Oh, this is - this is about the rarest of the rare thing you could see. This is when Venus crosses in front of the sun. We had this happen in June 2004, but we're going to have a repeat here June 5, 2012. And we need to urge everybody to go see this thing because we are not going to live to see the next one. The next time this'll happen will be the year 2117.

Now, it's not quite as dramatic as a solar eclipse or anything like that, it's a little subtle, and may I do my sting impression?Is that OK?

Go ahead.

turn 3 : A: (Singing) There'll be a little black spot on the sun that day.  The actual meaning of this turn is different from its literal meaning. It is a reference to a song by The Police, and is being used metaphorically to describe the transit of Venus, which will appear as a small black dot moving across the face of the sun.

What is the metaphorical meaning of the phrase "little black spot on the sun"?

Answer: Venus


Times like this, when the economies of states are in default, can states really afford this?

I really don't think they can, and in many, many states, legislatures are starting to agree with that idea and to really rethink their priorities. I mean, every dollar that you spend building and running a prison is a dollar that's not spent on a public university or healthcare or roads and bridges. At this point, Kansas, Texas and at least 11 other states are taking a very serious look at how to try out some new strategies that will curb their prison population, shrink the number of people behind bars so they can save a little money, reduce some recidivism and have money for other budget priorities.

Well, back up and tell us how we got here, because in your article you say in 1970 our prisons held fewer than 200,000 people. What happened?

A number of things happened. But primarily, it's what's called our nation's war on drugs. And I say so-called war on drugs, because, you know, we like to use that metaphor all the time on everything. But essentially a new host of sentencing practices took hold in the early '70s and spread across the country. Mandatory minimum sentences, meaning that the amount of drugs involved in a particular crime would affect the severity of the punishment. So even if you're a low-level drug mule, for example, the amount of drugs you were carrying was going to ensure that you get a very large sentence, perhaps even more than a drug king pin if that person was caught without a lot of drugs.

turn 3 : The war on drugs has resulted in the implementation of harsh sentencing practices.

Which practice took hold in the early '70s that affected the severity of the punishment for drug-related crimes?

Answer: Mandatory-minimum-sentences


. . . Transparency. They want to know how we got to this point so that no presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican, ever sees something like this happen to them.

So you would like to see an investigation of the investigation. You do think that's a productive use of time.

What I want to make certain is we know that bad actors are rooted out and that we are going to be well served by individuals who realize we are a nation of laws, that we will abide by the rule of law. And you are going to have law enforcement there that is to uphold the law.

Marsha Blackburn is a Republican senator from Tennessee. She sits on the Judiciary Committee. Thank you very much for joining us.

turn 3 : joining us implies being part of a program or activity and not referring to mixing or attaching people together

Which Committee does Marsha Blackburn sit on?

Answer: judiciary


This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Pope Francis issued what's called an apostolic exhortation this week called The Joy of Gospel. And in his exhortation, he upheld church teachings while signaling a new openness to conversation about change. Maybe most notably the pope criticized the way much of the world, including the United States, does business. He warned against what he called an economy of exclusion, arguing that the very structural causes of poverty must be addressed. We turn now to Father James Martin, a noted Jesuit and culture editor of the Jesuit magazine America. He joins us from Philadelphia today. Father Jim, thanks for being with us.

THE REV. JAMES MARTIN: My pleasure.

What's the pope exhorting his church to do?

Well, I would say in this document he's asking us to do three things. Number one, remember the importance of joy. When we preach the Gospel, he inveighs against sourpusses - that's the English translation.

turn 3 : "he inveighs against sourpusses - that's the English translation." - figurative language, meaning that the Pope is criticizing people who are gloomy or negative, rather than using the literal meaning of "sourpusses."

How does the Pope criticize some people in his exhortation?

Answer: Criticize


In the end, has the IMF been a force for good?What has it done that might otherwise not have been done?

You know, I think the comparison is with what happened in the '20s and '30s - that was a world in which we did not have a international lender of last resort. And it was a world in which countries went bankrupt. There was a massive retreat from globalization, countries lost confidence in the way the international financial system worked. And I think the proof of how valuable the IMF has been is the onward march of globalization.

But you're aware of the fact that when the IMF meets, there are going to be protesters outside who are saying that globalization is the problem.

Yeah and I think they're mistaken. They are objecting to some of the cultural consequences of globalization. But I don't think anyone can object to an institution that's committed to preventing people from going under.

turn 2 : B: "the problem" refers to the negative effects of globalization, which may include job losses, cultural homogenization, and environmental degradation. The protesters are not necessarily saying that globalization is a problem in and of itself, but rather that the way it has been implemented has been harmful to many people and the planet.

Which aspect of globalization are the protesters outside objecting to?

Answer: Effects


Non-binary meaning they don't identify as male or female. They and many other English speakers have been using they like this for years. Here, Emily Brewster will use it in a sentence.

Here is my friend J. They will be joining us for dinner. The they is referring to this individual who is standing right here.

Now, there's been criticism of this usage - some by those who don't understand why someone might identify as non-binary but also by those who are put off by this change in grammar. They - the critics - say it's confusing to hear they are in a sentence if the speaker is only referring to one person. But our word expert disagrees. Brewster says we already do this with another pronoun.

The word you was originally a plural pronoun, and in the 14th century, it started to slide toward this use of being both plural and singular. And so when I am speaking to you, an individual, a single person, I say you are. I don't say you is. The you are is grammatical.

turn 0 : The criticism is by some that are offended by the langauge.

How do some critics feel about the language?

Answer: confused


Our unlikely shrew story comes from his new book, "This is Improbable: Cheese String Theory, Magnetic Chickens and Other WTF Research," where he's collected all sorts of scientific studies you can't take seriously but you can't dismiss either. Welcome back to SCIENCE FRIDAY, Marc.

Hi, Ira. Did I just hear you say the Animals of Improbable Research?

Did I say?I don't think I did. But maybe I did. I'd be happy to have - put that in there.

OK.  We, believe it or not, get a lot of letters addressed to that.

turn 1 : A is jokingly referencing the title of B's book

Which book is PersonA referencing in the dialogue?

Answer: book


But he was like an incredible, incredible hero. And when I interviewed him, God, probably two months later, he had a stroke. A year later, he was dead. So these stores are like - I mean, they're disappearing every single day.

When you think about a story like that, where someone gave his all and didn't get a lot of credit for it, is that a theme that runs through the book?

It definitely runs through the World War II section. I mean, pretty much all the vets who served in World War II. I mean, I have a vet who was at Iwo Jima, another story you don't hear much about African-Americans serving there. Also a buffalo soldier I have who came home after, you know, fighting in Italy the worst of Hitler's troop. Comes home, the ship lands in Virginia, and the white people in the town turn their back on the black soldiers. They don't even want to look at them.

I mean, it was - they walked through the town, he said it was like they were convicts. People turned their backs on them. And he was with me at the Smithsonian. We had an event for some of these vets. And he cried when he talked about that. And everyone in the audience stood up and cheered for him. And it was 60 years later, but it was like he was coming home that day.

turn 0 : "they're disappearing every single day" - This phrase is a metaphorical way of saying that the stories are being lost or forgotten over time, rather than literally disappearing every day.

How are the stories disappearing every day?

Answer: Lost


Which tells us?

Well, it's 6:30 on a Sunday night. Most of the House members are usually watching "Sunday Night Football. "I would not be able to tell you when I last saw the House come into session on a Sunday night. Under any circumstances, they don't meet on Sunday. It's happened, but I can't tell you when it happened last. So this is an extraordinary, unusual circumstance. So that would tend to suggest that somewhere during the day, Speaker Boehner, John Boehner, the leader of the Republicans in the House, where they are the majority, got it in his head that there was going to be something to talk about on Sunday night, whereas there wasn't as of this morning. So perhaps there's something going on. Perhaps the president does have something to talk about with the Senate Republicans. Perhaps it would be something the Senate Republicans could accept and therefore agree not to filibuster. This is crucial.

Right.

If they filibuster, we lose three days, so they have to agree. . .

turn 2 : filibuster refers to delaying and procrastinating by pretext

Which term is used to describe delaying and procrastinating by pretext in the dialogue?

Answer: Filibuster


Well, we're interested in understanding, one, what are all the metabolites or small molecules that are under the control of the circadian clock in these post-harvest vegetables and fruits?So in things like zucchini and carrots and sweet potato, we would expect a different sweet of metabolites to be regulated by the clock. So we'd like to know what those are. And then we'd like to know what kind of conditions could be used to make this a practical - if it turns out that we can really make a difference in nutritional quality then. . .

Right.

. . . we would want to design a simply way to keep the clock running. And we know that plants can respond to just pulses of light in ways that can control or set their clock. And so we'd like to investigate what are the simplest ways that we can use to make this practical.

Well, we wish you good luck, Dr.  Braam.

turn 2 : They want to design a way to keep plants's internal system working even when they are indoors.

How do they plan to maintain the plants' internal system when they are not exposed to natural light?

Answer: Ways


Has the United States done this before - taken back citizens who have some connection to ISIS fighters?

We know of one previous case. That's of Samantha El Hassani and her four children, who were repatriated to the U. S.  She's now standing trial in Indiana in a federal court, accused of providing material support to terrorism. Although, she's pleading not guilty, saying, you know, her husband dragged her to Syria. The U. S.  has said that they want to take back citizens. And President Trump has even urged in a tweet for other countries to take their citizens back. But it's not a blanket acceptance of people from Syria. The State Department says they're looking at the individuals on a case-by-case basis. And there is the ongoing controversial case of Hoda Muthana. She was born in New Jersey. She's been previously issued with U. S.  passports, but the U. S.  is challenging her citizenship status because her father is Yemeni.

