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 1 : The implied meaning is that A is suggesting investing in companies related to the growing middle class in China.

How does PersonA suggest investing based on the growing middle class in China?

Answer: Companies


Many people start off working either in tasting rooms or they work in a restaurant, maybe as a server. And then they want to know more about wines so they become a sommelier. Or they take classes for wine education. Or they become distributors for wine. Or they work for distributors for wine for different parts of the country.

We had a gentleman who went to Argentina and bought a vineyard and is starting to grow grapes and do it from the farming standpoint. Several of the members of our panel were growers, and so simply farmers, like growing tomatoes or growing roses in your garden, you learn how to cultivate vineyards.

Steve, thanks so much for your time.

Thank you for having us on your program.

turn 0 : Working with wine doesn't necessarily require formal education.

What is one way people become involved in the wine industry without having formal education?

Answer: Servers.


I learned it from you, actually. yeah.

So if you're listening - donate blood, donate plasma, and you can save someone's life by being a live liver donor.

And as is written in both - I'm sorry (laughter) - oh, as it's written in both the Quran and the Talmud, he who saves one life. . .

It's as if you save humankind. So Shawn and his family have saved my daughter's life. My life belongs to them.

turn 3 : The father is extremely grateful to the donor and the donor's family.

What is the reason for the father's gratitude towards Shawn and his family?

Answer: Saving


I was shocked by that on a number of levels. You know, the first thing that shocked people about the call, obviously, is the notion of the president withholding military aid and trying to bully the Ukrainians into doing personal favors. This is, obviously, a big deal. But in the middle of all that, what struck me and, as I say, even shocked me was his willingness to disparage our ambassador to Ukraine in a call with a foreign leader, referring to her as the woman and saying she was bad news and then vaguely but, frankly, ominously saying to the president of Ukraine that she was going to go through some things.

Let's give her name. It's Marie Yovanovitch. Tell us about her. What's her reputation in the diplomatic community?

So Marie Yovanovitch - and she goes by Masha. Masha was one of the most respected and longstanding members of our foreign service. She has, I think, been in the foreign service for over 30 years, served all around the world and most recently and in the most senior positions, obviously, as ambassador to Ukraine, until she was removed prematurely in May, but before that, also ambassador to Armenia and ambassador to Kyrgyzstan.

The State Department has said that the ambassador concluded her three-year diplomatic assignment in Kyiv as planned, that there was no kind of retribution or she was not yanked back unceremoniously. Why are there doubts on that in the diplomatic community?

turn 3 : She was not quickly recalled to her country without any warning.

How was the ambassador recalled from her diplomatic assignment in Kyiv?

Answer: planned


. . . Was impelled by government programs that said to people, every American should be in a home.

It was certainly promoted by low-interest rates. And that's the Federal Reserve's domain. So you can see there's a huge left-right alliance potential here, and it really is unstoppable. And in the past, it's succeeded.

You say despite being identified as a liberal, when you run for president, you've gotten actually more - you say, more votes from Republicans than Democrats.

Yeah, when I had this write-in effort in New Hampshire in 1992, yeah, I came in about 51 percent of my votes were Republican, 49 Democrats. And the explanation's really quite simple. I don't campaign in generalities. What I do is I go down where people live and work and say, look, you're a Republican. You don't like federal regulation. Right, I don't like federal regulation. You have a car?Yeah. Well, if the auto company discovers a serious dangerous defect in your car after you bought it and the auto company doesn't recall it, would you favor the government requiring General Motors or Ford or VW to recall it?Most of them say yes.

turn 0 : In turn (1), when the speaker says, "Was impelled by government programs that said to people, every American should be in a home," the literal meaning is that government programs encouraged homeownership. However, the implied meaning is that these programs were promoting homeownership to an extent that was beyond what was sustainable or responsible, which ultimately led to a housing bubble and the 2008 financial crisis. The turn implies that the government's encouragement of homeownership was misguided and had negative consequences, which is a departure from the literal meaning of the words used in the turn.

Which alliance potential is mentioned in the dialogue?

Answer: Left-right


Now, let's talk a little bit about what has changed for you. During that Hayday, what was a typical day in your life like?And then now, as things are much more shaky, what's a typical day in your life like?

I think, in the HayDay, we saw - there was this healthy balance between supply of houses and the demands for houses on our market. And what I did typically see is working with a lot of first-time homebuyers during that period, people getting really great rate in the 4 percent (unintelligible).

And then, you know, in our marketplace, you know, Cleveland's generally really affordable place to buy a home and a good place for people to obtain - homeownership is attainable for a lot of people because here of prices of our homes in our area. You know, today, we see those same people losing their homes, and it's just a few short years later - and I think we can attributed to the products that they were put in; the loan products and the kind of irresponsibility of both the consumer and the mortgage banks. And…

So sorry to interrupt you. When you say loan product, you're talking about some of these subprime loans?

turn 3 : In the given context, the literal meaning of turn (4) is that B is simply asking A to clarify what they mean by "loan product," specifically asking if they are referring to subprime loans. However, the implied meaning of turn (4) is that B may be trying to redirect the conversation away from the topic of subprime loans, which have been associated with the housing market crash, and potentially avoid blame or responsibility for their role in the crisis. This can be inferred from the fact that B interrupts A while they are discussing the role of loan products and the irresponsibility of consumers and mortgage banks.

Which topic does PersonB interrupt PersonA from discussing in turn (2)?

Answer: Subprime


Hi.

So, where were you when the typhoon hit?

I was on the island of Baho, and Baho was affected yesterday about 2 P. M. The problem for Baho is that it had already been basically destroyed, parts of it, by a massive earthquake just three weeks ago. So, there are certain areas of Baho that were particularly vulnerable to the extreme weather that we had yesterday.

I know you're still struggling to assess things but what can you tell us about what conditions look like now?

turn 3 : The implied meaning is to ask for an update on the current condition of Baho after the typhoon.

Which island was affected by the typhoon and had already been destroyed by an earthquake three weeks ago?

Answer: Baho


You know, this is a very opaque system in Iran. And it's tough to sometimes know to what extent an action was sanctioned from the very top. And in some ways, President Trump gave Iran an out by saying that this was just a big mistake. This was a misunderstanding.

Could have been a junior officer somewhere or something like that.

Exactly.

Could it have been a junior officer somewhere?

turn 0 : Iran has a system of government that does not tell anyone what is going on.

Which country's system of government is opaque?

Answer: Iran


I suspect that more than a wee dram has been ingested in Scotland, particularly over the past few months, between people grousing about being under the thumb of London and the U. K. In the end, did a lot of Scots decide they kind of like the English?

I really don't think this is a kind of loving of Britain. I think that we had a double negative affect here rather than a positive embrace of what's British. It was more to do with a fear of how we might mess up if we go it alone, I think. There is just something within the Scottish psyche, I think. It's fairly confrontational, the psychology of the Scots. We tend to not wholeheartedly embrace something and say, you know, oh God, we love being British or we love you or, you know, we'll say, ah, you're not bad. You know, that's a very Scottish expression. I think that's what we've done with England and the rest of the U. K.  You know what; it's not that bad rather than suddenly discovering our Britishness.

Ewan Morrison, author and screenwriter, author of "Tales From The Mall," joining us from Glasgow, Scotland - still the U. K. Thanks very much for being with us.

Thank you for having me.

turn 3 : "Thank you for having me." - The actual meaning is figurative, as the speaker is not physically being "had" or possessed by the host, but rather expressing gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the conversation.

Which word expresses gratitude in turn 3?

Answer: Thank


In a word, Ari - schadenfreude. I think at this moment, whether you look at politics or society in general, there is a lot of concern about fraud, about misrepresentation, people not being who they say they are, not to mention a lot of resentment of wealth and privilege and all the trappings that come with it. And the way this story has unfolded, the fact that these families really seem to believe that the rules should not apply to them - that's been galling to many people.

And then look at the setting, right?So elite colleges are the source of such cultural fascination. Some would say obsession. Highly selective colleges - you know, they only enroll about 1 percent of all college students. So they're very, very small. But then again, they have these brands that are known all over the world. And they're supposed to stand for merit, for hard work, for the best and the brightest.

And so when you look at something like this or, even bigger, the legacy admissions or the fact that some wealthy donors can write a check and get their kid into college that way supposedly, it - all of this is really going to undermine the idea of having institutions in our society that represent hard work and being kind of excellent.

So where do these cases go from here?

turn 2 :  Implied meaning: These cases may lead to a general mistrust of institutions that are supposed to represent hard work and excellence

Which institutions may face mistrust due to the cases discussed in the dialogue?

Answer: Institutions


The militant group ISIS, the Islamic State, has lost much of the territory it held when it was, as reporter Azadeh Moaveni says, running a kind of killing spree in Iraq and Syria. But many of the young women and girls that left their homes to join ISIS view the group differently.

The story I wanted to tell is how it unfolded in the lives of so many young women as kind of, in a very perverse way, an empowerment project.

Moaveni's new book is called "Guest House For Young Widows: The Women Of ISIS. "It follows some of the girls who left their families in Tunisia, Germany and England to join the caliphate. We begin with the story of the Bethnal Green teenagers.

