There have come into being a kind of a Shia-belt from Tehran through Baghdad to Beirut. And this gives Iran the opportunity to reconstruct the ancient Persian Empire, this time under a Shia label. From a geo-strategic point of view, I consider Iran a bigger problem than ISIS. ISIS is a group of adventurers with a very aggressive ideology. But they have to conquer more and more territory before they can become a geo-strategic, permanent reality. I think a conflict with ISIS - important as it is - is more manageable than a confrontation with Iran.

What would you do about ISIS?

They have cut the throat of an American on television. This is an insult to the United States, which requires that we demonstrate that this is not an act that is free. I would strongly favor a strong attack on ISIS for a period that is related to the murder of the American. Then, we have to go into the long-range problem. I think when we're dealing with a unit like ISIS, we should not get into a position where they can lead us by establishing ground forces. But we should set strategic objectives where we thwart any goal they set themselves, which we should be able to do by superior air power. And then if we can enlist other countries or other more local groups to do the ground fighting, we might actually destroy them.

Let me ask you about a couple of other areas of the world. You spent a considerable time in this book writing about what you call the Russian enigma. What's your reading of what Vladimir Putin's Russia wants?

turn 3 : implies asking for an opinion on Russia's ambitions.

How does PersonA describe Russia's goals?

Answer: Iran


Yeah. You know what I mean?It's difficult, especially when sisters - and often in the conversation it is said that, you know, you hear a lot about black women being narcissistic or black women being gold diggers. And when you talk to young brothers, they say that a lot. That conversation comes up. That happens. And then when you talk to black women who are accomplished, they're saying, I can't find a brother. I date outside my race because I can't find a brother willing to deal with me on my level. And everybody starts to become a little bit accusatory. You know, sisters are gold diggers, that's why they won't go out with a guy that's not a doctor as well. And you know, brothers are, you know. . .

Right.

Have too many options.

Well, Judge Toler, you know what?This could go on for a lot longer, but we have to break off. I think we're going to have to pick this up. What do you think?

turn 1 : Right implies being correct or true and not the opposite of left

What does "Right" imply in the dialogue?

Answer: Correct


But to point out the obvious: the play chess, they don't watch it.

Who would ever in a million years have imagined that anyone would be interested in watching golf on TV?In our poll, golf is considered the most boring sport in America and yet it's incredibly successful on TV. It is indeed considered, in this poll, more boring than chess. But if you think about it, if you know anything about chess, you know that there's a rich, thick history, both of players and personalities and madness and theory that you can talk about on and on and on and on. There's nothing to talk about in golf.

Andrew Paulson speaking with us from London. Thank you very much. Good luck to you and to chess, Mr.  Paulson.

Thank you very much.

turn 1 :  (2) implies that although golf is considered the most boring sport in America, it is still successful.

What is considered more boring than chess?

Answer: Golf


What are you, Lisa, most thankful for this holiday season?

I'm thankful I don't have the banks on my butt.

Does that make any sense?

It does. Do a lot of other businesses there locally that might not be affected by the baby boom - are they having a harder time?

turn 2 : "Does that make any sense?" - The literal meaning of this question is asking if the previous statement is logically or grammatically correct. However, the actual meaning is that the speaker is questioning whether their statement was appropriate or relevant to the conversation.

What is the speaker questioning by asking "Does that make any sense?" in turn 2?

Answer: relevance


It's important because it is, for one thing, the most visible sign of climate change. There's little question that this is as a result of global warming that this is happening. And so that's one thing. The next thing is, of course, the ecosystem at the Arctic depend upon a certain amount of floating ice. The walruses dive off of it. The polar bears rely on it - the seals and so on. It's an important part of that ecosystem up there. So it has some local effects. But what's also becoming more and more apparent is it's going to be affecting our weather down here because you're going - when you get an extra degree of warmth up in the far north, you're going to change the way weather patterns move through the rest of North America.

