太高。

10 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

11 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

12 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

13 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。

14 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

15 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。

16 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

17 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

18 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

19 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

20 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

21 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。

22 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。