These were a group of young high school students. They were 15. They went to school in a very urban, dense neighborhood of London. They were straight-A students. They were popular in school. These were not girls who you would think would be really susceptible, but a lot of them also had absent fathers.

turn 1 : Unfolded meaning that things are revealed to what they really are, in this case the lives of young women involved in ISIS.

How did the story of ISIS unfold for young women?

Answer: Empowerment


Their main achievement was that they submitted documents to the United Nations, formally joining the Paris climate agreement. And on the occasion President Obama said that some day we may see this as the moment that we finally decided to save our planet. President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, called on other countries to follow their example. Now, a lot more countries still have to formally join this agreement for it to take effect. But the U. S.  and China submitted their documents ahead of schedule, and this just means that the commitments that these countries made in Paris can be put into action that much sooner.

This is the first time China has hosted this summit. Does it have a goal in mind as to why it's doing it?

Well, first of all, you know, by hosting this for the first time, to many Chinese it really marks the first time that they've had an equal seat at the rulemaking table since World War II. They feel that they're now the world's second-largest economy, and they want a say that's commensurate with that status. So far, a lot of the rules have been made by the Group of Seven or Group of Eight industrialized nations. China has not been a part of that, and they want a more equitable system represented by the G-20 that does a better job of taking into account the needs of developing nations like itself.

Do we know what's on the agenda?

turn 3 : Implied meaning: What topics will be discussed at the summit?

How can turn 3 be summarized in one word?

Answer: Agenda


What's a fuel hedge?Explain that.

A fuel hedge is basically a financial contract that you buy in the commodity market where you essentially pre-buying fuel. So Southwest CEO, Gary Kelly, back in 2003, as the U. S.  was preparing to go to war in Iraq, just decided that the war in the Middle East wasn't probably good for oil prices, and he went out and bought a lot of oil ahead of time. Pre-bought it, and that has paid off in billions of dollars of profits for the airline.

And this continues from 2003?Do they continue to buy fuel ahead?Because the price of oil over the last year, I mean, it keeps going up and up. At some point you would think they would say we're not going to buy anymore.

You know it's fascinating because a lot of people thought Southwest hedges would fade out. They did make that big bet when prices were in the 30's, but they kept buying and they have continued to buy. They have most of their oil bought for this year at about 57 dollars a barrel. If you don't have hedges, you're right now paying about 120 something dollars a barrel. And they've bought fuel all the way out to 2012 as of today.

turn 3 : Southwest has bought fuel all the way out to 2012 as of today

What is the furthest year Southwest has bought fuel for?

Answer: 2012


I think, at this point, the way to sanitize everything and start to rebuild confidence - and it's going to be difficult - is just for everybody to open up and say, look, here is where we are. Here are the assets that are still on our books. None of that stuff tends to panic people. There's a lot of bad news there, but people are smart enough to realize that, if they're not being told something, it's probably because the news is bad. And I think, once you just get it all out there, it would help quite a bit.

Henry, always great to talk to you.

You, too. Thank you so much for having me.

Henry Blodget is the CEO of the financial news site clusterstock. com.

turn 0 : Being honest about the current situation can help restore confidence

How can being transparent help restore confidence?

Answer: Trust


Like what, as you see it?

Well, there are a few things. First of all, ABC did try to get the case dismissed in the early going and the judge declined to do that. They tried to remove the case to federal court, which is a pretty well accepted strategy. But they couldn't remove it to federal court. So they were going to end up trying the case, really, in the plaintiff's backyard. So I think that those were risks combined with the fact that there's obviously a great deal of sort of free floating anti-media sentiment out there these days, which is hard to quantify. And the amount that was being requested by the plaintiff was, you know, billions, literally, billions of dollars.

Does a large settlement like this just embolden other people to sue media companies?

Well, I think that after we see a large verdict or a large settlement, we do tend to see an uptick. Many plaintiffs and their lawyers think that maybe media entities are easy get-rich-quick targets. I think that's a mistake.

turn 3 : asking if there is a general perception that media companies are easy targets for lawsuits.

How does a large settlement like this affect the number of lawsuits against media companies?

Answer: Uptick


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 2 :  "form of thought police" - the literal meaning of this phrase would be a physical agency that enforces particular thoughts, but the actual meaning is a regulatory body that ensures impartiality in broadcasting.

What is the actual meaning of the phrase "form of thought police" in the dialogue?

Answer: impartiality


Winston Churchill, we always have to quote him once in a while, right?He said that jaw-jaw was better than war-war. And no matter how awful the war of words may get, it's only serious, really, if it leads to real war. And if North Korea is truly a nuclear power now, any thought of a military solution is somewhere between horrific and unthinkable.

And the Mueller investigation's widening?

We do see more evidence that the Mueller investigation thinks it has some kind of goods on Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman for Donald Trump. He also seems to think he can use whatever he has on Manafort to pry loose more stuff on other campaign figures. Is this going to reach the president himself?At this point, that does not seem to be indicated. But this probe is going to continue and get a lot more uncomfortable for the president before it's over.

NPR's Ron Elving. Thanks so much.

turn 0 : Jaw-jaw is better than war-war meaning diplomacy is preferable to military conflict.

How did Winston Churchill suggest resolving conflicts?

Answer: Diplomacy


Well, yeah. But you see what I mean?Because it is about perception and how we need to be - to understand what we're seeing before we can really see it, that's really key to understanding this whole issue of climate change and why we see or don't see what's right in front of us.

What drew you to monarchs in the first place?

I had really wanted to write about the subject for a long time. I live in southern Appalachia. I am surrounded by neighbors and friends - people I respect very much - who don't really understand climate change or believe in it, even though, as farmers, they're getting socked by it. We've had unprecedented, disastrous weather time and again. So it's such a strange contradiction that the people in our continent who are first to feel the harm of a changing climate are the last to be able to talk about it.

That was such a conundrum and such rich territory for a novel to tread, that I was just looking for the right way to get into the subject. And one morning, I just woke up with this vision in my eyes of millions of butterflies covering the forest behind my house. I just - I mean, I didn't actually see it. I imagined it. I woke up and there it was, and I knew that was it.

turn 2 : Farmers who are most affected by climate change are the least likely to believe in it

How are the farmers affected by climate change?

Answer: Socked


Yes.

. . . He did in a helicopter crash in 2005. A lot of people loved John Garang, a lot of people didn't. Do you have to worry about that when you design currency?

Absolutely. And in my visit there, he was universally respected, if not loved. He was really the only national hero they could agree to. So he actually appears on all denominations of the money. So he's the only really unifying hero of South Sudan.

What about other symbols that you have to include?

So there's the flag. The flag is a carryover from the People's Liberation Army, so that was an easy symbol. So it's a six color flag that people really used during the second civil war, and it's a natural rallying point. So that's their symbol. And when you're a new nation, you're defining your sort of, like, territory. So this, like, updating of signs was really a big deal, so they made banners and they made these sort of, like, 10 signs to say South Sudan.

turn 1 : Implied meaning: The speaker's tone and word choice suggest that they may be withholding information or expressing something indirectly, potentially due to fear of judgement or repercussions.

How does the PersonA's tone and word choice in turn 1 make them appear?

Answer: Indirectly


Yeah. I think a big local newspaper, you know, was kind of like the big local sports team. There's always been hostility toward the big, local paper but I think there was a certain amount of pride in it. And this is our paper. We are a big-time city. I think the Herald spoke more for the community and reflected the community better than any other institution down here could. And now there is no institution to replace that, unless, you know, you talk about sports team or something like that. And I think that's true of many, many cities now.

We talk so much about newspapers. Is journalism going to survive?Has that become DIY?Is this an opportunity for novelists to step in?

You know, novelists have been trying to step in for hundreds of years. And I think the same forces that are sort of working against newspapers probably are also working, to some extent, against books. I just, I don't know. It just feels like everything happens so fast now and everybody, you know, goes on to the next subject so quickly now. Books seem a little archaic, except as entertainment and, you know, as an escape from policy and that sort of thing.

Dave Barry. His new novel, "Insane City. "Speaking with us, of course, from Miami. Dave, thanks so much for being with us.

turn 1 : In turn (2), the speaker questions the future of traditional journalism and whether there is an opportunity for novelists to fill the gap.

How does the speaker in turn (2) feel about the relevance of books in today's fast-paced world?

Answer: Archaic


At some point, it does cross your mind and you do worry about contracting the illness, but there are only fleeting moments. We have to concentrate on the patients here to provide them with appropriate medical care, but also to make sure our outreach program of finding cases, of following up of contacts is performed in a comprehensive manner so that we can bring this outbreak to a close.

I don't want to the leave the conversation with you without asking what can the world do as far as you're concerned?

We need an organization that can provide some leadership across multiple countries in the region of West Africa. To date, we have not seen that occurring. And if we don't find the cases in the community, and we don't do the contact tracing, this outbreak will linger on for months and months. Solving outbreaks is not rocket science. It just requires those features I have described previously. But unfortunately, they're not being applied in an appropriate manner at the moment to reach the world.