And we could - I talked to a scientist today who said we could be seeing things like those really slow-moving big, heavy snowstorms that come along. It's not that there would necessarily be faster storms or whatever. In fact, it's just the opposite. There would be slower storms as a result of this pattern, and as a result, instead of just moving on by not causing so much grief, you can get huge amounts of snow and ice dumped on us here, and not only here, also in Russia. We have, of course. . .

Yeah.

. . . this past summer was very mild here. But when it's mild here, you need to look around the rest of the world and say, was it mild everywhere?And the answer is usually no.

turn 0 : The melting of Arctic ice has local and global effects.

Which ecosystem is dependent on floating ice?

Answer: Arctic


When you think about what that would look like, give me one example, one small example of how you. . .

Well, first thing we have to say is something in the neighborhood of 40, 50 to a $100 billion must be spent on foreclosures. And it must be done this way - we're going to use the FDIC Sheila Bair plan because she has shown working with IndyMac that she knows how to do loan modifications. And that has to be written into the bill.

And then the other thing that you have to do is, you have to develop criteria for who is going to get this money and why they're going to get it, what kind of reporting they have to do, and some prohibitions against being able to get the money if you don't do certain things. For example, we can't be giving bailouts to CEOs who have big stock options and bonuses and all of that has got to be written into the tough legislation.

All right. Well, congresswoman, thank you.

turn 1 : Foreclosures need a huge amount of money to be spent, and Sheila Bair's plan is the best approach for loan modifications.

How much money must be spent on foreclosures?

Answer: 100


Was it an easy decision for you to make?What was going through your mind when you made that switch?

No, it was definitely - it was easy decision for me to make. You know, before this, I wasn't really a very political person. As far as the guns go, you know - I don't try to talk too much about because I know becomes too polarizing. We have, you know, people that go to the right, and people go to left, and they forget about making schools safe. Listen. I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe in the right for people to bear arms. But I think that we can come to common ground to make responsible laws and decisions in how we can make our society safer.

You have two sons who are also in the Broward County School System. What have you talked about with them as they've headed back to school this year?

Sure. So I've had some tough conversations with them. I bought them a ballistic-resistant backpack.

turn 1 : Common ground means a place in opinion where two different sides think alike.

How did PersonA suggest making society safer in regards to guns?

Answer: Common


Well, most of them are against the government, so many of them see even public health workers as the enemy since they work for the government. And every time there are clashes with the police or with government soldiers, you know, health workers have to wait a day or two or even more for them to get into these villages or territories to treat the people.

Yeah. You know, what struck me when I was reading your article was that the health officials actually think that this outbreak is made much worse because of these militias. It's almost like they've created the problem.

Absolutely. Because every, you know, day or hour of delay, there is the possibility that the virus will spread to someone else and then spreads to the entire village. And that could, you know, spread very dramatically.

So tell us a little bit more. You know, there are also experimental treatments. What kind of progress has been made there?

turn 1 : The militias have amplified the outbreak of the virus by delaying healthcare workers from reaching affected areas.

Which group is believed to have worsened the spread of the virus in the affected areas? (Answer: militias)

Answer: militias


Right. And it's because of a change in the law post-9/11 that made - that gave the State Department the ability to designate specific terrorist groups. And once that group was designated, they fell under the Patriot Act. And we could investigate - the FBI could investigate specifically individuals both in the United States and overseas that were involved in any kind of transactional or transnational terrorism events with more - a greater ability, I guess, to utilize the techniques available to us.

So what can be done?I mean, are there changes that can be made in the law that might help prevent an attack like the one we saw in El Paso?

Well, there are a lot of laws that apply right now to domestic terrorism, but most of them are state laws. They're not federal laws. There is no federal murder statute, for example, unless you are a federal official of some sort and you are murdered or there's an attempted murder on you. So the El Paso case, for example, is probably going to be prosecuted as a local homicide case of 20 counts of homicide, 22, however many victims we have, by the local DA. It's not a federal case. At this point, the FBI is kind of peripherally assisting that investigation. But they're not specifically involved in or going to be involved in the prosecution. Now. . .

