NPR 2010-10-06

US stocks hit the 200-mark, reflecting sharp gains all day. University of Maryland Professor Peter Morici says the gains are due in large part to a rise in the service sector¹ and news out of Japan that the central bank moved to lower interest rates to near zero.

“There's pent-up demand for stocks. The profitability of American equities² has been moving up, but values haven't. Now, this is an excuse to buy, with the Bank of Japan cutting interest rates and the Fed likely to follow with quantitative³ easing. It means stocks will be more attractive. Hence, stocks will rise.”

And at last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 187 points, falling back a bit; it's at 10,938. NASDAQ up 55 at 2,400.

The man who planted a car bomb in New York's Times Square will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports on the fate of Faisal Shahzad.

A federal judge in New York has sentenced Faisal Shahzad to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Shahzad is a US citizen born in Pakistan. He pleaded guilty to terrorism and weapons charges this summer weeks after he left an SUV filled with dangerous chemicals parked in New York's Times Square. The FBI arrested Shahzad days after the incident as he tried to leave the country. Authorities say his car bomb could have killed dozens of people. Shahzad remained defiant⁴ in the courtroom and he denounced the US. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

French police are detaining 12 people who were picked up in raids on suspected Islamist terrorist networks today. The Interior Ministry⁵ says the suspects are directly connected to a stepped-up terror alert in Europe. Authorities say the raids stem from two separate counterterrorism investigations⁶.

What happened in the critical moments before and after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf⁷ of Mexico is the subject of a hearing in New Orleans this week. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports federal investigators⁸ are trying to piece together what went wrong and how to keep it from ever happening again.

This is the fifth round of hearings conducted by a joint⁹ panel of the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Energy Management. Yesterday, the president of a salvage¹⁰ firm testified that in the hours after the April 28th disaster, BP interfered¹¹ with efforts to lower an undersea robot to stop the spill. He said that company was concerned about heat buildup from the burning rig, but he thought the robot should be immediately deployed¹² to try to activate¹³ the well's blowout preventer. The device never worked to stop the underwater gusher¹⁴. Officials with Transocean, the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, are testifying today about emergency procedures and what happened when the rig exploded, killing¹⁵ 11 workers. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

Here's what's happening from Wall Street. The Dow's up 193 points at 10,945.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

Six months ago today, 29 coal miners perished in the nation's worst mine disaster in 40 years. But as NPR's Howard Berkes reports, investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the accident.

It took nearly three months just to make the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia safe for investigators, who couldn't get into the mine until the end of June. Above ground, close to 240 witnesses were interviewed, but about 20 remained and most of those are managers at mine owner Massey Energy. Several managers are resisting subpoenas¹⁶ compelling their testimony¹⁷. Massey has sparred with Federal Mine Safety officials over the evidence gathered and what it might mean. The company suggests the blast was triggered by a natural infusion¹⁸ of methane¹⁹ gas. The mine safety agency says even that would not have been so serious if the mine was properly managed for safety. The agency also says the mine was lined with excessive amounts of explosive coal dust. A federal criminal probe is also under way. Howard Berkes, NPR News.

The 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for two months may be rescued earlier than expected within the next couple of weeks. Engineers have been drilling an escape tunnel since the miners became trapped August 5th.

A remote part of India delivers an unexpected gift to linguists²⁰. You've just heard what some linguists are calling a dying language called Koro. Researchers announced today they had uncovered the previously²¹ unreported language. Koro's spoken by only about 800 people, most of them elderly in northeastern India's Arunachal Pradesh state, largely farming region borders Bhutan and China.

1 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 equities   

普通股，股票

参考例句：

• These are invested mainly in the OECD bonds and equities. 这些资产主要投资于经济合作及发展组织的债券与股票市场。
• They are also advantage of the global rebound in equities. 它们还在利用全球股市反弹的机会。

3 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

4 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

11 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

13 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

14 gusher   

n.喷油井

参考例句：

• We endeavour to avoid the old,romantic idea of a gusher.我们力图避免那种有关喷油井的陈旧的、不切实际的计划。
• The oil rushes up the tube and spouts up as a gusher.石油会沿着钢管上涌，如同自喷井那样喷射出来。

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 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

17 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

18 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

19 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

20 linguists   

n.通晓数国语言的人( linguist的名词复数 )；语言学家

参考例句：

• The linguists went to study tribal languages in the field. 语言学家们去实地研究部落语言了。 来自辞典例句
• The linguists' main interest has been to analyze and describe languages. 语言学家的主要兴趣一直在于分析并描述语言。 来自辞典例句

21 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。