NPR 2009-12-30

President Obama said today it’s clear that a systemic failure allowed an attempted attack in a passenger plane last week. A Nigerian man is suspected of carrying explosive device aboard Northwest Airlines plane Christmas day. It failed to detonate. Speaking in Hawaii where he and the first family are on vacation, the president said it’s clear the government needs to do a better job.

“There were bits of information available within the intelligence community that could have - and should have - been pieced together. We've achieved much since 9/11 in terms of collecting information that relates to terrorists and potential terrorist attacks. But it's becoming clear that the system that has been in place for years now is not sufficiently¹ up-to-date to take full advantage of the information we collect and the knowledge we have.”

The president said he’s ordered preliminary findings on the incident on his desk by Thursday and a comprehensive report in the coming weeks.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the US plans for a missile defense² system in Eastern Europe are hindering a new strategic arms reduction treaty between the two countries. Jessica Gallaher has the details from Moscow.

Prime Minister Putin is urging Washington to share its missile defense strategy with Moscow as part of an information exchange under a new START pact³. The Kremlin has remained wary⁴ of Washington’s plans to put land and sea-based missiles in Eastern Europe. As a result, Putin says Russia must create a new generation of offensive weapons. Many analysts⁵ expected a new missile deal to be reached during sideline talks at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen. The former president's comments contradicted President Medvedev’s announcement last week that a deal was closed at hand and show that the Prime Minister continues to shape the country’s foreign policy. Russia’s Constitution states that Medvedev should be making those types of decisions. For NPR News, I’m Jessica Gallaher in Moscow.

The S&P Case-Shiller Index reports the US home sales fell in October by more than 7% from a year ago, but they stay the same in October when compared to the previous months. NPR’s Tamara Keith reports.

The freefalling home value seemed to stop in the spring with prices slowly improving each month since. In October, though, prices didn’t budge⁶. The chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's says not to read too much into that. He said this isn’t necessarily a sign that home prices are about to take a second dip. The report shows home prices in October around the US were similar to what buyers paid in the fall of 2003. There are some bright spots. San Francesco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Phoenix⁷ are all reporting several consecutive⁸ months of positive returns. Las Vegas can't seem to get a break. Prices there have fallen for 38 months straight. Tamara Keith, NPR News, Washington.

The S&P fell one point today. The Dow was down one point and the NASDAQ dropped two points.

You’re listening to NPR News from Washington.

A fire at a major nuclear research facility in India has killed at least two people. It broke out at a chemical laboratory near Mumbai. NPR’s Philip Reeves reports.

The fire happened at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre on the outskirts⁹ of the city of Mumbai. There was reportedly a loud explosion, then the laboratory filled with smoke. The center said firefighters put out the blaze in about 45 minutes. They recovered bodies believed to have been research students. These were charred¹⁰ beyond recognition. A spokesman for the center said no nuclear reactor¹¹ was affected¹², and that the incident caused no radiation leak. India has 17 civilian¹³ nuclear reactors¹⁴ which provided about 3% of the country’s power. But it is expanding its nuclear capacity significantly. This is the second incident at the nuclear center in recent weeks. Last month, dozens of workers of an atomic power plant in southern India received medical treatment after drinking water in a cooler that was contaminated by a radioactive substance. Officials think this was a deliberate criminal act not an accident. Philip Reeves, NPR News, New Delhi.

NATO officials say a US soldier was killed in western Afghanistan today. According to an Afghan general, an Afghan soldier opened fire on foreign troops at an army base, killing¹⁵ the American. Two Italian soldiers were wounded. The Afghan soldier was wounded when NATO forces returned fire. Violence in Afghanistan has reached its highest level since the war began eight years ago.

A gunman opened fire on a checkpoint in central Iraq today. Officials say at least four guards were killed. They were members of the Sons of Iraq or Awakening¹⁶ Council, Sunni-dominated security forces backed by the government. The councils are now on the side of the government so have become the targets of militants¹⁷ in Iraq.

I’m Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

1 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

4 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

5 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。

6 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

7 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

8 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

9 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

10 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

12 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。

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

14 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

15 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。

16 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

17 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。