Could the law change?I mean, could Congress pass a law that says that an act like this, when you kill this many people, is a federal crime?

turn 3 : Congress could pass a law to make an act that results in the death of multiple people a federal crime

How many counts of homicide is the El Paso case being prosecuted as?

Answer: 20


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 0 : "take a slant on some stories" - the literal meaning of this phrase would be to physically tilt or lean on stories, but the actual meaning is that newspapers present stories from a particular point of view or bias.

How do newspapers present stories according to turn 0?

Answer: bias


But to point out the obvious: the play chess, they don't watch it.

Who would ever in a million years have imagined that anyone would be interested in watching golf on TV?In our poll, golf is considered the most boring sport in America and yet it's incredibly successful on TV. It is indeed considered, in this poll, more boring than chess. But if you think about it, if you know anything about chess, you know that there's a rich, thick history, both of players and personalities and madness and theory that you can talk about on and on and on and on. There's nothing to talk about in golf.

Andrew Paulson speaking with us from London. Thank you very much. Good luck to you and to chess, Mr.  Paulson.

Thank you very much.

Which sport is considered more boring than chess according to the poll mentioned in the dialogue?

Answer: Golf


Yeah. I can imagine.

. . . run me out of the lab on a rail. But they were delighted. They were so imaginative and they were so - well, they're both fiction readers, which helps, so they understand what literature can do, that it's symbolic and how you can sort of tell the truth in a fictional way.

So they - we just have a great time. We spent hours in conversation about this. If it did happen, then what would be the reasons?You know, we sort of backed up and had all of these hypothesis and, you know, Dr.  Brower was even saying, oh, and there's another species of milkweed, and if that range shifted a little too - so we were really - they were very enthusiastically helping me create this imaginary world, which gave me a lot of confidence in the final manuscript because they vetted it for me and they made sure that every degree of temperature was accurate and all the equipment used by the scientists in this novel were, you know, I haven't positioned them upside down. You know, everything, every detail has to be right.

So I really appreciate, not just Dr.  Brower and Dr.  Fink, but all of the scientists who have done a lot of work on monarchs that I relied - on which I relied to get my facts straight.

turn 1 : The scientists didn't actually run me out of the lab, but were very supportive.

What was the reaction of the scientists to PersonA's work?

Answer: Helpful


Absolutely. And again, with this fresh production, I think - it's like that Emily Dickinson quote: Tell the truth, but tell it slant. "I think that is originally what Tennessee Williams was getting at with the idea of plastic theater; that it does not have to be a literal expression of the truth. You can come at it from an angle. And what's beautiful here is that John Tiffany, I think, takes that literally and created this abstract set with Bob Crowley. And what's also interesting to me, Scott, is that John is English, and Bob Crowley, the set designer, is Irish. And John said to me, you know, doing Tennessee Williams in America is like an American stage director doing Shakespeare in the UK. And this season there we have Pinter, we have Beckett, there are revivals of Shakespeare - but Tennessee Williams is the only American playwright being revived on Broadway in the fall.

With all due regard to Beckett and Shakespeare and the other fine playwrights you mentioned, I'd put Tennessee Williams up against all seven or eight of them.

I would too. I would too.

Barbara Chai of the Wall Street Journal. Thanks so much for being with us.

turn 1 : "I'd put Tennessee Williams up against all seven or eight of them." The actual meaning here implies that the speaker considers Tennessee Williams to be on par with or equal to the other mentioned playwrights, rather than comparing them in a literal sense.

What playwrights are mentioned alongside Tennessee Williams in the fall season on Broadway?

Answer: Beckett


There are 13 suspects being held in connection with these bombings. Is there much known about them?

Not much. Police say they've also uncovered a van that was used by the attackers, also a safe house. Three police officers were killed in a blast at that property. Officials say the suspects detonated explosives, killing themselves rather than being taken into custody alive. The big question is who those suspects are, whether these attacks were planned locally or internationally. And there's been no claim of responsibility. Sri Lanka's been through this before, though. It fought a 26-year civil war. And at the height of that conflict, bombings were common on shopping malls, hotels, attacks like this. And what's sad is that Sri Lanka was just about to celebrate 10 years of peace, 10 years since the end of that conflict.