Dr.  Gabriel Fitzpatrick of Doctors Without Borders - Medecins Sans Frontieres. Thanks very much for being with us.

turn 1 : (2).  In this turn, B says "I don't want to leave the conversation with you without asking what can the world do as far as you're concerned?" which literally means that B wants to know what the world can do to help. However, the implied meaning here is that B is acknowledging the gravity of the situation and the need for collective action to address the Ebola outbreak. This turn is an example of rhetorical questioning, where the speaker asks a question for effect rather than to elicit a direct answer.

Which turn is an example of rhetorical questioning?

Answer: 3


Well, the state of the free world is at stake as always in college football, as you know. I really feel that the one thing about college football that people do gravitate toward - I'm not a huge college football fan myself - but I feel like what it does to people who really care about it is that it really is a winner-take-all type of thing. You kind of have to win every single game. You lose one game and your national title hopes are dashed. So, when you have a big matchup early and you're just getting started, this is a big game. Well, I think it's a bigger game for Michigan and for Alabama, naturally, because Alabama is defending national championship. They'll be there at the end. But if you're Michigan, this is a good chance early on to show what you've got.

I guess things don't look so great for my Boise State Broncos, right?This is a rebuilding year in Boise.

Exactly. And I was thinking that last night when they lost. I said, oh, well, goodness, Boise State lost one game therefore their entire future has been destroyed, and for - at least there's next year, right?

At least there's next year. Howard Bryant, senior writer at ESPN. com and ESPN the Magazine. Howard, thanks so much. Have a good U. S.  Open.

turn 2 : In this turn, the speaker is using sarcasm to imply that the reaction to Boise State losing one game is exaggerated and that there is always a chance for redemption in the future. The literal meaning of "therefore their entire future has been destroyed" is not true, but the speaker is using hyperbole to make a point. The actual meaning is that losing one game is not the end of the world, and there is always the possibility of improvement in the future.

What is the tone of the PersonA's statement in turn 2?

Answer: Sarcastic


Not me but we collectively.

We. And then in one place, Philadelphia, I believe, they say yeah mean, which is different.

I thought he played basketball. The Chinese guy, Yao Ming.

Oh, he's - yeah, yeah, yeah.

So it's - I've fallen in love with the phrase. I've fallen in love with the culture, with the people. And just trying to, you know, spread laughter and learn at the same time.

turn 4 : A: "Spread laughter and learn at the same time" is an idiomatic expression that means "to entertain and educate at the same time." The literal meaning of "spread laughter" would be to physically spread laughter, which is not possible, and the literal meaning of "learn at the same time" would be to learn simultaneously with the act of spreading laughter, which may not be practical.

How would you describe the meaning of "spread laughter and learn at the same time"?

Answer: Entertain


No, I think he's wrong about that. I think Assad is one of the main reasons for the growth of ISIS. And that's the message I would have for the Russians now. You know, if they think somehow that backing Assad without any prospect for political transition will succeed, I think they're wrong.

But is there anything in Bashar al-Assad's profile that would suggest if he's able to hold onto power long enough to be part of a solution that then he just, you know, hops a plane for France and says you guys take care of it from now on?

No, nothing at all, and that's precisely my point. You can achieve limited political objectives with support for the opposition and limited military force. But the ultimate political objective of regime change takes a lot more than we have been prepared to do.

One last question. What would the messy solution you're talking about ideally look like in, say, six months?

turn 2 : In turn (3), the speaker says "You can achieve limited political objectives with support for the opposition and limited military force. But the ultimate political objective of regime change takes a lot more than we have been prepared to do." The literal meaning of this turn is that achieving limited political objectives requires some support for the opposition and limited military force, while achieving the ultimate political objective of regime change requires more effort than what has been done so far.

Which objective requires more effort than what has been done so far?

Answer: Regime


The United Nations World Food Programme has to cut back on the food that it gives out to some of the most imperiled people in the world. In Ethiopia, for example, it's had to lower the daily calorie intake for hundreds of thousands of refugees that it feeds in the camps there. Now, this is partly due to funding shortfalls, but there is also a growing need for food aid as the globe's conflicts continue. Peter Smerdon joins us now from Nairobi. He's the spokesperson for the World Food Programme in East Africa. Mr.  Smerdon, thanks for being with us.

My pleasure.

What kind of hard decisions do to the folks in your program have to make?

Basically, when we haven't got enough money, we have to decide who's not going to get food. And most of the people we serve are dependent on the United Nations World Food Programme for their food needs - in many cases, 100 percent because either they fled countries in conflict, and they have absolutely no money, no jobs and no assets left or because they're refugees, and they are confined to camps. They are not allowed to work. And they have no money, either.

turn 2 : The World Food Programme has to decide who is not going to get food due to the lack of resources, and those who are most in need often have to go without.

How does lack of resources affect the distribution of food by the World Food Programme?

Answer: Distribution


And let's not forget that that's the heritage that Marissa Mayer comes from; understanding how to make search at Google ever more personal, ever more relevant. If she can do the same thing with news and make it more relevant to you, so that it's not a one-size-fits-all product anymore, that could be a big advance in the form.

So, let's say in a year or two the president of the United States has what - I don't know if it's a tradition - but often he will have lunch with the major network actors. Does Katie Couric have lunch at that same table?

Well, there's two questions there. One, is whether that is the judgment of importance in news. I think that we have to get out of the access game. But I still understand your question, which is will Yahoo be a presence in news as much as the other networks?It might take a while, but there's no reason it couldn't be. You know, there's a great, great blog called SCOTUSblog that covers the Supreme Court like no one else and they are struggling right now to get a credential to the Supreme Court. They do great coverage, highly specialized. And we've got to get past this idea that only big, old institutions are journalistic institutions. We have to work collaboratively with all kinds of new players.

Jeff Jarvis, media analyst and professor of journalism joining us from New York. Thanks so much for being with us.

turn 3 :  The implied meaning of (4) is that Jeff Jarvis is not only a media analyst and professor of journalism, but also a commentator on the current news and media situation.

Which profession is Jeff Jarvis associated with, other than being a media analyst and professor of journalism?

Answer: commentator


So the parents as well as one coach have agreed to plead guilty in connection with this scheme. And according to one of the plea agreements at least, they may serve a few months in jail as well as paying fines and restitution. And Felicity Huffman, the actress, as you heard, is one of the more high-profile people accused. But others, including Lori Loughlin, another actress from the TV show "Full House," is among those originally accused who is continuing to fight the charges.

What are we hearing from the parents?

Well, two of those who plead - pled guilty today issued very contrite statements. Huffman's statement reportedly said, I am in full acceptance of my guilt - deep regret and shame. And she also reiterated that her daughter had no idea.

This story has gotten so much attention, and it seems to have really resonated with students and parents. Why do you think it has had such a big impact?

turn 2 : Felicity Huffman has accepted her guilt in the scheme.

What did Huffman reportedly say in her statement?

Answer: Guilt


And, of course, this gourmet chef has, as his confidant, food critic, and food taster, his cat named Apollo. So as you can expect, everything goes wrong that day. The question is, can everything be put right?

And we'll leave it with that because, I mean, there's such a lovely surprise at the end that we should let people get to on their own. So Steinbeck - did he write a lot of short stories as well?

He wrote a good number of short stories, but this is one of the few that has some very fine, comic elements to it. When I was reading it, I was thinking to myself, is this John Steinbeck?I mean, nobody's dead; nobody's crying. There was some crying in this story, but a lot of it just was very funny. And he just manages to take a very simple theme and, with great turns of phrase, fantastic prose, turn it into something that - when I read it, I said to myself, this is a little gem. And I was just so, so excited to be reading this.

Yeah, I feel like it was - if someone suggested the topic, no other writer could have made it just shine and come to life in this really cool way.

turn 0 : be put right means that something should be made correct, or something should be corrected

What is the name of the confidant of the gourmet chef mentioned in turn 0?

Answer: Apollo


That's right. And the U. S.  scientists had been very disappointed in the '58 Brussels fair because they felt the Russians had outshone us in terms of science. And they said we need to do something. And the Seattle guys came along and said, we want to do a fair. You want a science fair. That's what this will be about. The Space Needle was designed to be a symbol of the kind of uplift that science and technology represented to the world.

When they broke ground on the Space Needle, it was literally the same time that the Berlin Wall was being built. And it became this kind of symbol about the difference between us and the Soviets. They were putting up barbwire. We were putting up a vista to the world.

Talking with Knute Berger on SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR. I'm Ira Flatow here at - in Seattle at the Pacific Science Center right next to the Space Needle. If it were to be built today, would anything be built differently about it, structurally or design-wise or is it almost a perfect needle?

You know, I asked the engineer who's still alive who worked on it. I asked him that exact question. I said what would you today?And he said, basically, we wouldn't anything different. He said we could take some of the weight out of it. They overbuilt it. He. . .

turn 2 : He wants to know if the tower is perfect as is or should it be changed.

Which question did Knute Berger ask on SCIENCE FRIDAY about the Space Needle's design if it were to be built today?

Answer: Structurally


It's a delight to be back with you, Scott.

Now, is this just another drip in the FIFA scandal or does this suggest that the Justice Department is any closer to sorting all of this out?