As you point out, this is not just about U. S.  citizens. Tens of thousands of people went to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS. How are other countries handling this with their own citizens?

Well, as you say, it's a huge problem. So we're looking at about 46 other countries who are having to deal with this at the moment. And there's 13,000 women and children in the camps in Syria as well as the men in prisons. Some people have - some countries have taken their citizens back, like Kazakhstan and Sudan. But a lot of countries in Europe are saying, you know, we don't want these people back. The U. K.  has gone as far as stripping some people of citizenship.

turn 3 : The UK government has removed citizenship from some people.

What country has stripped some people of citizenship?

Answer: UK


Yeah.

. . . Household where they can do a little more with their income.

So what kind of minimum wage jobs are we talking about?

So we find a lot of our families do have the fast-food restaurant jobs. But we do have families that also have certified nursing assistants. We have nurses on our program. We have families with professional jobs. They're moving up. But we do see a lot of the fast-food restaurant, airport low-paying jobs at this time.

Is there advice you'd give the federal government about a jobs requirement program?

I think introducing a minimum work requirement may be a good option in the long run, but you have to take it slow. You can't just roll it out, say I - we want to do this today and roll it out tomorrow. We will impact families tremendously. We may increase homelessness because this becomes a substantial burden on families, especially our low-income families. We would definitely have a social problem in this country if we rolled it out all at once.

turn 3 : Many families in the program have low-paying jobs like fast-food restaurant and airport jobs.

How do families in the program earn their income?

Answer: Jobs


Oh, absolutely, 100 percent.

Do you ever talk to the students that you went to college with recently, students who were maybe sometimes 60 years younger than you, about what you have lived and what you have gone through?Do you ever tell them these kinds of stories?

In some of my classes, some of the fellows would ask me about the segregated South. I would reveal to them, like in one instance, we had a history major and he was just tickled to death to learn this stuff firsthand from somebody who had actually been through it. Example, I used to tell him that at Norfolk Navy Yard, the drinking fountains and lavatories were all segregated - black, colored water and colored bathrooms, white bathrooms. And the white water always broke down and they drank the colored water.

turn 0 : "So you were ready to stand up for yourself?" - The actual meaning could be, "Were you prepared to defend yourself and your beliefs when faced with opposition or criticism?" It may not necessarily mean the person was physically standing up.

How did the students react to the history major's interest in the segregated South?

Answer: Firsthand


Mm-hmm. And. . .

. . . because the sound was different.

Yeah. And also, they - when they gave people different kinds of spoons, it affected what they thought about the food.

Oh, they've done all kinds of things. The spoon is actually a gigantic question, not necessarily important, but gigantic.

turn 3 : A implies that the impact of the spoon on people's perception of food is not significant but it is a curious question.

What does PersonA think about the significance of the spoon's impact on people's perception of food?

Answer: Not-significant


Initially, Manaf was very close to Bassel. I mean, he was his childhood friend. But when Bassel died and Bashar became the heir, obviously, the friendship and the loyalties were transferred to Bashar. And Manaf was by Bashar's side, you know, from the get-go.

You know, in 2011, when the uprising started, here, Manaf made the break and said, you know, I'm not going to be like my father, Mustafa; I'm not going to kill, you know, to preserve this regime. So he stepped back and eventually had to leave the country.

When you talked to Manaf Tlass, who was a loyalist for so long, what does he say is the moment when he said, I got to get out of this - this friendship, this country?

Initially, when the uprising started, Manaf was trying to convince Bashar not to use violence, not to actually shoot protesters. But the problem is, you know, Bashar was surrounded by these hardliners - his brother Maher al-Assad and his cousin Hafez Makhlouf. So this is very much a family affair ruling Syria. These people were for actually shooting people from the first day. And the idea was if you shot enough people from the first day, you would scare them off the streets. That was the logic.

turn 3 : Bashar and his family members were the main supporters of using violence to suppress the uprising.

Which family members supported violence to suppress the uprising?

Answer: Family


Well, it certainly, was fine with you because I'm reading from your book here. This is what you said about non-African-American writers. Quote, "I have learned over the years as much about African-American life from non-African-American writers as I have from African-Americans. "That's interesting.

Yeah, I've read some very important books. I mean, there've been some very important scholars in my field which I deal with African-American studies. There've been some very important non-African-Americans who have written in that field and - who've done tremendous, pioneering work in that field and who were important. And I've learned a great deal from them as a result. I feel no reason to discriminate against them in any way. I remembered that John Hope Franklin once told me that in the south African-American colleges he said were he called - were integrated so he called them, these islands of civility. I like to think that the volumes that we're putting out are sort of islands of civility where, you know, lots of people can, you know, be shoulder to shoulder.

Gerald Early, thank you very much. Good luck with this project.

Thank you very much.

turn 1 : No actual islands, but small groups of people that acted civilly toward one another surrounded by large groups that did not.

What did John Hope Franklin refer to as "islands of civility" in the south?

Answer: Integrated


You know, you're helping a lot of people, Mr.  Mayor.

Well, I hope I am. I don't see it, and that's what scares me most of all. We care about everybody. We have to reach out for all of them and try to be successful for them to help them be that support deal for them. It's not a positive day every day, but you have to make it into one.

The mayor of Fulton, Texas, Jimmy Kendrick - thanks so much for being with us, Mr.  Mayor. Good luck to you.

Well, I appreciate it. And just keep us in your prayers. It's always nice to have a prayer given for us.

turn 1 : (2) "I don't see it, and that's what scares me most of all" - This implies that the mayor is feeling uncertain about the outcome of his actions, which is different from the literal meaning of the sentence.

How does the mayor feel about the outcome of his actions? (The answer is "uncertain.")

Answer: Uncertain


Obviously, everything in this book is something that I concluded is accurate and true. That's a process of, do I trust my source?No. 1. And then I, you know, like to hear it a couple of times.

I'm thinking of the famous Watergate stories by Woodward and Bernstein. It was said that their standard was they wanted to hear two sources. Was that your standard?Anything in here is by two sources?

Most everything in here is either by multiple sources or, in some cases, by someone I absolutely trust.

Does the president talk to you anymore?

turn 1 : A relies on multiple sources to ensure accuracy, unlike Watergate reporters who required two sources

What was PersonA's process for ensuring accuracy?

Answer: Multiple


Well, yeah.

And - select which is the right kind of alcohol to put in there. Free test it.

Well, they - rum and bourbon.

Right.

turn 1 : B is asking A which type of alcohol to use for the recipe

What is PersonB requesting from PersonA in turn 1?

Answer: Alcohol


We should note that USA Today, which when it was founded in 1982, said it would never endorse a candidate for president - didn't want to go to that kind of - didn't want to participate in that kind of politics - has not endorsed a candidate but has said, in some departure from their usual policy, Donald Trump is unfit to be president, so don't vote for him.

What's an editorial worth in this age of social media?

You know, we know that people don't read newspaper editorials by and large. And if they ever read one, it's usually something like this in the presidential season. But we know that people read about them and hear about them.

And that's where, in the age of social media, they may actually matter more because people are going to be talking about this wipeout, this refusal of people who, remember, historically, have almost always gone with Republicans, to go with Donald Trump.

OK, now Miss Universe. Did Hillary Clinton set a trap for Donald Trump, which he sprang on himself?

You know, this story could have gone away in 24 hours or 48 hours. It could have had some impact on Monday night and perhaps, then, just gone away. We've heard an awful lot of high impact stories come and go already in this campaign.

turn 4 : 5) OK, now Miss Universe.Did Hillary Clinton set a trap for Donald Trump, which he sprang on himself?

How did PersonA respond to PersonB's question about Miss Universe?

Answer: Story


Yeah, it's still very present. I don't think it's still very accurate. I think what this proves is that 5 billion songs is $5 billion, and so they are still saying that global music sales have dropped 8percent to about 19. 4 billion, according to the phonographic industry.

So they are seeing some sales still decline, but you're seeing digital music rise, so I think these music labels are needed to get with the program and get over this fear of piracy, and - and look at this say, you know what?Five billion songs, that's a lot of music that anyone could be buying. I mean, that's just - you know, at the end of the day, that's a lot of music to be purchased.

Mario, thanks so much.

Thank you, Farai.

Mario Armstrong is News & Notes regular technology contributor, and he joined us from the studios of the Baltimore Sun.

turn 1 : Digital music sales are increasing, music labels need to adapt to the changing market.

How are music labels being urged to respond to the changing market?

Answer: Get


The likelihood that the law was going to get struck down was one of the factors that contributed to the council's decision to repeal it. But there were also many groups that came together to push for the repeal.

Mr.  Muchmore, I'm told you also have a laundromat in your bar.

I do have a small laundromat in the back. It's a New Orleans thing. I grew up in New Orleans, and there a lot of the bars have laundries so that while you're doing your laundry, you can have a beer or a coffee and get to know your neighbors.

How are you going to celebrate?

turn 0 : (1) The council's decision to repeal the law was influenced by several factors, one of which was the likelihood that the law would be deemed unconstitutional and struck down. Additionally, there were various groups advocating for the repeal of the law.

Which factor contributed to the council's decision to repeal the law?

Answer: Likelihood


Yeah. I mean, that is the thing in this country. I mean, I know America quite well. And I think we have to reverse the absolute mirror image of the broadcasting and newspaper. When the debate was around about the beginning of this year about fake news, there was a lot of discussion about how, in this country, people are kind of used to fake news because - not that the newspapers are fictional, but they do take a slant on some stories. But the television media here, in particular, and the radio has been regulated to be unbiased and impartial since broadcasting began in the 1930s.

