NPR 2011-02-25

The US says it's not ruling anything out in how it'll respond to the Libyan government's crackdown on demonstrators, hundreds of whom reportedly have been killed since the start of the uprising against leader Muammar Gaddafi. The White House says it is reviewing all options including imposing¹ a no-fly zone over Libya. Earlier, Gaddafi delivered a speech on state television accusing al-Qaeda of fomenting² the violence in his country and influencing Libyan youths.

High seas are complicating³ US evacuation efforts from Libya. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports a US-chartered ferry is spending another day in a port in Tripoli.

Unable so far to charter flights into Libya, the US government opted⁴ for a ferry, but it has been docked for more than a day, delayed now by high seas. State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley says there are 285 people on board and he says they are safe.

"We have our own security personnel on board the vessel⁵. And the port is secure. There are Libyan security officials in the port area."

Forty of the passengers are embassy staffers and families of US diplomats⁶. One hundred twenty-seven are private US citizens, Crowley says, and the other 118 are citizens of other countries. He says there are also some Americans at the airport in Tripoli where thousands of people are still clamoring to get out. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

Oil prices are hovering⁷ around 100 dollars a barrel with concern growing about the uprising's disruption to oil production in Libya. Holly⁸ Pattendon, head of oil and gas analysis of Business Monitor International explains what may happen in the US if the costs of oil keeps going up.

"The general consensus⁹ is that the psychological tipping point for US drivers is when retail¹⁰ gasoline prices exceed four dollars a gallon. We saw that happen in 2008 and we saw a real drop in the US vehicle miles traveled."

Today gas price rose more than two cents to a new national average of 3.22 for a gallon regular.

Wisconsin's Senate Democrats¹¹ are still a no-show at the State Capitol despite the latest pressure from the Republican majority. This morning, state troopers were dispatched to the homes of Democratic lawmakers in hopes of convincing at least one of them to return to Madison. As Wisconsin Public Radio's Shawn Johnson reports, the troopers came up empty.

Republican State Senators met briefly¹² to issue a Call of the House at 7 o'clock central this morning. They called its troopers accompanied staff to search forsenators. Democratic Senate Minority leader Mark Miller¹³ says his members remain in undisclosed locations. Miller says Republicans must not have believed that Democrats would be able to stay away this long.

"It obviously was a terrible way to deter¹⁴ our solidarity¹⁵."

While Democrats are away, it keeps Republican Senators from ringing up the bill that would strip public employee unions of most bargaining rights. The Wisconsin State Assembly is debating the bill today. For NPR News, I'm Shawn Johnson in Madison.

The Dow's down 45 at 12,064.

This is NPR News.

General Motors is reporting earnings¹⁶ of more than 4.5 billion dollars for 2010. As Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton reports, the company made a swift turnaround from its bankruptcy¹⁷ to post its first annual profit in five years.

The bankruptcy freed GM of tens of billions of dollars of debt as well as union retiree health-care obligations. That allowed the company to make money even though auto¹⁸ sales improved only modestly in 2010. There could be some bumps in the road for 2011. Dan Akerson is CEO of GM. He says the company has been working on a contingency¹⁹ plan for a spike²⁰ in gas prices.

"They've come a little bit earlier maybe than the industry, or the economy, or the world economy expected it or wanted it. So we are gonna have to react."

GM also has to improve results in Europe. The automaker lost 1.8 billion dollars there last year. For NPR News, I'm Tracy Samilton in Ann Arbor²¹.

New homes apparently²² aren't selling as well as existing homes if last month's numbers are any indication. The Commerce Department reports new home sales dropped in January 12.6% to a seasonally²³ adjusted annual rate of 284,000. Manufacturing remains²⁴ one of the strongest performers during the country's economic recovery. Last month's orders for durable²⁵ goods rose 2.7%, driven by a boost in orders for commercial aircraft. But take out transportation, and the numbers were actually down by their largest amount in two years. The Commerce Department says orders outside transportation fell 3.6% in January. Still, last month's orders totaled 200.5 billion dollars, deemed a healthy level by economists²⁶.

1 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

2 fomenting   

v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。
• Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

4 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

8 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

9 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

10 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 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。

14 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

15 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

16 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

17 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

18 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

19 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

20 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

21 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

22 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

23 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

24 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。

25 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

26 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》