Well, the noose is tightening. Similar scenes in Brazil have gone on in Germany. It's kind of like the end of the "Godfather" movies where the dominoes are all falling, one by one. Sepp Blatter, the farcical little man who's run FIFA for the past couple of decades - FIFA, the nonprofit of a billion-and-a-half cash reserve. It's a wonderful - they're my favorite kind of nonprofit.

It's the kind of nonprofit NPR should be, but go ahead, yes.

turn 2 : 3) Implied meaning: The situation is getting worse for FIFA, with similar events happening in both Brazil and Germany. Sepp Blatter, the long-time leader of the organization, is running out of time as the evidence against him is mounting. Despite all the money they have, they are still a non-profit organization

Which non-profit organization is being talked about in the dialogue?

Answer: FIFA


Revkin told me about a man named Khaled. He worked at a slaughterhouse that ISIS took control of, leaving him with a choice - stay at the job and work for ISIS or leave and face retaliation.

Khaled, like many residents of Mosul, decided that cooperation was the only way to survive. So he continued working in the slaughterhouse. He claimed that he was never trained. He never received combat training or used a weapon or participated in any military operations on behalf of the group. But nonetheless, three years later, when Iraqi security forces, supported by the international coalition, recaptured Mosul, he was 1 of more than 90,000 people who have been detained on suspicion of association with the group. And he was arrested solely on the basis of testimony from a secret informant who had apparently witnessed him pledging allegiance, even though Khaled insisted that this pledge was involuntary and coerced.

So, you know, during the trial, I saw him explain that his work consisted only of feeding and caring for animals at the slaughterhouse. But nonetheless, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a trial that lasted less than 30 minutes. And the judges actually told him that he was lucky to receive such a lenient sentence because the crime for which he was convicted, which was membership in a terrorist group, generally brings capital punishment.

A lot of post-ISIS life is figuring out who was or who was not involved in ISIS and bringing the appropriate perpetrators to justice. This is done mostly through courts?

turn 0 : Khaled was put in a difficult situation by ISIS and had to choose between working for them or risking retaliation.

What was Khaled's dilemma when ISIS took control of the slaughterhouse he worked at?

Answer: Dilemma


That President Obama looked at what a no-fly zone could do and realized it would not do enough. He needed to authorize that aircraft could strike ground targets as well.

Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, almost all of these things, once you start, there is significant pressure for it to escalate. So when, you know, another example, when Bill Clinton starts NATO air strikes in Serbia, in the Kosovo War in 1999 to protect Kosovar Albanians who were being massacred by Serbian nationalists, then the Clinton administration starts out doing air strikes and then comes under lots and lots of pressure to say air strikes aren't enough, air strikes are not really saving civilian populations on the ground. You need to do more.

So I think, you know, I think when the Obama administration looks at this, then there's a debate about - on the one hand, you could say - and it's not that the Obama administration is considering troops on the ground because they're definitely not. But if you're arming the rebels in Syria, does that create more pressure for you to support them or does it mean that the rebels can stand on their own two feet, which means less pressure on the Obama administration to get involved?

Well, you're talking about the law of unintended consequences. If you're supporting them and recognize them and they start to lose, what do you do then?

turn 1 : Military interventions often escalate beyond their original scope.

Which word best describes the potential consequences of military interventions?

Answer: Escalation


I think the purpose of the announcement today was, at least to some extent, about the huffing and puffing that Ilan Goldenberg mentioned in the prior commentary. But it's also, I think, a reaction to some sense that there was an appearance that the policy had begun to soften a bit because of the president's decision not to retaliate and some of his seemingly conciliatory rhetoric over the weekend.

Right. So after a year or so of what the Trump administration describes as a maximum pressure campaign on Iran, how do you increase the pressure from maximum, I guess, is the question.

Well, and that's the dilemma that the administration is beginning to face - that once you've sanctioned all of the major industries and sectors of the Iranian economy, there's very little that you can do that's not already redundant or just largely incremental. It also, I think, highlights the fact that the Iranian economy - what's left of it - has become more insular and less interconnected, which means whatever economic activity continues in Iran today is going to be more resilient to U. S.  penalties.

Now, the White House says this is all a means of getting Iran to the negotiating table. Do you think these steps are likely to do that, likely to have that effect?

turn 0 : "the huffing and puffing" and "soften a bit" are figurative expressions whose actual meanings are different from their literal meanings.

What were the two figurative expressions used in turn 0?

Answer: Huffing,Puffing


And both the Republican, Mark Harris, and the Democrat, Dan McCready, have weighed in on these allegations. What have they said?

So McCready went first. He said on Thursday that Harris has bankrolled criminal activity. That's a reference to a Bladen County political operative who pushed people to vote absentee by mail and then allegedly illegally harvested their ballots.

Now wait. When you say harvested, that means, you know, picking them up, opening them and discarding the ones you don't want?

Well, not necessarily. It definitely means that he picked them up from voters, which is illegal in North Carolina. You know, in this state, once you - it's your mail ballot, and you're responsible for getting it to the mailbox or to the Board of Elections. So this operative kind of went and collected them. We don't know exactly what he did with them.

turn 2 : Even though the narrator already explained the word it is still needs a repeat as harvested means already gathered from the field.

How does the narrator clarify the meaning of "harvested"?

Answer: Picking


I made up my own mind. I figured that at some point it would turn into a mandatory evacuation and I wanted to get ahead of the traffic.

You know, to have gone through this once is bad enough. To be going through it a second time, I can't even imagine what that must have been like. As you were getting closer to having to make the decision to get up and get out, what went through your mind?

I immediately remembered what it was like three years ago, and I think that I was in sort of disbelief. I couldn't believe that I was going through it again. And I - the first thing I thought of was OK, what do I need to take with me that I want to see again?Because I immediately thought of what happened during Katrina and how, you know, it just caught us all off guard, and I just wanted to be prepared.

What did you take?

turn 2 : I learned from my past experience and prepared accordingly.

Which experience did PersonA learn from?

Answer: Katrina


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 0 : To the right means politically right wing, not that they are actually sitting on the right

What does "to the right" mean in turn 0?

Answer: Political


Is this a book about how someone becomes a terrorist?

In part. I talk about this as a sort of - as a Genesis moment for the book. But I remember distinctly I was watching this interview with a foreign affairs expert. And it was in the wake of the - there had been these sort of protests in an Afghan village against the U. S.  military presence in Afghanistan.

And the interviewer's question was something along the lines of, why do they hate us so much?And as part of his answer, this expert noted that sometimes the U. S.  forces have to go conduct these nighttime raids in these villages. And when they do this, they'll sometimes have to hold the women and children up at gunpoint. And they'll tear the places apart. And then he added, you know, in Afghan culture, this sort of thing is considered very offensive.

And I thought, you know, name me one culture on earth that wouldn't consider this sort of thing offensive?And so part of the book is - has to do with this idea that we all suffer the same way, and we become damaged by suffering in the same way regardless of which part of the world we grew up in or what we believe.

turn 1 : The literal meaning: The speaker mentions that they discuss this as a significant starting point or origin for the book. The implied meaning: The speaker suggests that this event plays a crucial role in shaping the themes or direction of the book.

What does the expert note about the nighttime raids conducted by the U.S. forces in Afghan villages?

Answer: Raids


The Confederates. 12,000 troops - give or take - under Confederate Commander Jubal Early.

And he had 12,000 troops?

More or less.

Amassed right over - up the street, basically?

turn 0 : Turn (1) implicates that the Confederate troops were roughly 12,000 in number, whereas the literal meaning is that they were exactly 12,000.

Which number represents the approximate size of the Confederate troops mentioned by A?

Answer: Approximate


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.

What is the subject of the increase mentioned in turn 3?

Answer: Increase


I don't have inside knowledge of what happened in the Ukraine matter, but it's clear to me that Yovanovitch was following the instructions that she was given by the State Department and she may have run afoul of whatever scheme Rudy Giuliani and likely the president were trying to play out in Ukraine.

Diplomacy is not a partisan issue between Democrats and Republicans. It's about serving American national interests. And I'm confident that's what Yovanovitch was trying to do.

The letter you and other foreign service professionals signed seemed to express particular concern about the implications, possible implications for replacing Ambassador Yovanovitch might have for the entire foreign service.

That's right. The letter was signed for two reasons; first, because many of the signatories know Yovanovitch, know her to be a person of impeccable integrity, someone who has served for more than three decades - both Republicans and Democrats - and has always done so with great distinction and received numerous awards and accolades for her work. But there's a larger issue here that goes beyond Yovanovitch.

turn 0 : She might have discovered the illegal activity Rudy Giuliani was conducting.

How might Yovanovitch have run afoul of Rudy Giuliani's activities in Ukraine?

Answer: Discovered.


Absolutely not. In fact, the people of my state should know we are doing everything in our power to defend them. If it comes to a legal fight with the Trump administration, we're prepared to have it. I've had some experience with taking on the Trump administration litigation. We have yet to lose a case yet, and I don't plan on starting with this issue.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson of Washington state, thanks so much.

Oh, thank you, Scott. Have a great day.

