NPR 2011-10-28

 The eurozone's debt-fighting pact¹ to bail² out Greece and shore up the continent's banks is behind today's big advances in financial markets worldwide. On Wall Street, all the major US stock indexes have risen, ranging from 3% and 3.5% in afternoon trading. At last check, the Dow had climbed 357 points, or 3%, at 12,226; NASDAQ up more than 3.5% at 2,746; S&P 500 up 3.6% at 1,287.

 

Scott Brown, chief economist³ with Raymond James & Associates, says the agreement in Europe was just a first step but an important one.

 

"If Europe hadn't come to an agreement today or overnight, then there is really fear of a broader financial crisis in Europe, and that would have some effect on the banks in the US. With Europe to moving big at this point and shortly afterwards, that takes some worry off the near-term outlook."

 

European leaders still have to finalize⁴ details of their plan. They're looking to China to contribute to Europe's bailout fund. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chinese President Hu Jintao spoke⁵ earlier today by phone. They pledged to work together to help spur global economic growth.

 

Federal officials have good news for the 48 million Americans on Medicare. The government says costs next year will go up less than expected. NPR's Julie Rovner reports some people will actually see a decrease in their monthly premiums⁶.

 

Earlier this year, Medicare officials were predicting about a 10-dollar increase in monthly premiums for Medicare's optional outpatient coverage⁷. Instead, it's only going up by 3.50 to just under 100 dollars a month, and some enrollees who've been paying a higher rate will actually see their monthly premiums decline. That's not the only good news. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters in a teleconference.

 

"At the same time, this year's Part B deductible has decreased more than 20 dollars."

 

It will be 140 dollars in 2012. As a result, said Sebelius, most seniors will have an additional 40 dollars in disposable income to spend each month. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

 

A military base that's home to NATO troops and a reconstruction⁸ team in southern Afghanistan has come under attack. A Kandahar provincial⁹ police chief says several insurgents¹⁰ raided an office and opened fire. Two of the attackers reportedly have been killed.

 

Despite heightened police presence in Oakland, California, anti-Wall Street protesters are vowing¹¹ to keep up their demonstrations¹². Several hundred people marched out of a plaza¹³ that had been declared off-limits for overnight camping and demonstrated in streets around the area. Police have set up barricades¹⁴ to keep the Occupy Wall Street activists¹⁵ from reaching a nearby highway.

 

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Today at the United Nations, the Security Council voted unanimously to terminate authorization¹⁶ of a no-fly zone over Libya and NATO military intervention¹⁷ to protect Libyan civilians¹⁸. As Linda Fasulo reports, the council move came in spite of calls by Libya's National Transitional Council to delay a decision.

 

The seven-month-long UN mandate¹⁹ will end on October 31st, but the council decision will not prevent individual nations from providing security assistance to Libya. Russia, which had long complained that NATO military action was exceeding the Security Council mandate to protect civilians, drafted a resolution. The measure does not lift the UN arms embargo²⁰, and it expresses concern over the proliferation of weapons in Libya. US ambassador Susan Rice welcomed the council decision and called on Libya's transitional council to move quickly to form an inclusive government. For NPR News, I'm Linda Fasulo in New York.

 

Pricier oil and natural gas is behind Exxon Mobil's 41% jump in its quarterly profit, but production remained flat. The company says some declines resulted from international agreements limiting the amount of oil Exxon can sell as prices increase.

 

Well, as we've said investors²¹ have been cheering today's agreement in Europe to fight the continent's debt crisis also fueling positive sentiment on Wall Street expansion in the US economy. The Commerce Department reports the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5% in the third quarter.

1 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

2 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

3 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。

4 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

9 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

10 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

11 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

12 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

13 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

14 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

17 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

18 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

19 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

20 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

21 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会