NPR 2009-02-23

The nation's Republican governors are expressing sharply different views about whether to accept federal funding from the administration's stimulus¹ plan and about how best to respond to the nation’s economic crisis. The National Governors Association is meeting in Washington. NPR's Kate Davidson has more.

The Republican governors of Louisiana and Mississippi say they won't take stimulus funds designed to expand state unemployment insurance. Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina told Fox News Sunday he may not either, and he disparaged² the overall plan. "All this money is going to be borrowed from the future, from future generations, from social security. So in essence, we're digging yet another hole for ourselves with regard to unsustainable spending." But moderate Republicans started to push back on a television circuit. California's Arnold Schwarzenegger was questioned about Sanford's opposition³ during an appearance on ABC. "A lot of my colleagues look at this differently. I look at it in a more optimistic way, and I feel very strongly that I think that President Obama right now needs team players."  He also said he'd be more than happy to take any money the others won't. Kate Davidson, NPR News, Washington.

Heads of government and finance ministers from European Union countries were meeting in Berlin today to work out a coordinated⁴ approach to dealing⁵ with the global economic downturn. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso: "We have to achieve a higher level of coordination⁶ and implement⁷ our own decisions based on our agreed frameworks from Stability and Growth Pact⁸ to the internal market to all the principles that are so important for our union." The leaders called for getting tough with tax savings⁹ and for imposing¹⁰ strict oversight¹¹ on all financial markets. The meeting was a prelude¹² to an economic conference in April of the so-called Group of 20 nations, which includes the US, China and Japan as well as developing nations such as India and Brazil.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is headed back to the US after wrapping up her Asian trip by attending a church service in Beijing and meeting with Chinese women's leaders. She also suggested that by buying more US treasury¹³ bonds China would be helping¹⁴ its own economy. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Beijing.

In an interview with local media, Secretary Clinton said that buying more US government debt would help the US fiscal¹⁵ stimulus package, which would in turn create more demand for Chinese exports. Clinton also joined in an online chat in which she urged China to adopt greener technologies as it develops its economy. "I mean, the people in China deserve to have a rising standard of living. We just don't want you to make the same mistakes we made." Clinton also met with women's leaders, including 82-year-old AIDS activist¹⁶ Dr. Gao Yaojie and other NGO workers whom she'd met on previous visits to China. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Beijing.

US and Iraqi forces have begun a new offensive in northern Iraq that's aimed at rooting out al-Qaeda militants¹⁷ and other insurgents¹⁸. An Iraqi general says already more than 80 suspected militants have been rounded up.

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A grenade, that witnesses say was thrown by someone riding a motorbike, exploded in a crowded square in Cairo that's popular with tourists today. A French woman was killed and 20 other people were injured. Most of the victims were foreign tourists. After the blast, police found another grenade and managed to detonate it safely.

Democratic Senator Roland Burris of Illinois has been trying to keep a low profile this weekend amid calls for his resignation and a report that he was questioned yesterday in connection with the federal investigation²⁰ of the state's ousted²¹ governor Rod Blagojevich. NPR's Allison Keyes has the story.

Burris was reportedly interviewed at his attorney's Chicago office Saturday for several hours. It's part of an ongoing²² federal corruption²³ investigation into whether Blagojevich tried to sell the Senate seat formerly²⁴ held by President Barack Obama and now occupied by Burris. Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune both report Burris is not a target of that probe. But Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and others have called for Burris to resign amid apparent inconsistencies in the senator's descriptions of his contacts with Blagojevich's office before being appointed to the seat. But Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, a fellow Democrat¹⁹, is trying to minimize the controversy²⁵. "Give him an opportunity to be able to explain himself." A spokeswoman for Burris declined to comment. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

Crowds of movie fans are already gathering²⁶ outside the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, the site of tonight's Academy Awards ceremony. Bleacher seats along a red carpet were allocated²⁷ by a lottery²⁸ system. The film Slumdog Millionaire is nominated for 10 awards including Best Picture. Its competitors in that category are the films Frost/Nixon, Milk, the Reader, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

1 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。

2 disparaged   

v.轻视( disparage的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低；批评；非难

参考例句：

• French-Canadian fur trappers and Sioux disparaged such country as "bad lands. " 法语的加拿大毛皮捕兽器和苏人的贬低国家作为“坏土地”。 来自互联网
• She disparaged her student's efforts. 她轻视她的学生做出的努力。 来自互联网

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

7 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

8 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。

9 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。

10 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

11 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

12 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

13 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

16 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

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。

18 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

19 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。

20 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

21 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

22 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。

23 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

24 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

25 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。

26 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

27 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

28 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。