And we contacted the Department of Justice for comment on Mr.  Ferguson's remarks about Attorney General Sessions. We have yet to receive a response.

turn 3 : (4) B: And we contacted the Department of Justice for comment on Mr. Ferguson's remarks about Attorney General Sessions.We have yet to receive a response.

What agency did PersonB contact for comment on Mr. Ferguson's remarks?

Answer: Department


You know, let's come back to the Large Hadron Collider because if you talk about things, if you talk about this theme, there's much more to the universe than meets the eye, the other one that you know well is the prediction from string theory and similar theories that there are extra dimensions. And one of the ways to look for things like extra dimensions or shadow universes is to look for the leakage of material from our universe into their universe.

And let me use the LHC. One way to look for evidence of extra dimensions would be to carefully look at collisions that take place at the Large Hadron Collider and look for some of the energy to disappear. And what's interesting about that technique is when I put there's - when I say there's much more to the universe than meets the eye, the top of my list would be neutrinos, and we now know neutrinos exist. We can't see them with the eye, but we can build detectors to detect them. And the original evidence for the neutrino was missing energy in beta decays that were observed in the early part of the last century and then poly-hypothesize this particle, the neutrino. And eventually, we built detectors that were sensitive enough. So this technique of looking for energy leaking out of our universe going elsewhere is a very powerful technique for looking for things that we can't see.

Michael Turner, a pleasure as always to come have you come on and explain this stuff to us. Thanks a lot, Michael.

Glad to be on.

turn 2 : the literal and actual meanings are the same. The speakers are simply exchanging pleasantries and expressing gratitude for the conversation

How would you describe the technique for looking for evidence of extra dimensions at the Large Hadron Collider?

Answer: Powerful


This country, Cameroon, acts as a source, transit and destination. Especially the Kumbo Diocese, as it is economically poor region. It's a source for many traffickers to have children from our region to take them to the cities, to the towns and to the other nations, especially to the Middle East, where they're exploited sexually, physically and mentally.

So they're taken from homes. They're taken from schools. What happens?

Mostly, they're taken from homes or from where they are working. If they are working in somebody's house, they lobby the girl, say that OK, there is a job opportunity in Middle East as a teacher or as a nurse. Then when they go, they go to a center called a kadama (ph). In Arab, it is called a slave. So they go there. They are bought and sold to various places to be exploited.

What do you do, Sister?What can your organization do?

turn 2 : highlighting the deceptive tactics used by traffickers to convince girls that there are job opportunities in the Middle East as teachers or nurses, but in reality, they are being trafficked and subjected to exploitation.

What is the name of the center where girls are taken and bought by traffickers?

Answer: Kadama


You've got videos being produces on one. And you've got TI and Grand Hustle and Will Packer and people making movies and trying to bring them here to be shot, in addition to Tyler Perry. I mean, you got music being produced, but also these musicians, you know, taking advantage of each medium, you know, film, TV, writing songs for a commercial.

You know, Toni Braxton, here, in Las Vegas when she gets healthy again. These people are still staying here but doing things across the globe now. And you know, people were upset and concerned LaFace closed in - what was it?2000, now?Now, you look at the charts and I would bet you that ten of the top 25 R&B artists are either from - R&B, people on the R&B charts, are either from Atlanta or produced by an Atlantan.

Same for the rap charts and also pop. I mean, you said that this is a city that has an impact on black music. You know, Atlanta has made black music popular music. These are artists that are on the Hot 100, the biggest songs in the country. So, I am very hopeful.

Dee Dee, same thing.

turn 1 : Atlanta has contributed significantly to the music industry.

Which city has made black music popular music?

Answer: Atlanta


You know, we talk a lot about the germs in our bodies and how many there are spread all over the place. But usually they're in our guts that we're talking about it. We haven't talked much about what's going on in our noses. What is happening up there?

That's true, and I think the field of human microbiome research has really, in the last four, five years, really exploded upon the scene and shown us that many niches in the human body are colonized by bacteria, be it our skin, our mucosal surfaces. These are the softer linings that line the nares, the sinuses, the gastrointestinal, the airways and the urogenital tract. And what we're beginning to see is that these linings of the human body are actually home to a diversity of microbes.

And from much of the studies that have come from the gastrointestinal tract, which has been going on a little longer, we've seen certain hallmarks that are associated with health and disease. We know, for example, that when patients have chronic inflammatory disease, one of the characteristics is this loss of diversity. And sinusitis is quite a significant health care issue. And really, to date, much of the microbial studies that have been performed have largely been based on culturing and bacteria, so trying to grow them on agar plates.

Mm-hmm.

turn 1 : Many parts of the human body are colonized by bacteria.

Which medical condition is associated with loss of diversity in the gastrointestinal tract?

Answer: Sinusitis


I don't mind stipulating that you were more than an OK doctor.

(Laughter) Well, you know, I agree that I'm an OK doctor. And I feel very blessed to have been involved with some of the most complex surgical procedures in the history of the world.

Does that prepare you to be president of the United States?

Not in and of itself. But I think planning, utilizing a lot of resources and a lot of other people to do complex things - and even things that have never been done before - certainly helps. You know, sitting on corporate boards, learning how business works efficiently, all of these things give you a lot of skill sets. And I think it's a fallacy that only people in elected office can come up with solutions that solve our problems. I just think maybe there's a different paradigm.

turn 0 : The speaker is expressing a high level of respect for the doctor's abilities.

How does PersonB feel about the doctor's abilities?

Answer: Respect


It is.

Why do you think that will be effective?I mean, if someone's about to say something cruel (laughter), saying think about it - like, I don't know.

I think it's going to be somewhat effective but not very effective. I actually think that's true of all of the work that we're going to do. All of these problems are not solved by any one solution. They are complicated. I've also seen in the actual data that a minority but a significant minority of people do rewrite their comments, and they rewrite them in a much more pleasant way. Now, do most people rewrite their comments?No - because if you have an intent that's really intense to harass an individual, a polite comment from Instagram is not going to prevent you from doing so.

But sometimes people get caught up in the moment, and a lightweight reminder can actually help them rethink what they're doing or what they're saying. And so it's not supposed to be the solution that we hang our hat on for all of bullying. It's supposed to be one of many tools to try to prevent bullying from happening in the first place.

turn 3 : To "hang your hat" is a common metaphor that implies you have something you can rely and depend on, so here the speaker is saying that this solution isn't necessarily going to fix everything but it could definitely help.

What does the phrase "hang your hat" imply in turn 3?

Answer: rely


They're very abstract. I talked with Heather Heckman, who's at the University of South Carolina Libraries, and they loaned us some of this Vishniac footage. And she was, like, it's almost like avant-garde film because, you know, you look at these oyster larvae pulsating, and you don't know what they are. They're just - but it's really beautiful.

So we talked - so we learn about Vishniac and also sort of figure out how things have changed since the '50s, '60s and '70s, which is when he was doing his work. And we spoke with Wim van Egmond, who's this Dutch photographer who wins all these Nikon Small Worlds contests. I think people who follow this will know his name. But he makes these beautiful, microscopic videos and videos through the microscope and photos, too.

And they're all one-celled creatures?

Not all of them.

turn 0 : "it's almost like avant-garde film" - this is a figurative expression meaning that the footage is very abstract and unconventional, similar to avant-garde films, rather than a literal comparison to a specific genre of film.

What is the implied meaning of the phrase "avant-garde film" in turn 0?

Answer: Unconventional


For the second time in as many months, Mozambique is recovering from a deadly cyclone. In March, it was you Idai. This time it's Kenneth. Kenneth was a Category 4 cyclone when it made landfall in the north of the country last week. Devastating winds were followed by days of torrential rain and widespread flooding. The government says at least 38 people have died.

For more, we're joined by Deborah Nguyen with the United Nations World Food Programme. She's in Pemba, near the center of the storm's path. And to begin, can you tell us what the damage looks like on the streets of Pemba right now?

In Pemba itself right now it's completely flooded. It has rained for the past two days, which is making humanitarian aid difficult.

Currently you're involved with the teams who are distributing food. What kind of food are you bringing to people?And how are you able to reach them?

turn 0 : The cyclones in Mozambique have caused a lot of destruction and loss of life.

Which country has recently been hit by two deadly cyclones?

Answer: Mozambique


Deb, is there any kind of reassessment about what might be possible?The meeting's unprecedented, the atmosphere's been a real roller coaster, but what else?

You know, there's no expectation this is going to be easy. The Syrian war isn't confined to one country. It's a regional war. Two million Syrians are outside the country. More than half the country is displaced. Powerful extremist Islamists are in the north. Shiite militias from Iran, Lebanon and Iraq are fighting on the side of the regime. Some of the most important players are not even at the table. There's going to be lots of bumps. But I think you have to say that the fact that they are sitting down is a beginning, at least to start for a political process, something we have not seen in three years.

Well, I think the idea is to keep everybody at the table this week. The most contentious issue, of course, is going to be negotiating a transitional government. And it's possible that that topic will either not be called that this week to keep everybody sitting down, but they're going to have to get to it at some point, and that's what I'll be watching for. When those discussions start, will everybody stay at the table?

turn 2 : (3) B: Anything that you're looking for, Deb, that you're going to flag? This turn is a direct question asking if there is anything specific that Deb is going to highlight or draw attention to. There is no implied meaning beyond the literal interpretation, so (3) is not the correct option.