Some here in America would view this as an agency of thought police. Is there pushback against Ofcom in the United Kingdom?

There have been periods of incredibly busy activity from Ofcom. Recently, they have been turning quite a few complaints across to us and other broadcasters. That is not a reflection of Ofcom. That's a reflection of people who write to Ofcom. They're only making decisions if viewers complain. But it's not a form of thought police. It's a form of being objective. I think viewers in this country expect the television and radio broadcasting to be unbiased, accurate and impartial. And so that is enshrined in law. It's an expectation. And when they feel that the standards of broadcasting have dropped below that, they complain to Ofcom, and then Ofcom investigates us.

Ben De Pear is the editor of Channel 4 News. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

turn 1 : "agency of thought police" - the literal meaning of this phrase would be an organization that physically enforces certain thoughts, but the actual meaning is an organization that restricts or controls freedom of thought or expression.

What phrase is used to refer to an organization that restricts or controls freedom of thought or expression?

Answer: thought-police


Thanks, Scott.

First, these current attacks. Based on reporting, is there a particular source for attacks against Orthodox Jews?

Well, it seems to be happening often from people who live in the neighborhood. We don't know that much about the perpetrators. What we do know is that people that live in Crown Heights don't tend to be white supremacists. And to judge from the footage of many of these attacks, at least some of the perpetrators seem to be young black men or teenagers. And perhaps that's one of the reasons that so many people want to avert their eyes from what's happening in places like Crown Heights.

Are they street assaults and robberies or hate crimes?Where are the lines in something like this?

Well, all we know is that the people that are being attacked are the most publicly, visibly Jewish people. And they're incredibly violent. Given that this has been happening in the city, there's been a sort of curious lack of interest on the part of New Yorkers, on the part of the mayor, on the part of the governor. Imagine if a spate of crimes had happened in a pattern like this against another minority - what the reaction would be.

Has there also been a national increase in anti-Semitic crimes?

turn 3 : The person wants to know where the crimes are not taking place and who is not getting hurt.

How does turn 3 relate to the discussion about attacks against Orthodox Jews?

Answer: Location


Yeah. And that took a lot out of my legs. I was pretty fatigued by the end of the game, and I'm feeling it today.

And do - I bet you are a little tired.

But at - towards the end of the game, where you aware of the record?And where you aware you'd broken it?

I wasn't aware, actually. I think I was just so tired and so focused on scoring the basketball. There's a stretch late in the second half where I think I hit seven or eight consecutive threes, and I knew something special was going on after that.

turn 3 : "something special was going on" - This expression is a colloquialism used to describe an exceptional or noteworthy event. It does not literally mean that something supernatural or magical was happening.

Which expression is a colloquialism used to describe an exceptional or noteworthy event?

Answer: Special


Correct. We discovered to our surprise that the law was being used with fair frequency in an effort to prevent mass shootings. So we decided to focus on those cases, and we reported 21 of them. We can't prove that the recovery of firearms in most of those cases prevented mass shootings from happening, but we do know firearms were recovered or purchases blocked in most cases and the shootings didn't occur.

OK. So what we have here is not definitive proof that red flag laws do indeed work, but we have some anecdotal evidence that show they might be working. Could you give us an example of one or two of these cases you looked at?

Sure. A disgruntled former employee made credible threats to return to his workplace and kill co-workers. One of the employees of that company reported this to law enforcement, who determined that this person had just purchased a 12-gauge shotgun. And our mandatory 10-day waiting period before he could acquire the gun, there were about two days left. So during that time, law enforcement was able to go to a judge who reviewed the evidence, issued a restraining order and the purchase was blocked. So when law enforcement went to the man's house, they found 400 rounds of ammunition for that shotgun.

Wow. All right. So that's an example of maybe law enforcement intervening just in time so he couldn't get his hands on a gun that would have been used to perhaps kill his colleagues.

turn 1 : red flag usually means that something very bad is obvious

What kind of evidence did the reporters have about the effectiveness of red flag laws?

Answer: Anecdotal


'Cause there are a lot of industries now that can point to the fact that they are using fewer people to sometimes produce even greater revenues.

Well, that's what using fewer people will sometimes do. It certainly will - using fewer people will increase the productivity of the people that you are using. And we had been living through an age where we are adapting to a transformative technology - the Internet. I mean, this has enormous effects on the workplace. But, you know, I'm a mere writer. I wouldn't even know how to begin to answer the question you just asked; how much of this is a fundamental shift in the economy and how much of it is a result of the way we've led our financial lives?

Michael Lewis, what should, in your mind, Americans learn from the financial crisis in Europe?

The thing that has interested me the most is the role of the big financial institutions in our economy. I think over the period of the last several decades, they have spun out of control; that they are too big to fail, which means that the normal sort of mechanism of a market economy is not allowed to work in a financial sector. That normal mechanism is creative destruction. It's, you know, someone builds a better one and the old one dies. And I would have thought the big lesson from the period of 2007, 2008 is that we can't really build an economy based on such institutions. It's like building your house on sand.

turn 1 : A's statement "Well, that's what using fewer people will sometimes do" implies a sarcastic tone, suggesting that using fewer people is not always a positive thing and can have negative consequences, despite B's initial statement seeming to praise it as a productivity booster. Additionally, A's response is somewhat evasive, indicating that they do not feel qualified to answer the question posed to them.

Which word implies a sarcastic tone in PersonA's response to PersonB's statement about using fewer people?

Answer: Sarcastic


UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #4: And you can just tell the way the big fellow was laughing, he thinks that's it.

. . . But his new book is a tribute to another legend, his coach at UCLA, John Wooden. Their 50-year-long friendship started on the court at Pauley Pavilion and grew over lunch at VIP's Cafe in Tarzana and long afternoons of easy conversation in coach Wooden's den. This week on Out of Bounds, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, author of "Coach Wooden And Me. "He joins me now from NPR West. Welcome so much to the program.

Thank you very much, nice to talk to you.

At the beginning of the book, you write about how you and coach Wooden when you first met were an odd couple sitcom waiting to happen. Tell us about who you were then.

turn 3 :  "an odd couple sitcom waiting to happen" - This turn is figurative language used to describe how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Coach Wooden seemed like an unlikely pair who would make a good subject for a television show. It is not meant to be taken literally, but as a way of expressing how different the two men were.

What is the figurative language used to describe Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Coach Wooden in the statement?

Answer: figurative


When I met him a couple of months ago, I said, listen. You have fought against Islamic radicalism. And you have saved Benghazi and eastern Libya from the terrorist threat. But if you try to run for office, you will lose all that because Libyans are difficult to govern. And I said to him, do you have any aspirations with that?He says, no. I want to rise above this. So I think he sees a real threat to Libya by the existence of these elements. And unfortunately, the international community and the United Nations, they are supporting a government that has no power. And in the end, that government that has no power is being run by militias.

Some people would counter that, actually, Haftar's forces are also comprised of militias with little ideology, some elements within them are so-called extremists and that he is no better than the forces he's purporting to counter.

I mean, I hate to disagree with this. I mean, Haftar is not perfect. I don't say he's perfect. But he has a Libyan army. They might have started off as militias. But now they are inducted into regular army. And more important, they try to paint Haftar into a warlord. You know, he's not. He has been authorized by the only representative body in the country, which is the Libyan Parliament. And so, please, don't get me wrong. I am not enamored with Haftar. And the last thing I want to see in Libya is another military dictatorship. I don't want to see that.

So why is Haftar making this move to take Tripoli now?

turn 2 : They are not painting but describing the man in a certain way.

Answer: portrayed


In Brazil, at least 55 prison inmates are dead - strangled or stabbed after fights broke out in four different prisons over the weekend. Officials blame gang violence and say they're transferring some of these inmates to other prisons. Reporter Catherine Osborn is on the line from Rio.

Good morning, Catherine.

Morning.

So what is going on with these gangs in Brazilian prisons?This is a lot of people dead.

Yeah. Many drug gangs that operate outside of jails in Brazil in activities like drug trafficking and extortion operate and recruit from inside of the jails. And they're so powerful inside the prisons that, right after arriving, people join the gangs to get some small amount of protection. Prisons have even earned the nickname schools of crime in Brazil.

turn 4 : Many drug gangs operate and recruit from inside of Brazilian jails.

How do drug gangs operate in Brazilian jails?

Answer: Recruit


I never had an apartment before, so just finally having my own place. And it was magical. It was gorgeous - beautiful tub. I never could use the tub because I was afraid of the roaches.

So unfortunately there's always like pros and cons to that, but it was mine. And I loved it like it was my baby. And I still miss that apartment even though there is bug issues. I miss it.

Well, it made me wonder why there aren't more songs like that in R&B. I mean, R&B is very dominated by relationships - right?- sex, relationships songs. But it does - it did make me wonder, why aren't there more songs about other milestones in R&B?Like, why is that?

Well, first of all, I'm thankful that people love new apartments so much because I always feel like my comfort zone is writing about romance and sex. But I think there's this narrative that the world just wants to hear about simple things and - or just extreme, like, sadness. I've just been broken up with or something like that.

turn 1 : Despite the bug issues, A loved the apartment.

Which specific feeling did PersonA have towards their apartment?

Answer: Love.


You know, we - we're in constant communication with our states. I know South Carolina has done - and all the states, for that matter - but South Carolina, they've done a very proactive job. North Carolina is really going to amp up the messaging on evacuations. Florida has, and Georgia. So, you know, we will be able to tell what those evacuation rates are, obviously working with our state. The states and the locals are the ones that actually call for those evacuations.