Lauren, it was just five weeks ago that the mosque shootings happened in New Zealand. Do you have any sense of worldwide reaction to what happened in Sri Lanka?

Yeah. I mean, the Eiffel Tower shut off its lights tonight to pay tribute to the Sri Lanka victims. Messages of shock and condolences are pouring in, including from the New Zealand prime minister. President Trump also tweeted his condolences. He said, quote, "we stand ready to help" - exclamation point. Pope Francis spoke at St.  Peter's Square in Rome, saying that he wanted to express his loving closeness to the Christian community in Sri Lanka. He noted that, you know, many of these people were killed while they were praying, attending services on Easter Sunday morning.

turn 3 : A: "President Trump also tweeted his condolences.He said, quote, 'we stand ready to help' - exclamation point." - The literal meaning is that President Trump expressed his sympathies for the victims and offered to assist in any way possible. The actual meaning is that President Trump's offer to help may be perceived as insincere or politically motivated by some people, given his controversial history with certain groups and countries.

Which world-famous landmark paid tribute to the victims of the Sri Lanka bombings?

Answer: Eiffel


We are ecstatic about all the attention we're getting. I mean, we're actually accustomed of making I guess the decision of nominating the first, you know, woman candidate for president or African-American candidate for president, and - or even on the Republican side, nominating that person; who is going to get the nomination for the Republican side. That's all I bring here first. And so we're just really elated to have all that kind of attention and really basking in their joy, you know, right now.

Tell us about what political party you like and what's important to you?

I'm non-partisan. I'm an independent voter. I'm a conservative businessman, I mean, I own my own business. And my leanings are towards whatever politician's going to address a lot of my issues, which is, you know, health care, education, especially I have three teenagers and those type of issues. But again, I'm just so happy to be able to be choosing between a woman and an African-American and a white guy…

…for president.

turn 0 : The turn in (1) implies that the speaker is excited about the attention they're receiving because they have a history of making groundbreaking decisions in the political arena.

Which group of candidates is the speaker choosing between?

Answer: Woman,African-American,White


OK, well, now there's criticism that these short-sellers may be contributing to the funny business in terms of, you know, driving prices down for these big investment banks.

You know, there's a ton of funds out there. There's a lot of cash out there. If the short-sellers are really driving prices to the point where stocks and companies are mispriced, there should be the countervailing, hey, this is a bargain, let's rush in and buy it. That hasn't happened, and in fact, if you look at the companies that have gone belly up in the past year, every one of them was either insolvent or had some major problem. Again, the short-sellers are the one who identified this.

Hm. Well, also, in some of those banks, you have traders, actually, you know - have what is the accusation out there that they contributed to the problem by short-selling these derivatives and by driving prices down across the board.

Well, there's two issues. One is short-selling in general, and then the other issue is naked short-selling, which - I'll give you the real short version of it. When you short-sell, you're doing the opposite of buying. You borrow stock and you sell it, and you hope to buy it cheaper and return it. Short-selling is legal. Naked short-selling has been illegal for many years. The only reason we have so much of it is the SEC has not enforced the rules against it, because there was a ton of money made by the biggest brokerage firms.

turn 0 : ton of funds implies a larger quantities or amount of fund s

Which term describes the amount of funds available in the market?

Answer: vast


The hallways may be quiet on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, but still plenty of noise coming from your Congress and the president. Here to help us cut through the chatter, NPR senior Washington editor and correspondent Ron Elving. Ron, thanks so much for being with us.

Good morning, Scott.

Why is a member of Congress from Michigan front-page news in Israel?

It's front-page news there because our president wants it on the front page back here in the U. S. But let's step back just for a moment. Congress has two new members who are Muslim women and who are outspoken in their support of Palestinians. The president has made them a major target of his Twitter feed. And one of them is Rashida Tlaib from Michigan. She was born in the U. S.  but still has family on the West Bank. She and her colleague Ilhan Omar from Minnesota were going to go to Israel until earlier this week when Israel decided to ban them because of their support for a boycott on Israel.