Which topic will be the most contentious issue in the meeting?

Answer: Transitional


Absolutely. You would want the most competent, the most compassionate physician that you can find. But those are not necessarily the physicians that they're trying to hire based on the ad that I was looking at.

As you were talking about dual loyalty. . . .

Yeah.

. . . Is there a specific example you can give us to help listeners understand how this plays out in the real world?

turn 3 : NO NEED OF GIVING ADVERTISEMENT TOTHE GOOD THING,IT SHINE BY ITS OWN

Answer: good


My mother had a friend I called David in the essay. And he was a funny, charming man. And he always had clients around. He found them out of the state so they would live with him while they were going on auditions. And they seemed to have a lot of shirtless pictures of them around framed. That seemed to be the greatest bit of work that they did - were these shirtless pictures.

And each year, these boys would come and go, and they'd be between the ages of 12 and 16. And there was this feeling that my mother and I would sort of talk around. Is this weird?This is weird, right?No. No, it's David. It can't be weird. And I think there are a lot of people in Los Angeles dealing with that right now of people they have held in their heads where there's a little bit of a galvanic skin-crawly thing, but they also like this person.

Course, your article appeared as Anthony Rapp come forward with his charges against Kevin Spacey. Been a few more Kevin Spacey stories that have also come out since then. Without trying to judge the veracity of each and every story, what's the mix of ambition and vulnerability that makes child actors prey?

The same thing which puts women at risk in the business, which is economics. For children, there is a small window of opportunity in which a career is going to happen. You are not a child indefinitely. That makes people ripe for abuse.

turn 1 : (2) "Is this weird? This is weird, right?" - The speaker is not really asking if it is weird, but rather acknowledging that it is weird and trying to rationalize it by attributing it to their relationship with David.

What was the reason for child actors being vulnerable to abuse in the entertainment industry according to speaker A?

Answer: Economics


And he says the Pakistani government helped conceal Osama bin Laden and set him up. That's not true?

I mean, the truth of the matter is it was hard for us to believe that they didn't know given his location. But in all of the lead up to the raid and in all the materials that we captured when bin Laden was killed, there wasn't a shred of evidence that the Pakistanis knew. So was there a suspicion that they knew where he was?Yes. But we never found any evidence to support that. And in the notion that they set him up is, I think, a fiction.

Robert Gates, the former Secretary of Defense, now president of the Boy Scouts of America, meeting at their annual convention this week in Atlanta. Mr.  Gates's memoir "Duty" is out in paperback this week. Mr.  Gates, thanks so much for being with us.

My pleasure, thank you.

turn 1 :  A's turn is an example of an expression whose actual meaning is different from its literal meaning. The literal meaning of A's words suggests that there was a suspicion that the Pakistani government knew about Osama bin Laden's location, but no evidence was found to support this suspicion. However, the actual meaning is that there was a strong suspicion that the Pakistani government knew about bin Laden's location, but no concrete evidence was found to confirm this suspicion.

How was the suspicion of the Pakistani government's knowledge of Osama bin Laden's location described by A?

Answer: Strong


And now to the Midwest, where heavy rainfall has made growing conditions tough for farmers. One crop in particular - corn - has been hit hard. According to the Department of Agriculture, this is the slowest start to the corn-planting season on record. To hear more about this, we've called Matt Boucher. He's a fourth generation farmer from Dwight, Ill. , where he grows corn as well as soybeans, wheat and cover crops. And in fact, we caught him out in the field, where he's trying to plant. Matt, welcome. Thanks so much for joining us.

Thanks for having us. Appreciate it.

Well, walk me through the season. What would normally have happened by now, and what has actually happened now?

Well, we're normally completed now. We're moving on to fertilizing corn and maintaining the weed pressures, you know, keeping the weeds out of the field. But right now it's just not the case. We're still planting and trying to get things in and might have some acres we're just not going to be able to get in, no matter what we do.

And why is that?It's just that the ground's been too wet or what?Why is that?

turn 0 : The corn planting season has been slow due to heavy rainfall.

Which crop has been hit hard due to the slowest start to the planting season on record?

Answer: Corn


By the way, this is a health issue, too. This is just not an economic issue - 10,000 to 15,000 more people die of pollution from automobiles today than in car crashes. This is a national security issue. People say this is a single issue. This is all of these issues. And so these are investments that the vast majority are going to come from the private sector and private companies, not from the government. But the government does have a role, as it did when we went to the moon, as it did when we defeated fascism. And we're calling for an appropriate public investment to do that.

Now, you mentioned Republicans. The sad fact is, at the moment, that we're going to have to find a way to get this done without them because right now, we still have not seen the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt. We're seeing the spirit of Mitch McConnell, who will kill any climate change bill in its cradle if he has a chance. And that means we have to get rid of the filibuster. We have to prevent Mitch McConnell from stopping climate change. We have to let majority vote - one person, one vote - be the Democratic rule in the U. S.  Senate. I'm the first candidate to say that. I hope others will follow so that we can get progress in this.

Is that a unifying message, though, in these divisive times?

Yes, it is unifying because everyone - Republicans and Democrats - have an interest in not letting America catch fire. So everyone is going to benefit from this.

turn 0 : The issue of pollution caused by automobiles is a serious problem that needs to be addressed by investing in private sector and government; it is not just an economic issue but a national security issue as well.

What kind of issue is pollution caused by automobiles according to turn 0?

Answer: health


They have indeed, but not through Jordan, as far as I know.

And you talked about hedging your bets. Doesn't that risk putting your bets on the wrong side if, indeed, the rebels do topple, which from what you say, the regime believes is only a matter of time. Why don't they put their bets on - with the opposition?

That's a debate that is actually going on inside the country today. As I said, 82 percent of Jordanians are with the uprising, not all of them, however, are with any military intervention against the Syrian regime. This is a very sensitive issue in Arab politics, to be seen as actively working militarily against an Arab regime. Still, as I said, the sentiments of the people in Jordan, not all of them, but the overwhelming majority of them, are with the uprising. And the country, I would expect, the government, will probably have to change its position as developments move. It's a fair question to ask. You know, one day, we'll be able to do so. There are many who have asked the government to take on a sort of a clearer position on the Syrian crisis than it has so far.

How porous is the border?If people wanted to operate across it clandestinely, would they be able to do so?

turn 1 : Hedging bets could result in supporting the losing side.

Answer: Risky


Yeah, and you love short stories, too. I love short stories, I appreciate that about you. You seem to be - enjoy writing short stories.

Yeah, they're tough as hell, and, you know, as a sort of a practice, people in the publishing world discourage them. They're like oh, don't do it. But I can't help but root for the underdog. As a form, you know, the short stories and the linked short story collections is an underdog, and people don't think of it as serious. So I don't mind wading in there. It feels like a really good battle.

Do you see yourself sort of at some point - you haven't really played that much with the novel form, but, you know, a lot of different writers are experimenting with the novel form, you know, Zadie Smith just did with her book, new book "NW. "Do you see yourself playing with that form?

Well, sure. I mean, again it's probably the arrogance, you know, the narcissistic arrogance of an artist, but I feel that so far I've written one book, one novel, and it's a very strange - at a formulistic level, I think it's - it took a lot of risks. Now will I keep doing that?Hard to say. It's like sort of saying will I continue to be X, Y or Z. You hope so. You hope so, but you never know.

turn 1 : Short stories are an underdog and not taken seriously

How are short stories viewed by the publishing world?

Answer: Discourage


Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here.

What's the mood like in Columbus ahead of tonight's game?

First of all, it's been amazing. We've had great attendance. Our first game was a sell-out. And I think the mood is obviously interested to find out who this next national champion's going to be. Mississippi State has never won a national championship. And obviously, Notre Dame - they are a staple in the Final Four. But it would be just their second national title.

What can we expect tonight between Mississippi State and Notre Dame?What can we see?

turn 2 : The speaker is excited about the interest and attendance at the games

Which emotion does the speaker express regarding the attendance and interest at the games?

Answer: Excitement


I should remind Americans that, in Britain, the prime minister normally controls the agenda in Parliament. He was blocked yesterday. What was it like to be on the floor for yesterday's vote?

Well, it was exciting. I mean, the chamber the House of Commons - I often take Americans around it. It's very different from Congress or the Senate. It's very confrontational. There are seats facing opposite each other, so you get to shout at each other. But, of course, in this instance, the fight was between people sitting on the same benches. So you kind of shout across at each other. It's also a very small chamber, a very intimate chamber. So in that sense, it adds to the drama.

Well, Prime Minister Johnson said he would expel you rebels from the Conservative Party. Did that happen overnight?Are you no longer a member of the Conservative Party?

Yeah. He's been true to his word. I have lost what we call the whip. So we're not members of the Conservative Parliamentary Party, we're independent MPs, which has been forced on us rather than a choice made by us.

turn 3 : Being expelled from the Conservative Party was not their choice

What happened to their party membership?

