NPR 2009-6-6

From NPR News in Washington, I am Jack¹ Speer.

President Obama today toured the Buchenwald concentration camp and crematorium. The President joined by German Chancellor² Angela Merkel said the camp where an estimated 56, 000 people died has not lost its horror with the passage of time. And he said world leaders have a duty to confront those who deny such camps existed.

"To this day, there are those who insist that the Holocaust³ never happened - a denial of fact and truth that is baseless and ignorant and hateful. This place is the ultimate rebuke⁴ to such thoughts, a reminder⁵ of our duty to confront those who would tell lies about our history."

President also called on world leaders to remain ever-vigilant to halt the spread of such evil. Mr. Obama then left for France where he'll meet tomorrow with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and help commemorate⁶ the 65th anniversary of the Allies' D-Day invasion.

Former US State Department official and his wife have been arrested and charged with spying for the Cuban government for nearly 30 years. Justice Department officials confirmed 72-year-old Walter Kendall Myers and his 71-year-old wife Gwendolyn have been charged with conspiracy⁷ to act as illegal agents of the Cuban government. Indictment⁸ handed down by the Attorney General's office in Washington alleges⁹ the pair met with Cuban President Fidel Castro in Cuba in 1995.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she hopes the trial of two journalists in North Korea is a step toward their release. NPR's Michele Kelemen has more.
TV reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee went on trial this week in North Korea. But the State Department says no observers have been allowed to attend. Secretary of State Clinton repeated calls that the two women be released.

“We're incredibly concerned on both a diplomatic and, on my behalf, a personal basis. I have met with their families and I share the grave anxiety that they feel about the safety and security of these two young women."

Clinton said she's been using all possible channels to communicate with the North Koreans about the case. The two women were arrested in March along North Korea's border with China. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

Government says the unemployment rate last month hit its highest level in more than a quarter century, rising to 9. 4% and employers cut 345, 000 jobs last month. Stuart Hoffman is an economist¹⁰ with PNC Financial Services Group. He says even though job losses appear to have moderated a bit, the unemployment rate has been its highest level since 1983.

“We were coming out of a very, very nasty recession in 1981 and 1982, so the economy was actually improving in 1983, and the unemployment rate was coming down, having reached 10.8% at the end of 1982. So it's been a long time. This time unfortunately it's going higher because we're still in the midst of a recession.” Economist Stuart Hoffman.

On Wall Street, the Dow closed up 12 points.

This is NPR.

It's been a bad week for Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown. A number of cabinet ministers resigned, one saying Brown should do so as well. And with votes still being counted in local council elections, Brown's Labor¹¹ Party has picked up less than 10% of the seats contested. Larry Miller¹² reports from London.

Prime Minister Brown put on a brave face, telling reporters he's got a new cabinet and he's not fazed by the calamities¹³ befalling his administration.

"I've got resolution. I know that when things are tough, you've gotta be tough.” Brown insists he won't be pushed out of his job that his focus will be on doing his job. “I think what people are saying to us is get us through this recession, clean up the politics of this country, and prepare our public services and our economy for the best future possible." After Brown's comments, leader of the Conservative Opposition¹⁴ David Cameron said Brown is treating the British like fools. "People who watched the events of the last 48 hours will be wondering what has happened to the authority of our government, what's happened to the authority of the Prime Minister." Brown may have stitched together a new cabinet, but he still has a rocky road ahead. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

Consumers continued to rein¹⁵ in their borrowing in April as US households look to curb¹⁶ spending in the midst of a now 18-month-long recession. Federal Reserve says its closely watched measure of consumer borrowing fell by a total of 15.7 billion dollars. That's the second biggest drop ever in dollar terms. The decline was more than double the amount expected, and shows consumers reined¹⁷ in both revolving¹⁸ and non-revolving debt.

Crude oil futures¹⁹ prices ended the day lower. The near month contract for benchmark grade crude oil was down 37 cents a barrel today to close at 68.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

3 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

4 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

5 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

6 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

7 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

8 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。

9 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

13 calamities   

n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• One moment's false security can bring a century of calamities. 图一时之苟安，贻百年之大患。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 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。

15 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

16 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

17 reined   

勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理

参考例句：

• Then, all of a sudden, he reined up his tired horse. 这时，他突然把疲倦的马勒住了。
• The officer reined in his horse at a crossroads. 军官在十字路口勒住了马。

18 revolving   

adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
• The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。

19 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。