Now, that decision came right after a tweet from President Trump saying Israel looked weak if it let these two women into their country. And then a day later, the Israelis relented, saying they would let Congresswoman Tlaib visit her grandmother so long as she didn't talk boycotts. And then the congresswoman said she wouldn't go to Israel if she was going to be muzzled. And, of course, the whole business has left a bad taste in many mouths, including those of supporters of Israel in the U. S.  and supporters of the U. S.  in Israel.

turn 0 : Congress and the president are not working at the moment.

What is the topic of the conversation between PersonA and PersonB in turn 3?

Answer: Israel


Thank you. Thank you for saying snot-like. Not a - I don't believe we've had that phrase on our show before. So what is there. . .

It's a first.

What is there about this delightful mucus of the tongue?

Well, we spent a few years studying the frog tongue.

turn 3 : implies that A and their team had been studying the frog tongue for a few years.

Which body part did PersonA and their team spend a few years studying?

Answer: tongue


Well, I think everybody is kind of on pins and needles to see what's going to come out of it, see what direction Congress is going to go.

The union recently made certain concessions to help cut costs on their end, including suspending the job bank program, and that's a program where UAW workers can receive nearly full pay for up to two years if their jobs are eliminated. Why make sacrifices like that?

Well, I think the union has been a partner ion this thing. In fact, I was one to help negotiate the jobs bank originally, so I pretty well understand that program. But, if we can turn this thing around, we can keep those working that are there today, so there may not be a need for it.

Of course, any proposed changes would have to be ratified by union members. What do you think the chances are there that these changes would be approved?

turn 0 : on pins and needles implies that people are very concerned and alert about what is happening

How are people feeling about what's happening?

Answer: Concerned


General, one other question. You have described your leadership style as preparing deeply, setting out a clear vision, then leaving your subordinates to figure out how to enact that vision. I'm thinking about the fact that as a Marine, your boss was - chain of civilian command - was the president of the United States and ultimately us, the people of the United States. If you look back at your career from 9/11 to the time that you resigned as secretary of defense, did we collectively do that for you, prepare intensively, set out a clear vision and leave you to do your job the best you could?

Well, probably not in all cases. And I wouldn't expect perfection. I'd leave perfection to God. But I think we still have got to have a more rigorous establishing of strategy, a more clearly enunciated policy, something we can sustain from Republicans to Democrats, from Republicans to Democrats as we did during the Cold War. I think that the biggest challenge we face is in all the Western democracies - it's not just America, but in all the Western democracies, we don't study history in a way that we can apply it. And we are not rigorously applying ourselves to strategy. There's too much of a short-term view.

Jim Mattis is the author of "Call Sign Chaos: Learning To Lead. "General, thanks so much.

Thank you, Steve.

turn 0 : Preparing deeply implies doing lots of work and study on the topic.

Which word describes the type of work that preparing deeply implies?

Answer: Study


If I had any confidence that another state would follow suit, I would agree with you. But we have watched as, really, only two states in the nation have done truly independent congressional redistricting. Neither of them are what I would call red states. And one of them is California, the state with the largest number of congressional seats in the country. And even though California moved forward with their independent redistricting, not one Republican state followed suit. So if what we're trying to do is have more Republicans in Congress, then I would say, yes, we back Governor Hogan's plan and just change it in Maryland.

But this sounds a little bit like a playground argument. Well, if they're not going to do it, I'm not going to do it, either, regardless of what may be right.

Well, that's what my bill solves. It allows for two states to do it simultaneously. And hopefully, that then moves a process forward that other states can then join.

Is there buy-in from Virginia?

turn 0 : The speaker disagrees with the other person's argument.

Which person is proposing a bill to solve the issue of independent congressional redistricting?

Answer: A


The economy is humming, but we may be hearing some sputtering as well. The stock market fell 3% this past Wednesday but later made back some of those losses. While in the bond market, a key marker of a coming recession has been playing out. Now the payoff for long-term government debt fell below the yield on short-term debt. So what are we looking for when the bell rings tomorrow?Catherine Rampell writes about economics for The Washington Post, and she joins me now. Welcome.