Answer: Expelled


Sam, in this book, you're telling the story of the Assad family, but you're also telling the story of another Syrian family. Tell me about this lost family and their relationship with the Assads.

The relationship goes all the way back to the early '50s when Mustafa Tlass and Hafez al-Assad were in their early 20s. They were cadets at the Homs Military Academy. And they basically rose up together to the pinnacle of power until - you know, Mustafa Tlass was up by Hafez's side all the way through. I mean, he was willing to kill for him by his own admission in his own memoirs. He played a crucial role in the passing of power from Hafez to Bashar.

So you have these two men, Hafez and Mustafa. And then they both have sons. And their sons are Bashar al-Assad and Manaf Tlass. Tell me about the relationship between those two men.

So Hafez al-Assad had four sons and one daughter, and the eldest was Bassel, and he was the one being groomed to take over power from his father, but he died in a car crash. So Bashar was summoned to Damascus to basically fill Bassel's shoes. I mean, initially, members of the family, even Bashar's own sister, felt he was hopeless. You know, Bashar was not equipped to inherit power.

turn 1 : Mustafa Tlass was loyal to Hafez al-Assad and helped him gain power.

Which family member of Hafez al-Assad was being groomed to take over power before his death?

Answer: Bassel


So, I think, you know, I didn't expect her to do anything huge after "Dream Girls. "I think that's just sort of the name of the game. When you're an African-American actress, you take what you can get. And this is a big film. It's a small role, but it's in a huge movie that will probably do incredibly well. I just thought she was ill-fitted. I didn't think she belonged in it.

Kelly Rowland, you mentioned her name, Destiny's Child.

MS.  SAMUELS: Right.

She basically said she wanted the part.

turn 0 : The speaker is expressing their opinion about the actress's ability to get roles in Hollywood as an African-American woman, and how they didn't think she was a good fit for the particular movie. The literal meaning of the words used in the turn may not convey the speaker's actual opinion or intended message.

How did the speaker feel about the actress's role in the movie?

Answer: Ill-fitted


Well, yes, they are because the concern here is that if you do it for medical research, what's to stop other scientists to try to do it for other reasons, like, for example, to try to create designer babies that are taller or smarter or better athletes?Now, we're nowhere near being able to do anything like that. But the concern is that this could open the door to someday creating genetic haves and have-nots.

So, Rob, these CRISPR researchers are involved in projects that have tremendous promise to benefit our lives, but also raise very difficult ethical and moral questions.

That's right. That's right. And another example I could give you is I just got back from a trip to London. And there, scientists are using CRISPR to genetically modify mosquitoes that spread a mutant gene to wipe out the mosquitoes that spread the malaria parasite. And the idea there is to try to wipe out this disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people every year, most of them children.

Now, the fear here is that they're using CRISPR to modify these insects with something known as a gene drive. And a gene drive spreads a genetic modification through an entire species really quickly. So something could go wrong. You know, it could wipe out an entire species of mosquito. And that could upset the delicate balance of an ecosystem some way that could maybe unleash some new epidemic or cause the ecosystem to collapse and cause famine.

turn 3 : The potential consequences of genetic engineering could be extreme and far-reaching.

How could the consequences of genetic engineering be described?

Answer: extreme


Well, could payments like this then allow the defendants in this case - who obviously are either wealthy or supported by very wealthy people - allow the defendants to buy their way out of criminal punishments of any kind?

I think that's conceivable. But I think, in this case, there would still be punishment. It would - they would probably still be incarcerated, although it's a very opaque process. So it's not very clear. I mean, this is - these are not trials like in the United States where you can go in and watch the court proceedings unfold day after day. These are all very cloaked processes in Saudi Arabia.

Looming behind all of this, of course, is the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who's denied any culpability and, of course, is not on trial in any way. Does blood money offer him a way to wipe this case away without facing any particular accountability?

Well, it - not completely. But it does - you know, the Khashoggi children have been awfully restrained in their public positions about all of this. Right?They have not condemned the kingdom. They've not gone after Mohammed bin Salman. And this is a way to making sure they sort of stay quiet. This is a way for that to happen.

turn 3 : The implication is that wealthy people or those with access to wealth may be able to avoid criminal punishment by using blood money.

What is the possible way for defendants to avoid criminal punishment in Saudi Arabia according to turn 3?

Answer: Blood


After Army Private First Class Brian Orolin returned from Afghanistan in 2011, his wife, Donna, could tell something wasn't quite right. He became paranoid. He suffered constant headaches and would isolate himself in his bedroom with the lights dimmed. And then on November 19, Brian left his wife and two children in Spring, Texas. He has been missing ever since.

At StoryCorps, Donna Orolin remembered the day he returned from Afghanistan.

He was literally the last person off the plane, and he was just so excited to see his daughters. I dressed the girls up and put little bows in their hair with his unit on them. And I put a sign out front that said welcome home, Specialist Orolin. He just couldn't wait to be dad - husband again, but then, things were different.

We used to hold hands all the time before he left. When he came back, he didn't like to be touched, so I had to remind myself to not rub his back, not sneak up behind him and give him hugs. And pretty much his sense of purpose was gone. He would say that he was just going to go away somewhere some day and disappear, and we'd never find him.

turn 3 :  implies Donna was trying to remain supportive of Brian, despite his lack of interest in physical contact.

How was Donna dealing with Brian's lack of interest in physical contact?

Answer: Supportive


Oh, it was like looking out across the ocean. There was water from as far as you could see both ways. And I think it was over a billion dollars worth of damage to our community and East Grand Forks. Seemed quite hopeless, but our message today is one of hope. And I think FEMA has referred to us as a poster child for flood recovery because of what we've accomplished as a community.

After the flood, the city decided some homes needed to be removed to make way for key infrastructure. How was that decision made?

Decision-making - that's the most important thing about recovery is people have to make decisions, and whether they're popular or not, to allow the recovery to occur. So we had to choose places that were in the floodplain that couldn't be rebuilt. And those entry-level homes had to be taken to build the infrastructure for the flood recovery project.

Your own home was slated to be raised to make way for this new flood system. Is that right?

turn 3 :  "slated to be raised to make way for this new flood system" - the actual meaning is that the speaker's home was going to be demolished or relocated in order to make space for the new flood system infrastructure, rather than being physically raised or elevated.

How was the PersonA's home affected by the new flood system infrastructure?

Answer: Demolished


Now, in both the Enron case and the Madoff situation, they're very different in some ways, but they both benefited at least for a time from the fact that a lot of people don't understand finance, and it's very difficult to understand. What do you think people need to do who are not financiers to understand why is it important to even understand the issue of finance, white-collar crime, and all of this?

White-collar crime matters because it affects all of us. Even if you happen to be a blue-collar person, you undoubtedly get affected one way or another - your investments, your company, your suppliers, your neighbors. Everyone gets affected by serious white-collar crime, and the old joke is, right, you walk into a bank with a gun, steal $50,000, they send you away for 10 years. You steal $50 million in some sort of white-collar crime thing, and you get, you know, five minutes and a warning from the judge.

I mean, that's an exaggeration. But that's the kind of thing that for years has annoyed people, including me. And somehow the - because there's been now so much of the stuff has surfaced, and there's such conscientiousness about it and in the case of Madoff largely because he scammed people that members of the media know. So you get really angry when your friends go down. I mean, I don't have any friends who were in there, but a lot of people in my business. . .

Right.

turn 2 : my business, speaker does not an actual business, but means his line or work

What does the speaker mean by "my business"?

Answer: occupation


You know, he doesn't.

Well, he's not a reporter then - he or she or it. Yes.

He's actually very friendly.

Very friendly, really, and thanks the editor for improving his or her work?

He does. He even asks for changes.

turn 1 : (2) B's response to A's statement that "he doesn't" implies that the subject being discussed is not a reporter, but it also implies skepticism or doubt about the subject's credibility or qualifications.

How does PersonB feel about the subject's credibility or qualifications?

Answer: Doubt


It's really interesting. You know, they've been involved on and off in sort of smaller ways. But you know, they put out a press release. They're filing lawsuits. There's a lot of speculation as to why now. Some of it may be just they feel like these laws have finally gone too far. Some of it may be there's a woman president of the AMA and a woman past president and there'll be a woman president next year. For a group that's long been older, whiter and more male, that's changing.

So what kind of stance had they taken in the past?

Well, the AMA has been kind of everywhere on abortion. The AMA in the late 1800s led the fight to make abortion illegal in the United States. That was part of their effort to sort of centralize power over the medical profession. They wanted to get rid of unlicensed practitioners like midwives, who had traditionally been involved with women's reproductive health. And they really didn't change that position until just before Roe v.  Wade. And even when Roe v.  Wade happened, the effort to liberalize abortion laws in the U. S.  was really led by the legal profession, not by the medical profession.

You reached out to the American Medical Association - seems like maybe they're not so comfortable with this new stance. Can you tell us what you learned?

turn 0 : on and off means in this context that they are doing something then not doing something

What is changing within the group that the speaker is referring to in turn 0?