Right now, it seems to be going well, but it always could go better. You know, if you're in a danger or hazard area, you know, I ask you to take those warnings seriously, and evacuate and protect yourself and your family.

Jeff Byard of FEMA, thanks for speaking with us today.

Thank you so much.

turn 1 : Taking warnings seriously and evacuating can help protect yourself and your family in a dangerous area.

How can you protect your family in a dangerous area?

Answer: Evacuate


The problem is 90 percent of space in our military is in the Air Force. So what we're basically going to be doing is taking the current infrastructure - for example, Space Command in Colorado Springs will become the headquarters for the Space Corps. We're talking about taking the people that we need to take that deal with space and segregating them into a culture that appreciates them.

The Air Force has pushed back on this. The Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said, quote, "the Pentagon is complicated enough. This will make it more complex, add more boxes to the organization chart and cost more money. "Is she wrong?

She's absolutely wrong. The bureaucracy is always going to fight reform - always, especially the Pentagon. They're fighting this because they don't want Congress meddling. You know, what I've told her is, in 16 years, the Air Force has not changed a thing. And they've got us in this situation now where Russia and China have become near peers. They're close to surpassing us. What we're proposing would change that.

I think what some people would say is that we are cooperating with the Russians on the International Space Station. Should space be the new frontier of warfare, or should it actually be a place where, indeed, these cooperations flourish?After all, we are all on one planet.

turn 1 : "add more boxes to the organization chart" - This phrase implies that creating a new branch of the military focused on space would not only make the military more complex, but also increase its bureaucracy by adding more layers of hierarchy and management.

What does the Air Force Secretary's statement imply about the proposed new branch of the military?

Answer: Bureaucracy


Perhaps Thursday night. And he had also mentioned that there - Democrats were, quote, "trying to steal the election" and had sort of mentioned fraud and referred the matter onto the state's version of the FBI called the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, known as the FDLE. Well, FDLE, the next day, said, hey, there's no allegation of fraud, that it - they don't even have a complaint.

So far, all of these folks are saying, on the Republican side, hey, there's fraud, it needs to be investigated, while the state investigative agency is like, we're here to investigate. Show us. And so far, there's nothing.

With 20 seconds left, why does this happen a lot in Florida?

Because that's just how we are. I think Tim Russert said Florida, Florida, Florida. Or some people call us Flori-duh (ph). And this is just part of the nature of living here and being a reporter in the Sunshine State.

turn 3 :  "Flori-duh" is a pun that plays on the literal name of the state, Florida, and the slang term "duh" which is often used to indicate stupidity or foolishness. This turn is figurative in nature.

Answer: Pun


And this could sound obvious, and this could sound like a no-brainer. But the reality in Mexico is that whenever a journalist is killed, investigators - their first reaction is to always try to find a motive that is not related to journalistic work. So they find any other motive - economic motive or maybe a passion motive, anything except journalistic work because they don't want to admit that they have a problem of press freedom in their hands. But I think in this case it is really obvious why Javier Valdez was killed.

Yeah. This is going to sound naive. But why do you think it's important to do stories like that?I mean, drug cartels - people often prefer just to look the other way - don't they?

Well, yes. But if you don't report on them, then nobody else will. And it is not just the stories about the drug cartels. It is the stories about the consequences that they are unleashing in Mexican public life in every level. I live in a city that, for years, was the turf in a turf war between two drug cartels. And the effects of the violence that they unleashed was devastating for the city because investment never came in. Jobs were not created. Nightlife shut down. People stopped going out on the street. We all started to distrust from one another. Neighborhoods began putting up gates and fences, and so it was really disruptive.

Your newspaper was attacked, wasn't it?

turn 0 : "try to find a motive that is not related to journalistic work" - the literal meaning is to search for a reason or cause that is not related to journalism, but the actual meaning is to avoid acknowledging that the journalist was killed because of their work.

How do investigators react when a journalist is killed in Mexico?

Answer: Avoid


You know, a lot of people who are successful at their jobs identify very strongly with their jobs, with their profession. They say, I am Joe Blow and. . .

Yes.

I work at X company and that's a big strong part of their identity. And so I imagine when those people lose their jobs, it's particularly devastating because a part of their identity is gone.

Right. I ask people to sort of, you know, draw out a pie chart like if you had a circle and you're going to divide the different parts of the circle into who you are. You're a brother, sister, son, father, mother, whatever, daughter, friend, you're a member of a community, you're somebody who can help other people. There's a tendency in our society to overidentify with the role of a job, but we're many, many, many other things. So redefining and sort of expanding your definition of who you are is a magnificent way of empowering yourself.

turn 0 : Joe Blow isn't a real person. It implies someone who is just a regular guy who has little power.

What is the name of the person mentioned in turn 0?

Answer: Joe


So wait, you're saying to invest in fat?

Well, exactly. Or to invest in companies that prevent that fat. So that's one potential demographic change. The amount of chocolate consumed worldwide is greater every year, particularly, you know, as you have a lower class in China that's moving towards the middle class.

The problems with clean water in these urban areas is getting larger and larger every year. For instance, right now, just about 50 percent of all hospital beds worldwide are filled with people suffering from clean-water-related diseases or unclean-water-related diseases. So making investments based on these trends and the others I discuss in the book could be enormously profitable in the long run.

Does the fact that this economy, which seems to just take hit after hit after hit, and it seems to be heading straight into a recession if not worst, does that at all change the advice that you give?And presumably, you wrote this book before all the really bad news hit.

turn 2 : The statement of A implied that he is suggesting investing in companies that are working to address the problem of lack of clean water

How can investing in which type of companies be profitable according to PersonA's statement?

Answer: Clean-water


Hello.

What happened to you this morning?What happened in Kathmandu?

Well, we were on a staff retreat with our editors and reporters up on a mountaintop overlooking Kathmandu Valley. And it felt as if I was propelled two meters up into the air. It was just such a heavy jolt. And when we looked down at the city, it looked like it had been completely destroyed because there was a ball of dust covering the entire valley in which Kathmandu is situated. And we thought the whole city had been destroyed. But as we got down back into the city through the roads, it looked like it wasn't as bad as we initially feared. Many of the residential buildings were damaged, but seem to be intact. On the other hand, the monuments of the world heritage sites in Kathmandu - Bhaktapur and Patan - many of them have been completely destroyed.

Mr.  Dixit, have you been able to get a handle on how extensive the damage is in Nepal and for that matter the region 'cause there are reports that India's also been affected.

turn 2 : A: "And when we looked down at the city, it looked like it had been completely destroyed because there was a ball of dust covering the entire valley in which Kathmandu is situated." The city was not actually completely destroyed, but the dust made it difficult to see and gave the impression that it had been destroyed.

What gave the impression that the city had been completely destroyed?

Answer: Dust


He had a very special place in the music pantheon.

He really did, and those people live forever.

Absolutely.

People like Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway and Nat King Cole and Luther Vandross. That's why we say the late, great. And people used to say that about my dad, and I didn't - I only heard it about daddy, you know, the late, great, Donny Hathaway. And I say it about Luther as well. You know, his - it's such a void created that it will never be filled again.

turn 3 : The person being referred to was a great loss to the music industry and cannot be replaced

What is the description of the person being referred to in turn 3?

Answer: Late


Well, I know that my name is on the cover, but the Library of America was at least an equal partner, if not more. Reggie Hui there went into the archives, and he found every single short story she'd ever published in the most esoteric, small, little magazines. And John Kulka and Reggie and I had multiple really long debates and conversations about which stories to include. There were many passionate speeches on all sides, particularly mine. And we ended up with. . .

(Laughter) Battles to the death, I'm gathering. Yeah.

. . . Battles. Yes. It was bloody, but it was also joyous because we're - all three of us - just super fans of Nancy Hale's.

I mean, people always ask fiction writers - as you would know better than anyone - how much of your writing, how much of your protagonist is you. And writers always say, it's fiction. You know, I made it all up. But you write that with Hale, it's - it actually really matters to know what her life story was when you're reading these stories.

turn 1 : The person is making a humurous remark about the debate.

Which partner was instrumental in finding every single short story Nancy Hale ever published?

Answer: Reggie


I think his great forte is understanding the problems that we face. He's had great experiences. You know, he was raised - a good part of his youth was in France. He speaks French fluently and understands Europeans quite well, and his being the Allied commander in Europe was absolutely a perfect fit. And he can expand that in giving advice in problems, literally, all over the world.

I read that James Jones went to Georgetown University, where he played basketball. Do you have any sensed of maybe whether he and President-elect Obama might discuss security issues over a game of hoops?

I wouldn't doubt it. President-elect Obama would also find he's a competitor. That ought to be an interesting basketball game.

Congressman Ike Skelton of Missouri. Thank you.

turn 0 : The person mentioned has a talent for comprehending problems and advising on them worldwide, due to his experiences and background, not necessarily related to France.

How can the person mentioned advise on problems?

Answer: Advice


And what's your percentage normally?

Normally, it's around 65 to 70 percent in practice.

It's a little easier when nobody is guarding.

Yeah, a little bit.

turn 2 : The statement from B implies that there is some kind of activity or task involved between them that is easier to perform when there are no guards present.

How does the presence of guards affect the activity/task?

Answer: Easier


Seems that this year, more Americans are making their electoral preferences known from the hereafter. Katie Falzone is vice president for operations at Legacy. com. They host obituaries for newspapers and funeral homes. She joins us now from the studios of WBEZ in Chicago, where, of course, deceased Americans can always vote. Thanks very much for being with us, Ms.  Falzone.

Thank you, Scott.

So has this really stepped up this election year.