Good to be here.

So first off, I just want a gut check from you - Wall Street ups and downs, that warning flare in the bond market, but we're also seeing strong consumer spending at the same time. What is your take on these mixed indicators?

I think the story thus far has been there are warning signs out there. Consumers have been the strong point. Up until this week, however, there was a consumer sentiment number that it was at its lowest notching since, I want to say, six or seven months. So that does suggest that consumers may be wavering a little bit. I think the bigger picture, though, is the global risks essentially. So right now, we have something, like, nine major economies around the world either currently in recession or on the verge of recession, and you could imagine that there would be contagion effects.

turn 0 : The economy is not humming but is working as it should.

Answer: working


Not too much yet. Police have said that they range in all ages. Former El Paso congressman and now-presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke told reporters yesterday that he spoke to the wife of a soccer coach who was wounded while fundraising for his team at the Walmart. Mexican officials have also reported via Twitter that there are six Mexicans injured, including a 10-year-old girl, and three others are among the dead.

I mean, this must be an incredibly difficult time in El Paso right now, you know, something this horrific happening. There were so many families at the Walmart, as you mentioned. And it is now being investigated as a potential hate crime. So I'm wondering - how have the people there reacted to this terrible tragedy?

Well, El Pasoans have by and large reacted in the same way they've responded to the rush of Central American families who have arrived - who have been arriving at this city for months now. Hours after the shooting, there were long lines at blood donation centers. I visited a school where families were gathering to get information about missing loved ones. I saw El Pasoans show up to that school with truckloads of water. There is an interfaith vigil organized tonight at a local park. And both the mayor and the U. S.  congresswoman who represent El Paso has said this is - that this crime isn't reflective of the welcoming character of this city.

That's reporter Monica Ortiz Uribe in El Paso. Thank you very much.

You're welcome.

turn 4 : ONE ARE THE PERSON HELP TO RETURN TO SAY THANK YOU THAT SAYS REPLY TO YOU'RE WELCOM.

How did the person express gratitude for the help they received?

Answer: Long


. . . You are from this area - born in D. C. , raised in Maryland and Virginia - the DMV, as we like to say. So what's it like to be back home now that you're blowing up like this?Can you go to, like, the CVS if you want to without being recognized?

Yeah. I definitely can go to the CVS. You know, sometimes people recognize me, sometimes they don't. But it's a beautiful feeling, and I just can't wait to move back eventually.

How did you start singing or how did you realize you could sing?

I don't know. I just was always singing. I didn't know if it was good or not, but my grandma, she told me that I sounded like an angel. And that maybe - perhaps that kept me going. I mean, I always wanted a solo at the church, and they didn't ever give it to me. But eventually they did, and I froze. But then I killed it. And I just feel like that kind of just followed me all throughout my life.

turn 3 : Many non-literal statements here: "always singing", "froze" and "killed it." They mean she sang a lot of the time, she failed to perform in front of an audience due to nerves, and she sang really well.

What did PersonA's grandma tell her about her singing?

Answer: Angel


And so that's what gives them some optimism, and, while they think their internal poll numbers are better than the public polls, which, in a lot of these states, show them back - in these red states or Republican states, show McCain back, in some cases, by a double digits, they say their internal poll is showing just a few points.

Still, here is Karl Rove writing in the Wall Street Journal today. His overall tone is, never mind the polls, go ahead and vote anyway. He does cite Ronald Reagan as an example in 1980. Out of the last 14 presidential campaigns, he says, Ronald Reagan 1980 was the last time that a candidate was behind in the Gallup poll the week before the election and still went ahead to win.

Yes. That's part of the tough, uphill climb the McCain campaign faces. They face the problem of history, and they also face the problem of the actual, you know, numbers that are coming from inside the important states, as opposed to, say, the national numbers.