Answer: Membership


Well, that's how your muscles grow. And in this case, what we found was with the exercise, after very strenuous exercise of 20 minutes, we found a disappearance of the chemical tags from the DNA. And what this means is that it allowed other proteins' transcription factors to access the DNA, and this could instruct the cell to make specialized proteins that could support growth and metabolism.

Wow. Does it also explain why you lose your muscle tone if you don't exercise?

Well, we actually - we didn't study that.

Yeah.

turn 0 : The implied meaning of turn (1) is that engaging in strenuous exercise leads to changes in DNA that enable the production of specific proteins necessary for muscle growth and metabolism. It implies that the process of muscle growth involves more than just physical strain.

How do chemical tags disappear from DNPersonA after strenuous exercise?

Answer: Access


Oh, I absolutely see having access to care that you can rely upon to get the care you need is something we need to have across America. But how do you do that?Can you do that with a legislative pen?That was what the Affordable Care Act was trying to mandate. And it just doesn't work. And so what you've got to do is create a marketplace, both health insurance and in health care, that allows for people to access that care in an affordable, reasonable manner.

Are you convinced that high-risk pools are going to be able to cover people who are at risk with continuing and debilitating health conditions?I might add, both you and I have one of those.

Absolutely. I would agree that high-risk pools are going to address the issue in a new way, in a little different way, than what has been done previously in high-risk pools. But also it's going to give the flexibility and innovative opportunity to states to create new products, new ways to treat these issues. And to me, that's something we should be looking forward to rather than, you know, the status quo, no-we-can't-type mindset.

A new way but a reliable way. I mean, can you - there's lot of skepticism that these high-risk pools will do anything but make it unaffordable (ph) for people.

turn 3 : B is questioning the reliability of high-risk pools, implying that they may not be effective in providing affordable care.

Which issue is PersonB questioning the reliability of high-risk pools to address?

Answer: Affordability


No problem.

Aren't the British the original soccer hooligans?

Yeah, exactly. And the Russian fans rioting in France right now, for them the inspiration was the English football hooligan scene of the 1970s, '80s and '90s even. They see England as a spiritual home of football hooliganism, as it were.

turn 3 : 4) "How does football hooliganism wind up being a source of inspiration?"  The literal meaning of this turn is simply asking how football hooliganism can be a source of inspiration. However, the implied meaning is that the speaker is expressing disbelief or confusion about how something as negative as football hooliganism could inspire others. The question implies that the speaker does not understand how people could find inspiration in such behavior, and perhaps even disapproves of it.

Which emotion is implied in the question asked by B?

Answer: Confusion


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 3 : A thinks that the world prefers simple or sad narratives over other themes.

How does PersonA feel about writing songs related to romance and sex?

Answer: Comfort.


Mm-hmm. Some of the stories seem to have sort of a moral to them, like the one - mysterious one I'm going to call the rectum in a jar.

Yeah, this is the case of the rectum of the Bishop of Durham. If you go to London and you visit the Hunterian Museum, it's a wonderful, wonderful - one - in fact, one of the world's few remaining big medical museums. It's part of The Royal College of Surgeons of England. If you go and visit it, on display on the main floor inside a jar is something they call object RCSHC/P192. The label identifies it as being the preserved rectum of the Bishop of Durham, and we're talking about Thomas Thurlow, who was born in 1737, died in 1791. Would you like to hear the story of why it's in a jar in London on display?

With that kind of teaser, how could I not?

OK. The - that particular Bishop of Durham was a rich and powerful man. And he came down with some ailments and called in one of the celebrated doctors of the day, John Hunter, a man who, years later, went on to found this museum. Dr.  Hunter examined him and told him he had an incurable disease and that it was bad news. The bishop did not want to accept this news, so he was very insulting to this doctor and instead went and insult - and consulted a cattle doctor who gave him some kind of nostrum.

turn 1 : The preserved rectum of the Bishop of Durham is on display at the Hunterian Museum

Which museum displays the preserved rectum of the Bishop of Durham?

Answer: Hunterian


What was the basis on which you were denied?

They said that we need to request a formal tour. And this is the problem. You know, I was at Homestead yesterday - the facility in Florida that houses 2,700 mostly teenage migrants. You think about it - they do these guided tours only at very specific times when they have a lot of notice about when people are going to come through. I'm told that lawyers who represent the kids in there have to sign a nondisclosure agreement so that they can't talk about the conditions in there.

It makes you wonder, what are they hiding?Why do we keep seeing images of overcrowding and of terrible living conditions, and then journalists go in there on one of these guided tours, and everything seems to be fine?

You visited another community center where there are migrant families or children. What did they tell you?Have you been able to get any reports?Or did any people who'd been in those facilities have anything to say to you about what the conditions were there?

turn 1 : seeing images of overcrowding and of terrible living conditions implies the unpleasant view and conditions

How would you describe the view of the conditions?

Answer: unpleasant


Yeah. To learn street - Glasgow street language.

They must have - well, a few particular words must have stuck to their vocabulary.

They spring to mind immediately, don't they?

Our guest is Billy Connolly. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION, from NPR News. And there is a lot of material, it would seem to me, that would go over better in Scotland than it would here. How do you have to change to adapt to audiences?

turn 2 : Adapting to different audiences requires changing language and material used.

Answer: Language


Correct. It was one of the first ones to come out like that, and so I had no idea it was different from any other game. I just thought it was another game. And he, within three months of playing it, he started - it started affecting his real life negatively. He lost his job. He got evicted from his apartment. By the way, he was 20 years old when he started playing this, so he was an adult. But very quickly it showed negative effects. His personality changed. He started becoming a different person. He became withdrawn, antisocial, depressed. His focus became gaming, and he no longer was concerned about his real life or his future.

When you think about your son, do you think that there were other underlying issues, whether it was depression or some other condition, that caused him to be susceptible to this?I mean, how do you balance that thought out?

I agree with that 100 percent. He had ADD, and from my experience, since 2002, probably 99 percent of the gamers that we've talked to who have problems with gaming have ADD. It seems to make them more susceptible.

Attention deficit.

turn 0 : Video games can have negative effects on real life.

Answer: negatively


Well, on our blog, Dan Jones wrote, I was glad to be a witness to history being made, even if it was slightly marred by Hillary Clinton's refusal to read the writing on the wall and get out of the race. And Glenda Fraser wrote, it was America's moment, period. The big Obama story on our blog up to this point was his decision to leave his church, the United Church of Christ in Chicago. And on that, there was no consensus among our readers.

Now, we also started a new online series featuring submissions from our political contributors. So what's that?

It's called Political Positions, and each week, one of our regular political contributors weighs in with their take on the week's news. We started with a piece from Mark Sawyer about John McCain's stance on relations with Cuba, followed that with an open letter to Barack Obama written by Ron Walters about how to handle the white working-class vote, and now, we have a piece from James L.  Taylor parsing the support among black and white voters for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. So some interesting perspectives that people should take time out to read.

Of course, Ron was just on our air.

turn 3 : on air implies to participate in a radio program and not meaning to physically hang in the air

Which word implies participating in a radio program in turn 3?

Answer: onair


Thank you. Great to be with you this morning.

Why do Republicans - who seem to believe gun laws would not reduce homicides because murders will still break the law to get guns - now seem to feel anyone's going to be deterred by a bump stock law?

Well, Scott, I think - well, we were all just horrified by the events of Las Vegas - I mean, so many killed and wounded. And you know, so of course our thoughts are with all of them and their families. But I think most of us are not only shocked by the event but shocked by the fact that somebody was able to convert, functionally, a lawful, legal firearm - or firearms into an illegal firearms, as far as I'm concerned.

I mean, automatic weapons in the United States have been banned for a very long time, as they should be. The fact that somebody can take a bump stock or some other type of device and functionally convert a semiautomatic into a fully automatic is more than concerning. And many of us believe that that must be outlawed. And. . .

turn 1 : iteral meaning is different from its actual meaning. The actual meaning is asking for an explanation of why Republicans now feel a bump stock law is needed, while the literal meaning is asking why they seem to think gun laws wouldn't reduce homicides.

Which law does the speaker believe must be outlawed?

Answer: Bumpstock


Well, just along those lines, we read reports that temperatures in the contiguous 48 states have been above average in each of the last 15 months, which has never happened for as long as people have been keeping records, and that 2012 is on track to be the warmest year ever. As we read about this record Arctic ice melt, is this a coincidence?

Well, it's all part and parcel of the same thing, but I will say that January through August of this year has been the warmest period - January through August period since 1895 when they started taking temperature records. That's in the contiguous lower 48. Alaska has actually had a fairly average year, so everything doesn't march in lockstep. But again, the situation with the ice and the Arctic is this has been accumulating over decades of warming up there, and we're finally seeing the results of that.

So this one summer was not at all a key up there. In fact, what was interesting to one of the scientists I talked to, he said, basically, you know, what was astounding about this was that there was no astounding weather pattern up there that explained this dramatic difference. It was just kind of reaching this point of where the ice was just so thin that it was just ready to crumble.

Ice is white. It reflects light. The sea is blue. It does not reflect light. It absorbs it, and thereby, the heat that comes with it.

turn 1 : There has been a long-term warming trend resulting in the Arctic ice melt.

Answer: Warming