It definitely has. I recently pulled some numbers from our site and found, you know, over the course of the past few election cycles, we've seen a huge increase. So the first year I looked at was comparing June to June numbers for the 2003-2004. We only had five references to political candidates in obituaries. This year, 119.

turn 3 : (4) "we've seen a huge increase" - The implied meaning here is that there has been a significant increase in the number of political references in obituaries on the website Legacy.com over the past few election cycles. The literal meaning is simply that there has been an increase.

How many political references were there in obituaries on Legacy.com during the first year that was compared to the current year?

Answer: Five


So California Chrome is supposed to be a little slow out of the gate.

He's all right out of the gate. He's fidgety in it. He's actually a lovely horse disposition wise - loves people, is very tractable. But in the gate he gets really easier to go so he will fidget, fidget, fidget. And one very top trainer, Bob Baffert, who has won his share of Triple Crown races said if he can get out of the gate well, he will win this race.

He has got white homes. And I have read white hooves make a horse vulnerable.

Yes. Well, white hooves does tend to be softer than dark hooves. And his actually point east and west, his front feet, he does not have straight feet. You can see in the starting gate. He's like Charlie Chaplin in there.

turn 1 :  The turn of phrase whose actual meaning is different from its literal meaning is:  (2) "out of the gate" - in this context, it means how well the horse starts the race from the starting gate, rather than literally coming out of a gate.

What does "out of the gate" mean in the context of the dialogue?

Answer: horse-starts-race


Even - and especially if it comes afterwards, but it's that - it's - once you charge somebody up with emotion, you're putting them into a state where their critical thinking or what, you know, what Kahneman would call system-two thinking, that reflective thinking becomes harder. And you have to keep in mind, this also - I'm making this sound like this sinister thing, you know, that, oh, we're trying to get away with - well, maybe when the car salesman is telling you a joke just at the point where you were about to, you know, open the hood and look at the engine, and you go, oh, this is a nice guy. I'll buy this car from him. Maybe there, it's sinister, you know?In magic, you come in expecting and hoping that the person is going to amaze you and/or make you laugh.

And if he doesn't, you're disappointed. I want to thank you so much for joining us, Teller. Teller's piece called "Teller Reveals His Secrets" ran in the March issue of Smithsonian magazine. There's a link to it at npr. org, click on TALK OF THE NATION. He joined us from NPR member station KNPR in Las Vegas, Nevada. Thank you very much for joining us, Teller.

Hey, thanks.

Tomorrow, we will talk about the science of pet therapy and how the happiness can go both ways. This is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. I'm John Donvan in Washington.

turn 3 : B: "How the happiness can go both ways." Implicated meaning: The positive effects of pet therapy can be experienced by both the animals providing the therapy and the humans receiving it.

What is the topic of tomorrow's discussion on NPR's TALK OF THE NATION?

Answer: Pet-therapy


. . . Quote, "a slap in the face" and then said, it was like him spitting on me. Must hurt to hear those words from your mother, even thirdhand.

Not necessarily. I mean, my mom is a very strong-willed person. And it's something to where I disagree with her very wholeheartedly and very politely. And even if it does hurt, I know that that's not a reaction that is deserved. So I try not to take it too much to heart.

Yeah. You don't doubt her love, but you do question her judgment.

Yeah, absolutely. That's a great way to put it. And I think a lot of people that are in a similar situation as mine can question a parent's, you know, love or care for their child to deny them a medical procedure. And some people can even compare vaccines to something like a seat belt. How would you love a child and deny them the safety of a seat belt?

turn 0 : a slap in the face in this context means someone did something shocking to someone else that they didn't like

Which phrase did PersonA use to describe their mother's personality?

Answer: Strong-willed


It seems simple at the outset, and we seem - we take it for granted. I mean, we're fortunate enough to be able to exercise our sense of taste and smell three times, if not more, a day. But what "Taste What You're Missing" is about is really stepping back, slowing down and understanding a little bit more about the mechanisms of what make up the concept of flavor, taste.

And so what I hope this book does is teach people a little bit more because we know that with greater understanding comes greater appreciation. And so the bottom line takeaway from this book, I hope, is a greater appreciation for food. And I'm not talking about just those meals where we go out to a fine restaurant, we - we're spending a lot of our money to have a special occasion meal.

I'm talking about those mundane meals that we have every day because there's joy and incredible sensory experiences in everything we put in our mouth.

1-800-989-8255 is our number if you'd like to talk with Barb Stuckey, author of "Taste What You're Missing. "And let's get right into this then, and talk about what is wrong with the way that most people taste food. What you're saying, we're not taking advantage of just eating a plain old meat-and-potatoes hamburger or something like that.

turn 3 : "let's get right into this" - In this context, this phrase means to start discussing the topic at hand immediately. The literal meaning of getting into something would be to physically enter into it.

What does the phrase "let's get right into this" mean in this context?

Answer: start


I'm Farai Chideya, and this is News & Notes.

Singer Jennifer Hudson won an Academy Award for her role in "DreamGirls. "But in the last week, her family life has become the stuff of nightmares. Some people now say neighbors should have done more. Did Hudson's family try in vain to distance itself from the man who's now a person of interest in the case?Plus, a federal judge in Missouri blocked part of a new law designed to keep sex offenders away from kids on Halloween.

We'll take a look at these cases with Judge Lynn Toler. She's the start of TV's "Divorce Court" and the author of "My Mother's Rules: A Practical Guide to Becoming an Emotional Genius. "Hi, Judge Toler.

Hi, Farai. How are you?

turn 1 : to distance away from something in this context means to ignore or to shy away from something that happened, usually bad

What was the reason for some people saying that neighbors should have done more in the case mentioned in the dialogue?

Answer: Distance


Yes.

And even lesbians, people like Ellen, who are incredibly powerful in Hollywood, and in the entertainment industries across the board. Why is that not the case for - why can't there be the equivalence in the African-American world?

Yeah, you're absolutely correct, you know, and I state those claims before, you know, and - you know, like a Bill Ga - I mean David Geffen, Ellen, Rosie, George Michael, John - Elton John, Lance Bass, like a lot of these people, you know, unfortunately are white counterparts, and colleagues are able to come out of the closet.

Their community supports them, because as I expressed in my book, they have a nurturing environment, where for them, sex and sexuality has always been a dialog and a discussion within their community. They have communities where they exist, and they help support one each other - one another, especially (unintelligible) in Los Angeles, you have West Hollywood. In Atlanta, you know, you have the Midtown area. In D. C. , you have Dupont, San Francisco. New York, you have Chelsea.

turn 1 : Lesbians are powerful in Hollywood but African-Americans are not.

What community has a nurturing environment for sex and sexuality, according to the speaker?

Answer: Their


And he loved to call it the prolate spheroid. But I guess it didn't catch on. But he was also - he was one of the scariest coaches because one of his lines in his pep talks was, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble the football.

Oh.

So, yeah, basically tough love without the love part.

And I understand Edgar Allen Poe has a role in developing modern football?

turn 2 : In turn (3), the speaker uses the phrase "tough love without the love part" to describe the coaching style of a certain coach. The literal meaning of "tough love" is a disciplinary strategy that involves both love and strictness. However, in this context, the speaker implies that the coach is only using the strictness part of "tough love" without the caring and supportive part.

Which phrase does the speaker use in turn 2 to describe the coaching style?

Answer: love-part


I think both can be true. I think - look. It's outrageous that there's an invoice. But it's not new. The invoice was not given lately. It was given to Special Representative Yun when he went to North Korea to collect Otto Warmbier. And at that point, when you're giving that invoice, you sign, and you leave. So it's not new. That's one. Second, it's not unique, either. When. . .

It's not unique to negotiations with North Korea or. . .

Correct - North Korea specifically.

North Korea specifically has a habit of this.

turn 0 : Although it's not new, it's still outrageous that there's an invoice for collecting Otto Warmbier.

How was the invoice given for collecting Otto Warmbier?

Answer: Given


Yeah.

Suffering from schizophrenic paranoia. And the other one says that he was a narcissist, and that it was possible to put him in jail, and not in a hospital.

And as he's been presented in the courtroom, how did he hold up under cross-examination?One thing to read out your own statement on your own behalf, another to face a prosecutor.

He's been - like I said, he's been very self-confident. He's given - his answers are very stable. He speaks very well for himself. And except the fact that his ideology is, to say it weakly, it's very special and it's very extreme. As he says himself, he's a violent extremist. He's a militant, violent extremist, and that's what he wants to be, and he doesn't really try to get away from that fact.

turn 1 : The literal meaning of this turn is that someone is suffering from schizophrenic paranoia and another person believes they should be put in jail instead of a hospital. However, the implied meaning is that the speaker is discussing the mental state of someone else and their legal situation, which may be relevant to the conversation but is not explicitly stated.

Which turn implies a discussion of someone's mental state and legal situation that may be relevant to the conversation but is not explicitly stated?

Answer: Turn1


And you know, we still have, you know, we have horse farms. We have a couple of dairy farms left. In fact there's one dairy farm, the Ferris Acres Creamery, which people come from miles around it to have their ice cream. It's - they make it there. And you know, and we have hunters. And we have a couple of game, you know, hunting preserves around town. We still are in touch with that part of our tradition.

And does everybody's kids - do everybody's kids go to that particular elementary school?

No. We have, I believe, four elementary schools that feed into an intermediate school. So we have the Sandy Hook Elementary School. We have Hawley School, Middle Gate School, and the Head O'Meadow School. And my children went to the Head O'Meadow School, where I actually was in the graduating class when it first - when we first built that building in 1977. I still remember, I think, we buried some "Star Wars" paraphernalia in the front yard.

