NPR 2009-08-26

A key national home price index released today shows a rise of nearly 3% during the second quarter although the S&P/Case-Shiller index is still down 15% from last year. NPR Yuki Noguchi reports.

The index is a composite of monthly prices in 20 major markets and it appears to show recovery through most of the country. Of those major markets, only Las Vegas and Detroit continue to decline in June. On a national basis, at least housing prices now stand at the same level as early 2003. These new numbers come on the heels of a National Association of Realtors report last week. That shows that the existing home sales increase for the fourth straight month as buyers rush to take advantage of a first-time home-buyer tax credit that expires in November. Improved home sales are one area that give economists² hope that the country has moved past the worst of the recession, although there are concerns that continued foreclosures and job losses could hurt that recovery. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News.

Consumers also appeared more confident as summer winds down. The non-profit business research group, the Conference Board says its consumer confidence index posted a bigger than expected rise this month. The board says its consumer index was up nearly 7 points, well ahead of  analysts’ expectations. However, Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s consumer research center says it's also clear the economy isn't out of the wood yet in terms of the downturn. “Hopefully we will continue to see an increase in confidence levels. Although we did have a bounce back in August, it still remains³ at very weak levels.” The August reading reverses two months of declines and is closely watched by economists since spending by consumers accounts for roughly 70% of overall US economic activity.

President Obama briefly⁴ interrupted his Martha's Vineyard vacation to announce his nomination⁵ of the Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second term. With 55-year-old Bernanke at his side, the President credited him with helping⁶ to lead the nation through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

A huge vehicle bombs exploded in the city of Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing⁷ at least three dozen people and wounding dozens more. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson says the blast occurred in a neighborhood of homes, businesses and shops.

It's a residential⁸ area, but that it has restaurants, and again it was a part of construction company, so I think it's a mixed commercial and residential area. What I'm hearing though again from the criminal investigation⁹ division head there is that three homes that have collapsed¹⁰. At the time when this attack occurred which was some time between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Kandahar Time, it is a time when families would have been sitting around breaking the traditional Ramadan fast. And so, a lot of people would have been indoors at this stage when the bomb went off. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson.

On Wall Street today the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30 points, closing at 9,539. The NASDAQ was up 6 points. The S&P 500 rose 2 points today.

This is NPR.

Some conflicting but still fairly sobering budget projections¹¹ from the White House and Congressional officials with both showing rising pools of government red ink. However, the White House Office of Management and Budget and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said today they expected the budget deficit¹² this year to approach a record 1.6 trillion dollars. That’s more than triple the 455 billion dollar deficit logged in 2008. The area where the two differ though was longer term. The White House is forecasting a 9 trillion dollar cumulative¹³ deficit through 2010 to 2019, congressional levels put that number at roughly 7 trillion dollars.

South Korea launched its first rocket today but failed to send the satellite into orbit. From Seoul, Doualy Xaykaothao reports.

The cheers and applause that greeted the rocket launch did not last long. A government minister told reporters the Korea Space Launch Vehicle 1 or Naro 1 failed to put a scientific satellite into its intended orbit. Aerospace¹⁴ researchers are still examining data to find out how the satellite went off its trajectory¹⁵. Officials were calling the historic rocket lift-off a partial success. The two-stage rocket built by South Korean and Russian scientists cost about 400 million dollars and was several years in the making. Rival North Korea launched its own rocket four months ago but that was widely seen as a disguised missile test. For NPR News, I'm Doualy Xaykaothao in Seoul.

Quarterback Michael Vick makes his preseason debut¹⁶ tonight with the Philadelphia Eagles. The three-time Pro¹ Bowller has not played in an NFL game since 2006. Vick was released from federal custody¹⁷ last month after serving 18 months of a 23-month sentence for his conviction on charges of being involved in dog fighting. It's not clear how much Vick will play in tonight's game against Jackson Bill.

1 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

2 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 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。

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 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。

7 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。

8 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

9 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。

10 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

11 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

12 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。

13 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

14 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

15 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

16 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

17 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。