NPR 2009-4-28

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Barbara Klein.

The World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert level to four because of the outbreak of the new swine flu virus which has been confirmed in Mexico, the US, Canada, Spain and Scotland. Keiji Fukuda is WHO's Assistant Director-General.

The emergency committee unanimously felt that this was consistent with human-to-human transmission of this swine influenza¹ virus. The Phase Four Alert means health worker should elevate preparations and country should heighten preparations for more outbreaks. A total of 40 cases of the new virus have been detected in the US, 28 are in New York City. One person is hospitalized in the US. In Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, the minister of Health has ordered that all schools nationwide close as the swine flu outbreak develops. James Blears is in Mexico City.

Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova says that all school is out throughout Mexico until May 6th. Up to now this has been confined to Mexico City, the State of Mexico, the federal district and the central state of San Luis Potosi. Cases of suspected swine flu have been reported in 14 of Mexico's 32 states. Cordova also explains that of the almost 2000 people have been hospitalized with symptoms of serious pneumonia², more than half have been successfully treated and alive home. For NPR News, I'm James Blears in Mexico City.

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson says it's increasingly probable the automaker will have to restructure in bankruptcy³ court. From member station WUDET, Sarah Cwiek has details.

Henderson made that comment as he discussed GM's aggressive new restructuring plan. A central component⁴ of that plan is getting the company's bondholders to give up at least 24 billion dollars in debt for equity⁵. Henderson says the company's ability to restructure hinges on the bondholders' actions.

It's a question of whether we are successful in the bond exchange, er, and I think that's the key. The bond exchange needs to be successful in order for us to avert⁶ bankruptcy.

Henderson acknowledges it will be very difficult to convince bondholders to take major losses. The new restructuring plan also increases and accelerates the number of hourly job cuts, plant idlings, dealership⁷ closings and brand reductions GM's seeking. The automaker has until June 1st to convince the government it's viable⁸ and deserves further support or file for bankruptcy. For NPR News, I'm Sarah Cwiek, in Detroit.

Daimler AG has reached an agreement to let go of nearly 20% stake in Chrysler. Under the deal, Daimler will forgive loans and pay 200 million dollars into Chrysler’s pension plan for two years once the deal takes effect.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 51 points, to close at 8025. The NASDAQ lost 14 points, closing at 1679. The S&P fell 8 points at 857.

This is NPR News.

South-central Mexico was rocked by an earthquake today, measuring a magnitude of 5.6. The temblor was felt 130 miles away in Mexico City. There have been no reports of significant injuries or damage.

US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, a federal prosecutor⁹ known for fighting terrorists, mob bosses and ferreting out public corruption¹⁰, will continue to serve as the top federal prosecutor in the Chicago area. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.

When President Obama took office, he asked all federal prosecutors¹¹ to stand the job temporarily. Now a more official process begins, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois say he's recommending and Patrick Fitzgerald has agreed to continue to serve as US district attorney for northern Illinois. Before coming to Chicago, Fitzgerald as an assistant prosecutor in New York helped build cases against Osama bin¹² Laden¹³ and the gang Gambino crime family. Since then, some of his higher profile cases include the successful prosecution¹⁴ of former Illinois governor George Ryan and the ongoing¹⁵ investigation¹⁶ and subsequent indictment¹⁷ of now former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Fitzgerald was a special counsel in the prosecution of former White House aide Louis Scooter Libby, whose prison term was commuted¹⁸ by former President George Bush. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Chicago.

Children who take medication to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder¹⁹ do better on academic tests than kids not on medication. The study, published in the Journal Pediatrics compared two groups of children diagnosed with ADHD from kindergarten through fifth grade. The group that took medication help them focus did better than their non-medicated peers. Researchers caution the findings don't indicate all children with ADHD should take medication.

1 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

2 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

3 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

4 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

5 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

6 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

7 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

8 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

9 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

10 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。

11 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

12 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

13 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

18 commuted   

通勤( commute的过去式和过去分词 )； 减（刑）； 代偿

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment. 他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• The death sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment. 死刑可能減为无期徒刑。

19 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。