A time capsule.

turn 0 : The town still has a strong connection to its agricultural and hunting heritage.

What is one of the dairy farms left in the town?

Answer: Ferris


There is a level of acceptance for some. So one young woman I met joined the all-women's force after being brutalized by her husband, who was part of ISIS. On the other hand, the women who were foreigners and even the real hardcore last holdouts in the fight against ISIS who are in this town of Baghuz, which had basically an apocalyptic end. They ran out of food. They ran out of water.

And what you see now from the women who were part of that is that all of the crimes of ISIS - you know, enslaving girls, raping women, beheading people on the streets, the hangings - that was not enough really to make them lose confidence in the head of ISIS. But the fact that children whose families belong to ISIS starved to death while leaders had food, that is what's making people very disappointed, very disillusioned, especially the women I've talked to.

Are there people who still support the caliphate despite all that they went through?

Absolutely there are. And in fact, one woman from Egypt I met has four daughters. She was talking about how all they want is to go home, to go back to Egypt, to go back to the parks, to go see relatives. And she said to me, you know, I don't believe in Baghdadi. But I still believe in the caliphate.

turn 1 : The crimes committed by ISIS, such as enslaving girls, raping women, and beheading people, did not make the women lose confidence in the head of ISIS, but the fact that children whose families belong to ISIS starved to death while leaders had food did.

How did the women feel about the head of ISIS despite their crimes?

Answer: Confident


Oh, sure. He had extremely high standards for himself, and for his wife and. . .

I guess what I mean is, did you ever look at him across the table and say, don't treat me like Hamid Karzai.

You know what?(Laughter) Richard was - extremely calming influence on me. I've got a pretty quick, Hungarian temper, and he just had such a way of deflating my emotional outbursts. He was actually one of the calmest in-crisis people that I've ever known. And you know, I describe, in the book, being with him when he was negotiating the end of the war in Bosnia, and principally in Dayton.

He put you between - is it Begovich and Milosevic, at dinner.

Yes, and gave me a very easy assignment. He said, make them talk to each other. And of course, you know, a few days before, these two warlords had been trying to gouge out each other's eyes. So that was a challenge.

turn 1 : The turn (2) "did you ever look at him across the table and say, don't treat me like Hamid Karzai" is an example of figurative language, as it uses a metaphor to convey a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. Hamid Karzai is a former President of Afghanistan and the metaphorical use here is to suggest that the speaker felt like they were being treated unfairly or without respect by the person being referred to.

Which former President is metaphorically referred to in the turn (1)?

Answer: Hamid-Karzai


This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Secretary of State John Kerry has joined world diplomats in Geneva today in hopes of reaching an initial agreement to freeze Iran's nuclear program. His arrival suggests a deal may be within reach this weekend, but it's still not there yet. NPR's Peter Kenyon is in Geneva and joins us now. Peter, thanks so much for being with us.

Hi, Scott.

So, how do we read the tea leaves on this?The talks were supposed to finish yesterday, but now the secretary of state has flown all the way across the Atlantic to join them.

Well, it should be a positive sign, although the very latest comments from British Foreign Secretary William Hague are along the lines, well, the gaps are narrow but they're important and not easy to resolve. So, I think your point that we're not there yet is still very much in play. But I think there's also a high-level presence, which means there's a growing sense of urgency about wrapping up these talks. I mean, this is supposed to be the easy part - a six-month deal that's entirely reversible in just about every respect if something doesn't go right. So, hammering out a lasting comprehensive deal is going to be much harder than this. And if this one takes too long to negotiate, there's a fear the whole diplomatic enterprise could just collapse under pressure. We've already heard from both parties in Congress that more sanctions may come up next month if these talks fail. So, I'd say there is a feeling of some kind of a deadline. Maybe not this weekend but soon.

turn 2 : In turn (3), the phrase "read the tea leaves" is an idiomatic expression meaning to interpret or analyze a situation for signs or indications of what might happen. It implies trying to understand the current state of affairs or predict the outcome of the situation.

What does the phrase "read the tea leaves" mean?

Answer: Analyze


So I'm going to plunge straight into another topic. That's gas prices. They rose more than six cents in one day following news of the damage to the Gulf Coast. There is a lot of oil industry there. Tropical Storm Ike also damaged that area.

Now, there is a question of whether or not folks are getting unfairly gouged. One gas station is said to have charged five dollars for a gallon of regular, and there are some other places in the damaged areas that don't even have gas. So is this price gouging?And I'm not just talking about the people in the effected areas, but people across the country.

There is some price gouging, I think, when you get to five dollars. On the other hand, when you're talking about what's happening with production, the fact is that there are almost immediate shortages. Gas stations have the gas that they have under their stations to pump, that's all they have. They have to get deliveries of other gas and it's more scarce, it costs them more.

So if someone decides, in anticipation of price rises, to raise the price on the gas under their station, that's not fair but it's somewhat reasonable. But when they take it from a few cents to five dollars, if it was being posted as $3. 65, which was the national average, and then you get up to five dollars, that does seem to be a bit much.

turn 1 : Gas stations may be charging unfair prices due to the damage caused by the storm.

How much did one gas station charge for a gallon of regular gas?

Answer: five


Well, I guess you could say almost anything is possible. But I can tell you that I think the program has shown almost no effectiveness. I think at their height, they did four arrests one year. That was costing over $200 million per arrest. CNN had a story that said sleep-deprived, medicated, suicidal and armed federal air marshals in disarray. Years ago, another - a former member of Congress told me one time, he said we did everything we really needed to do when we locked the cockpit doors. That very inexpensive thing has probably done more for air security than anything else.

I mean, it's tempting, and certainly we do it in the news business, to look at a figure like $9 billion and say, you know, figure out what that cost per arrest and everything. But I wonder, isn't it in a sense worth, I don't know, a billion dollars a year to the American people to have that deterrent aboard?Because as people in the program have pointed out, if something happens, there's no one else to call upon for help in an airliner.

Well, you could justify almost anything on that basis. But I will tell you that on any cost-benefit analysis, this program does not hold muster. I can tell you also that while a billion dollars might not seem like much money in the whole federal government. . .

Oh, no, it's a lot of money. Don't get me wrong. . .

turn 2 : While it is possible that some people may interpret this turn as simply stating a lack of effectiveness, the phrase "hold muster" suggests a stronger implication that the program falls short of certain standards or requirements.

Which phrase in Turn 2 implies that the program falls short of certain standards or requirements?

Answer: Hold-muster


The weather forecast is planning for 600 millimeters of rainfall in the coming days, which is twice as much as the quantity of rain we have seen in Beira after the first cyclone, which is really concerning because in Beira, the situation was very bad. So if the weather forecast turns out to be correct, the health and sanitation situation here will worsen, and it will be harder to access areas with food as well.

The recovery effort after Cyclone Idai was already facing a funding shortfall. Do you think relief organizations will have the resources they need to respond to another disaster?

We definitely need more support from the international community. We are expecting that our financial need will raise very quickly as we see that the situation is worsening now in the north of the country. But we are able to respond nonetheless because we already had means on the ground. We had a team that was quickly able to deploy. And we have two helicopters that just arrived today in Pemba. And we'll be able to fly as soon as tomorrow if the weather permits.

What do you think are going to be the biggest concerns in this region going forward?

turn 3 : There will be significant concerns in the region moving forward.

Answer: significant


My pleasure, Scott.

Tell us about Don McGahn, if we could. He was the campaign's lawyer, right?

He was. He built a career here in Washington representing a lot of politicians on campaign finance and ethics issues. One of his more prominent clients was Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, a Texan better known as The Hammer.

The Hammer.

turn 1 : Implied meaning: Please provide us with information about Don McGahn, as he was the campaign's lawyer, correct?

Answer: Politicians


But they just talk. They don't really do anything, and they make appeals, and people are fed up with it, so people don't really pay much attention to the Arab League meetings anymore, even if they meet at the summit level. But it's a sign that the leaders are aware that their people are angry and concerned.

And the fact is that Hamas, like Hezbollah in Lebanon, is an Islamist group that is actively fighting back against Israel, and they're the only people who seem to do this, and popular opinion in the Arab world is very much with them. Not everybody is with them. Some people criticize them, but most people line up, support Hamas in terms of just fighting back against Israel, protecting Palestinians. So there is great tension within the Arab world itself over the situation.

The Arab League is meeting today in Cairo. Do you think it will be as you say, all talk?Or will any action come out of that meeting?

Well, there probably will be some symbolic action. They'll probably send a delegation to the UN Security Council. They'll do something like that. They will ask for possibly a meeting of the Arab summit at the head of state level. But again, it will be more talk, more talk than action, more rhetoric. The facts on the ground won't change very much because of what the Arab leaders are doing, unfortunately.

There is a bit of a perception that Iran's influence is growing in that region. How do you think Arab leaders are responding to that?

turn 3 : The Arab League meetings will not lead to significant action.

How will the Arab League meetings likely affect the situation?

Answer: Talk


Work on voter registration, voter mobilization, education, coalition building, work together to help end the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reinvest in America. Convince young America that they really do have the power to change the course of the country. We must have a renewed and multiracial and multicultural coalition. These are the things that I've revolved my work around, and I intend to be pushing them real hard this summer and fall.

And do you think you'd go out on the stump with him if he wanted you to, or does he want you to?

Whatever proximity he wants. You know, he must make that decision, you know, as to who, you know, that campaign, you know, you have consultants, you have advisors, you have surrogates, you have supporters. I'm a strong supporter and have been so since before he announced, and I will continue supporting because I believe he represents the right side of history for all of America and really for the world.

Well, Reverend Jackson, thank you so much.

turn 0 : A is advocating for social and political change.

