NPR 2010-09-01

In what is only his second prime-time Oval Office address to the nation, President Obama at this hour is expected to declare Operation Iraqi Freedom to be over with the end of US combat mission. Mr. Obama excerpts¹ some of his speech released by the White House says it's now time "to turn the page" and give the Iraqi people full responsibility for their own security. The president's also expected to say the US has paid what he calls "a huge price" for the war. Speaking prior to tonight's presidential address, House Minority Leader John Boehner said it's clear the surge has worked.

"We mark progress. And I want to thank President Obama for setting aside his past political rhetoric² and recognizing the importance of the surge and the diplomatic agreement signed by President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki."

Tonight's presidential address will also touch on the economy. In excerpts, the president says his central responsibility is to restore the nation's fragile economy and put millions of people back to work.

Ahead of the speech by President Obama on US military's role in Iraq, Vice³ President Biden is meeting with Iraqi officials in Baghdad. He's pressing them to come to an agreement on how to form a government. NPR's Kelly McEvers reports nearly six months have passed since parliamentary elections in Iraq and Americans say time is running out.

The results of the election back in March were so close that Iraqi's political parties have yet to agree on who should run the country. A Biden aide told reporters that the US is determined⁴ to build a long-term partnership⁵ with Iraq. But to build a partnership, he said, you need a partner. The US hopes the Shiite party of current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the secular⁶ Sunni-backed party of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi will reach a power-sharing agreement. The two groups got the most votes in the election. Iraqis say the Americans don't have much of a card to play in the negotiation⁷ game, now that they are reducing the number of troops in Iraq. But the Americans insist they still wield⁸ diplomatic power over Iraq's status under UN sanctions and Iraq's relationships with its neighbors. Kelly McEvers, NPR News, Baghdad.

US companies that want to sell their goods overseas could get a boost from a rules change announced by the Obama administration. More from NPR's Scott Horsley.

The rules are designed to keep the most sensitive military gear out of the hands of potential adversaries⁹. But would-be exporters said the rules are confusing and overly broad. As a result, some turned their back on potential customers overseas. The administration hopes to change that by streamlining the rules. Roy Paulson, who's on the board of the National Association of Manufacturers, welcomes the move. He says many companies that are pursuing exports are thriving.

"I can tell you these two companies I visited in the last two weeks, they have signs out, now hiring. And you don't see that every day."

Even as it relaxes some export restrictions¹⁰, the administration says it will provide greater protection for the most sensitive military items. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

A little movement on Wall Street on the last trading day of the month. The Dow closed up four points today.

This is NPR.

House investigators¹¹ are now calling for a probe into whether three lawmakers allowed political contributions to improperly¹² influence their voting on the giant financial overhaul¹³ bill, the independent House Office of Congressional Ethics¹⁴ today recommending the House Ethics Committee look at possible rules violations¹⁵ on the part of Republicans John Campbell of California and Tom Price of Georgia as well as Democrat¹⁶ Joseph Crowley of New York. The committee recommended no further investigation¹⁷ of five other lawmakers in the same probe.

Women who carry genetic¹⁸ mutations that put them at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer can dramatically reduce that risk by having surgery to remove their breasts, their ovaries or both. As NPR's Patti Neighmond reports, the findings present more evidence surgery is often the most reliable prevention.

Researchers tracked nearly 2,500 women across the country who had the BRCA mutation¹⁹ and chose to have surgery to try to prevent breast and ovarian cancer. They found double mastectomies reduced breast cancer risk by as much as 95 percent and removing ovaries reduced ovarian cancer risk by as much as 80 percent. Huge decrease, say researchers, who add that cancer caused by these mutations can be particularly aggressive and invasive. But at the same time, researchers say these choices are difficult, especially for young women who hope to reduce ovarian cancer risk but also want to have children. Removing ovaries causes the body to go into menopause. Patti Neighmond, NPR News.

Repeating this hour's top story: In what is only his second prime-time Oval Office address to the nation, President Obama is saying it is now time "to turn the page", give the Iraqi people full responsibility for their own security. He also compares his troop buildup in Afghanistan to the surge in Iraq and paid tribute to President Bush.
 

1 excerpts   

n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段

参考例句：

• Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句

2 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

6 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

7 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

8 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

9 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

10 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

11 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》

12 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

13 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

14 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

15 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

16 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。

17 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。

18 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

19 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。