Answer: Advocacy


Sure.

We are always so grateful when you come on this show. I got to tell you - we got a lot of noes from Republicans who didn't want to come on this show and talk about gun policy, except, you know, maybe they'll go on Fox News. If the Republicans are proud of their record on guns, why not be interviewed about it?

Well, I can't speak for all of my colleagues on this. I mean, we obviously have a very serious violence problem in the country and particularly a firearm violence issue. And that - you know, we must address it. That said, we also have to respect the rights of people who own. . .

OK.

turn 1 : (2) Implies that Republicans are avoiding talking about gun policy and are only willing to talk about it on Fox News, suggesting that they are being disingenuous in their approach.

Which news channel is mentioned as the only place where Republicans are willing to talk about gun policy?

Answer: gun


Yeah, but - of course it comes into play. That's what the IG is supposed to do. And under this statute, the acting director of national intelligence has an absolute duty not to exercise discretion, but simply to pass this information on to the intelligence committees. And he's not doing it.

So if - under the statute, there's a clear violation. What the Justice Department is presumably saying when they tell him not to do it could be one of - one or both of two things. One is, this is privileged information. I - when we don't - can't evaluate that without knowing what it is. And the other is, well, the IG is just way out of his remit. He's beyond - he's acting beyond his powers. And they'd get. . .

So how would you advise Congress to act next?

Oh, with Congress - if it wants to do that, there's a couple of options. You can try to litigate this, which I think will - the courts will not want to get involved in it - whether Congress can impeach the acting director. The president's not the only person subject to impeachment. Any federal officer can be impeached. What the Congress is saying is, we don't like the way this man's behaving. He's not doing what the statute says. And their remedy is quite limited, but the Constitution tell you - you don't - tells the Congress, you don't like it?Impeach the man.

turn 0 : It doesn't come  into play physically. The statue is used during this time.

How is the IG supposed to act according to the statute?

Answer: pass


So tell us why. Why is it that some parts of the country are so twister prone?

Yeah. Well, the United States itself, we have this dubious honor of sitting right in the collision zone between really cold air masses coming down from Canada and moist, warm air that comes up from the Gulf of Mexico. And so the well-known Tornado Alley is a convergence zone, couple that with the position of jet stream and other factors that we as meteorologists look for, a dry, mid-layer or wind sheer, and you have the perfect ingredients for tornadoes.

Most tornadoes affect the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. And in fact, there is another alley we call Dixie Alley because if you look at a map of climatological occurrence of tornadoes, there are areas in the South as well that seemed to get quite a few tornadoes. But certainly this region, as you were leading into the story, was an area that we would've expected tornadoes for May 20th based on climatology.

Well, let's talk about the forecasting because one of the amazing parts of sort of science of this story was that hours before, the National Weather Service locally issued a warning that there might be a tornado. And it was pretty spot-on, it sounded like.

turn 1 : Tornado Alley is the area of the country that has the most tornadoes.

Which area of the country has the most tornadoes?

Answer: Tornado


Right. So X, for example, it's been estimated that costs of apparel and clothing for a family of four could go up by $500 if we put 25 percent tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports as has been threatened. If we not only raise the tariffs on this $200 billion to 25 percent but then go for the remaining 325 billion that haven't had tariffs on them yet, that hits everything - all food, all apparel. And it also hits things like technology and hardware.

We're talking about real money for American consumers. Negotiations do continue today. What do you expect to happen in them?

Well, I still think it's likely that we will get something that is called a deal by the end of June. I think it is more likely than not because President Trump, for political reasons, would also like to get a good deal. The stock market is going to have a strong response today against this. It's going to go down. He won't like that. And we're entering the political season in which he wants stability.

So I think a deal is more likely than not. But it will only be a brief hiatus in this long-term, contentious U. S. -China relationship.

turn 3 : "But it will only be a brief hiatus in this long-term, contentious U.S.-China relationship" has a figurative meaning that is different from its literal meaning. The literal meaning of the turn is that a deal between the US and China would only be a temporary break in their long-term, contentious relationship. However, the figurative meaning is that even if a deal is reached, the underlying tensions and issues between the two countries will remain and could resurface in the future.

How would you describe the underlying tensions between the US and China even if a deal is reached?

Answer: Damage


And then they also passed another thing that actually goes into effect immediately, which is the expansion of this committee that would be empowered to make inquiries into churches' handling of abuse as well as some other things. Those - that committee could then refer their inquiries and responses to the executive committee, which then could decide whether or not the - or the church is in what's called friendly cooperation with the broader conventions.

OK, so two fairly significant-sounding changes - and when you say they passed overwhelmingly, give me some sense of the numbers.

At least two-thirds of the people there.

What was the reaction like in the room as people understood that that's what was happening, that these changes were being voted through?

turn 0 : The committee will investigate churches' mishandling of abuse cases.

Answer: Abuse


They sense a market opportunity?

Indeed, it's a huge market opportunity.

You're from Costa Rica, which has been named U. N.  champion of the earth.

Indeed.

turn 2 : Costa Rica is the best country in the world in terms of doing things that take care of the planet.

Which country is named U.N. champion of the earth?

Answer: Enthusiasm


One last question, and I'll let you go. You know, this being sequestration day, are you concerned about budgets that you control in your committee, science budgets, that they might be slashed?

Of course - well, let's put this in perspective. We're talking about across-the-board cuts of about 2. 3 percent, and while it may mean more in certain areas, nevertheless, you know, it's regrettable, I wish we weren't having these kinds of cuts, they could have been avoided. I still think we need to cut spending, but we need to do in a smart way, not across-the-board way. And we could have set our priorities up if there had been a little bit more cooperation from the White House and from the Senate.

The House of Representatives has actually twice passed offsets to the sequestration. The Senate has not passed anything. And the administration hasn't come up with any specific alternatives to the sequestration; only the House has. So if they can't come up with a better idea, let's go with the House idea, and we could have avoided it.

All right, well, I'm certainly not one to debate the politics of this with you because as you know we'll get nowhere. But I want to thank you for taking time to be with us today and wish you good luck in deciding - because I think, you know, maybe the public really does believe this is a national priority about finding that asteroid with our name on it.

turn 1 : The speaker thinks that the across-the-board cuts are regrettable, but they could have been avoided if there had been more cooperation from the White House and the Senate.

How does the speaker feel about the across-the-board cuts?

Answer: regrettable


I suppose worth noting - the - these were young women at the time that they were employed working in factories. Not. . .

Teenagers, many of them. Yeah.

Teenagers - I mean, how young were some of them?

Well, the youngest - records show that the youngest were 11.

turn 2 : Turn (3) is an example of a statement whose meaning is different from its literal meaning. The speaker is not actually asking about the ages of the women, but rather expressing surprise or concern about how young some of them were.

How was the speaker expressing their surprise or concern in turn 2?

Answer: Surprise


Anyway, let's talk about Oprah, her TV show, her magazine, popularity in general taking a hit?Do you think it's because she picked a candidate in this race?

I think, that's probably partially what it is. I mean, she does have a very mainstream audience of women, who - a lot of them supported Hillary Clinton, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. But I also take it just a sign of the time. I mean, she's been dominant for a very long time, and you know, there comes a time when that ends, or it certainly begins to fall off a little bit, and I sort of think it's a combination of both.

I don't think it's just her support of Obama, because if you think about it, she really has not really been out there supporting him since January. She did her thing and she pretty much stepped away from it. But I think that when you combine that with the fact that she's dominated for 20 years, and Ellen now is sort of the popular person with all the celebrity guests, I just think it's time to pass the mantle on some level.

Oprah can pass the mantle anytime and still be a billionaire.

turn 0 : Taking a hit means by having the popularity be less recognizable.

How does PersonA explain the reason behind Oprah's declining popularity?

Answer: Combination


So I think that the Barack Obama, of course, then has a political legitimacy that neither of those gentlemen had because he's a United States senator elected to represent a district and serve a quarter of people. And yet, he's a charismatic figure as well, creating a sense of movement among the millions who now acclaim him as the best thing that happened to American politics since Jack Kennedy.

So Barack Obama has claimed the unique space within the context of American political destiny and has joined the charismatic authority that attends black messianic figures who become leaders in black America, as well as the quest for political legitimacy that transcends black communities. Because he's not just representing black people; he's representing white people and Latino people, and Asian people. He's representing Americans. And so he's taking it to yet another level in pioneering an even different path than the one blazed by Martin Luther King Jr.  or Jessie Jackson and, to a certain degree, Al Sharpton.

Well, Michael Eric Dyson, thank you.

Thank you very kindly, Farai.

turn 3 : "Thank you very kindly, Farai." - This turn has no implied meaning beyond its literal meaning of thanking Farai.

What is the name of the person being thanked in turn 3?

Answer: Farai


We get the impression from the reporting of our colleague Adrian Florido in Puerto Rico that this was - the protests that drove out the governor, they were a protest against the governor but really against the whole political system. And the descriptions you've just given of the various positions would seem to back that up. Does anybody have credibility to take the job?

I think there are people that do have the credibility and that have the experience. But I - it's not clear to me that political leadership has heard the message that has been delivered loud and clearly by the thousands, in some cases hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans that took to the street to let, you know, their distaste and their indignation known.

What do you mean they haven't heard the message - meaning that the political leadership doesn't understand how angry people are?

I think that that could be the case, and it is demonstrated by the fact that there are reports of backroom dealing over who could be that next secretary of state that could take over the governor's position.

turn 0 : drove out in this context means to scare someone away

What does the reporting of Adrian Florido in Puerto Rico suggest about the protests against the governor?

Answer: Protest


You know, you're helping a lot of people, Mr.  Mayor.

Well, I hope I am. I don't see it, and that's what scares me most of all. We care about everybody. We have to reach out for all of them and try to be successful for them to help them be that support deal for them. It's not a positive day every day, but you have to make it into one.

The mayor of Fulton, Texas, Jimmy Kendrick - thanks so much for being with us, Mr.  Mayor. Good luck to you.

Well, I appreciate it. And just keep us in your prayers. It's always nice to have a prayer given for us.

turn 3 :  The mayor is thanking the interviewer for their support and asking them to keep them in their prayers, which goes beyond the literal meaning of his words.

How does the mayor express his gratitude towards the interviewer?

Answer: Prayers


Adventure on the high seas is a concept that has captured our imagination - stepping onto a ship, waving goodbye to your friends, family, land and sailing off toward the horizon. But once a ship leaves its shore, it's also sailing beyond the reach of law and order. Piracy, murder, exploitation, sea slavery, gun running, intentional dumping - the criminal activity off shore is so extensive and so diverse that investigative reporter Ian Urbina continued reporting after his 2015 multipart series for The New York Times. All that reporting is contained now in his new book called "The Outlaw Ocean. "And he joins me now. Welcome.

Thanks for having me.

And we should remind people that we are deeply dependent on the ocean, both in and of itself, of course, and also as a means of how we get things and what we consume.

Yeah. Ninety percent of what we consume from iPhones to running shoes comes across the sea on cargo vessels, and 50% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by the oceans. And seafood is a massively expanding source of protein for much of the planet. The oceans are the temperature stabilizer for countering climate change's effect. So in all these ways, it's a pretty essential part of the planet.

turn 3 : To consume from iPhones and running shoes meaning that people buy phones and shoes rather than eat them.

How do people consume iPhones and running shoes?

Answer: Buy


Yeah,. It's really amazing, yeah. It turns out he was, you know, an avid, you know, layperson but had great interest in butterflies and how they evolve and so on. And he suggested that butterflies moved in certain ways from between Asia and Europe and so on. And just about a couple of years ago scientists discovered that, you know, what he suggested is actually correct.

And how did he come up with that idea?I mean, was it based on fact?

He was really following - yeah, yeah. He was following, you know, the butterflies and, you know, and where - what kinds of species you find where and so on. He was really very interested and very knowledgeable in butterflies.

Mm-hmm. OK.  Let's move on to another famous guy: Lord Kelvin. Tell us who Lord Kelvin was and what his big blunder was.

turn 0 : He was a person that was not a scientist but had an interest in butterflies.

How would you describe the person mentioned in turn 0?

Answer: Layperson


Not solely, no. And this is something that is commonly, I think, misunderstood. The cornerstone of the healing profession and the physician is the patient relationship. But psychiatry more than any other really has an imperative to maintain the primacy of the patient relationship, so medications were extraordinarily important; they were miraculous developments, but medications alone can't do it.

Yeah. Between fever cures and induced comas and drilling holes in the skull and lobotomies, psychiatry has done some painful things to people in the name of science over the years, hasn't it?

Well, that's the point. That's why it's the untold story. In order for us to genuinely make a case for why psychiatry is a medical discipline that deserves sort of equal footing and respect as other medical specialties, we needed to fess up in terms of what the past was. And so in order to do so, we needed to tell the unvarnished history of the field and then describe why things may not have been helpful and in some cases harmful then, but why that's different now. And nobody should avoid seeking treatment if they think they need it because of uncertainty or fear.

Dr.  Jeffrey Lieberman has written, with Ogi Ogas, a new book "Shrinks: The Untold Story Of Psychiatry. "Thanks so much for being with us.

turn 1 : The actual meaning of turn (2) is different from its literal meaning. While the literal meaning refers to the painful methods that psychiatry has used in the past to cure people, the implicated meaning is that psychiatry has a history of questionable and even harmful practices, which have affected people's trust in the field.

Which field had a history of questionable practices according to the implied meaning in turn 2?

Answer: Psychiatry


(Singing) I want to go to a place Where every dream of mine comes true. And then I look at the stars And pick out one just for you.

You know, it strikes me that in some ways, this album is more like the singer-songwriters like Jill Scott than your previous work as a group. Who do you listen to?Obviously, you have your own sound, but who do you listen to?

Well, right now I actually haven't been listening to much music. But I have so many influences going back to like the late '70s and '80s. From different gospel artists and R&B, and later on I got into jazz. So it would be so tedious just to say, you know, who my influences are, and who I listen to.

But of the current artists, I love D'Angelo, Anthony Hamilton, I think Jill Scott's fantastic, Alicia Keys, John Legend. There's a lot of independent artists out there that are great too. Eric Robeson. So there's so many fantastic artists, and I would probably say that, like you said, I do kind of have my own sound there, which I'm proud of. I mean, I was able to develop over time in the studio with my husband. . .

turn 1 : Asking about musical influences, not comparing the album to other artists

What is the name of one of the independent artists mentioned by A?

Answer: Robeson.


Unidentified Children's Choir: (Singing) They don't teach us the ABCs We play on the hard concrete All we got is life on the streets All we got is life on the streets

(Singing) Rock, you know my era B-boy seasoning, salt-n-pepa Grown and sexy, come with the extra Crushed up linen, fly like Cessna…

Mr.  K'NAAN: I have so many different influences and inspirations and I feel like there's never a reason to disguise those influences. I think "ABC's" is just like a classic K'naan song in the sense that it gives you the conflict of, should I dance or should I think, you know.

Does suffering make for more realistic rap lyrics and provide more credibility the more you suffer?

turn 0 : All they have is the way of life that takes place outside of buildings.

Answer: Treasury


Do you ever feel that way, you're just so tired of singing, but you know you have to because that song is so closely associated with who you are?

Well "Band of Gold" would be it, but by the time I get to the end of the show, and I'm coming back for that last encore…

(Singing) Now that you're gone, all that's left is a band of gold…

A lot of times, I will do "Band of Gold," and as a matter of fact, I - and I find that it's a good thing because I see people in the audience just light up, like (unintelligible)…

turn 2 : The actual meaning of (3) is, A is expressing a feeling of sadness and nostalgia over the loss of a loved one.

How does PersonA feel while singing "Band of Gold"?

Answer: Tired


Thanks. Glad to be with you.

So what we've been hearing a lot about is basically just a failure of these negotiations to move forward. Before we get to the nuts and bolts of it, from an economic level, how are people in Detroit dealing with what appears to be a reluctance on the part of the federal government to really enter into a bailout?

Well, I think there are really two key emotions that are at play in Detroit right now. One is fear. People are very scared because the auto industry is so important to metro Detroit, thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs. If one or more of the automakers were to go under, the ripple effect here would be catastrophic because the plant is affected and then the suppliers are affected and the restaurants are affected and the shopping malls are affected. So there'd be such a horrible cascading effect.

So fear is number one, and I think number two is anger. People see how roughly the automakers were treated, and people feel that they were being treated as autoworkers, roughly as well, when at the same time you see, you know, on a Sunday night Citibank gets $20 billion without a second thought. So people here are very angry about the different treatments Wall Street and the automakers have received.

turn 3 : The treatment of the automakers in comparison to Wall Street has caused anger and frustration among people in Detroit.

What emotions are at play in Detroit regarding the treatment of automakers in comparison to Wall Street?

Answer: Anger,Frustration


Yeah. It's interesting. In Japan, it's the same prime minister that was in place six years ago, but the political environment, I think, has shifted in some dramatic ways. And so I think one of the interesting aspects of the Japanese situation is that the LDP has returned to power. The Liberal Democratic Party has returned to power. But now they have a party that is to the right of them.

And so we talk about those two states. And, of course, the other major player, the biggest in the region, China, where Xi Jinping took command just last month, formally.

That's right. I think we're still waiting to see how China's foreign policy priorities are really going to develop under Xi. The process seems to be moving slowly, and it's not necessarily terribly transparent at this point. We know there are new top leaders in the room, but it's just not clear exactly how they're making decisions or whether they're going to change much in terms of China's overall priorities.

And transparency's a problem in Beijing. It's positively - well, murky is too easy a word for what's going on in Pyongyang.

turn 3 : The situation in Pyongyang is extremely unclear and difficult to understand

Which city's situation is described as murky in the conversation?

Answer: Pyongyang


You know, it hurts them both because many of the voters just don't understand how this can be happening. They know the president wants it. They know the Senate majority wants it or says it wants it. But the Senate just can't muster even half its votes to do it, and they can't bring all the Republicans to bear on it. So something is not right. Either the mojo of the president isn't working or the mechanism of the Senate is not working, and to some degree, both are true.

Is there any reason why Democrats now might want to sign on to any kind of bipartisan health care effort when their own plan has been saved?

Yes, absolutely. The Democrats need to go forward with some kind of bipartisan solution because there are many real problems with the execution and the administration of Obamacare. Now, Patty Murray, the senator from Washington state, has been working with Tennessee's Lamar Alexander in the Senate. And he's a Republican. He's the chairman of one of the committees that's relevant here.

And, of course, a lot of the Democrats are aware of these shortfalls. And there are counties with only one insurance company and counties where it's not clear there are going to be any insurance companies. And some of that's been overblown, but there are real problems. And, of course, any bill, any large program, any law needs to be revisited and amended, and the parties need to get together to do that.

turn 1 : (2) Implied meaning: Is there any incentive for Democrats to cooperate with Republicans on health care reform now that they have been successful in preserving the original?

What senator has been working with Patty Murray on a bipartisan solution for the problems with Obamacare?

Answer: Patty