And also, for their long shot strategy to pay off, a lot of things that we've seen on the ground, the extraordinary enthusiasm in Democratic ranks, the registration advantage Democrats have over Republicans in these key states, those have all turned out to be not as great as advertised, and that's a lot of things that have to fall in line perfectly over the next five days.

turn 2 : McCain campaign is facing a difficult challenge from Obama

Which campaign is facing a tough challenge from Obama?

Answer: struggling


Well, what we're flying in are what people call the Van Allen radiation belt - have to get a plug-in for Iowa, there, since Van Allen was from the University of Iowa. And this is a region of, sort of, doughnut-shaped, very energetic particles which surrounds our planet. There's actually two of them, sort of these rings around us, which are very high-energy particles. And that - when they're that high energy, we call them radiation. And this is a - this radiation can damage satellites or be unhealthy for astronauts. And so it's a region that most satellites try to avoid or spend as little time in as possible. But we want to understand how they work better, so we had to build something that could go there and live there.

And this transfer of energy in these belts is actually what's causing the noise, right?

Exactly so. It's quite an interesting process. The waves are kind of like a - almost like a catalyst or a carrier of the energy. So they come about out of lower energy electrons, we know, and the grow up. And then they give their energy up as they fade away into higher energy electrons, which become the energetic particles that we called the radiation belts. So they kind of are a transport mechanism, if you will, from low energy to high energy, and thereby help create the radiation belts.

And where does the energy come from in the first place that feeds these belts?

turn 2 : The waves are responsible for creating the high-energy radiation in the Van Allen radiation belt.

How do the waves contribute to the creation of the Van Allen radiation belt?

Answer: Damage


Because there's going to be this glass chamber, people can follow along.

Right. It looks absolutely beautiful.

Oh, it does?

Yeah, it looks absolutely beautiful.

turn 3 : The appearance of the glass chamber is impressive. (not the appearance of something else

Answer: appearance


Just quickly, what about men?

Men. Well men, we tend to focus more on outcomes and process. And so we kind of, you know, focus almost exclusively on the outcomes. We tend to like win-lose scenarios, as opposed to negotiating for win-win. And then, men, we tend to be command and control leaders, where as women can be more inclusive and interactive. And so we really have to work on those traits.

Has anyone ever given you static for trying to do the Mars-Venus thing, about how you see men and women?

Well, because it's really my opinion, and they typically let me have that opinion. But again, it's really a broad statement, so I'm not saying all men or all women, but just as a rule, they're some observations that I've had over the years.

turn 3 : Opinions on gender differences are subjective and not absolute, hence should not be generalized to all men and women

What is the suggested approach towards generalizing opinions on gender differences?

Answer: not


That could be jeopardized?

Well, certainly the people putting forth these plans don't think it would be. What they want to do is change Medicaid from a guaranteed benefit to a block grant to states. So a state would get a fixed amount of money from the federal government and decide for itself how to spend it. The idea is that states know their needs better than the feds, and this would give them flexibility.

What critics of this idea worry about is, what happens in an economic downturn when demand on Medicaid goes up?They say states could be left with a sort of Sophie's choice. Do you cut back on services for poor children or for the frail elderly?

I know we've talked about Medicare and Medicaid. Are there proposed changes that would affect older Americans who might buy their own health care coverage?

turn 0 : (1) Implied meaning: Is this plan risky?

How could Medicaid be changed under the proposed plan?

Answer: Flexibility


Right.

You know, she said, he's sort of Ralph Lauren type. Do you like that type?And here I am thinking, like, God, no.

What did she ask you to do?

She didn't tell me to do anything. She just said, just do whatever he asks, and you'll be fine. And again, that's another comment that was made as we were leaving the car as we walked into the house that didn't land right away. But obviously, in hindsight now, that - the comment, you know, landed pretty hard with me.

turn 1 : A dislikes Ralph Lauren type, but she thinks B might like them

What was PersonA's initial reaction to the description of Ralph Lauren type?

Answer: Dislike


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 0 : The parents and coaches involved in the scheme are facing legal consequences.

How are the parents and coaches involved in the scheme being punished?

Answer: Legal


So I think - I think we're - we have to understand the complexity of it. I think we have to understand that the president has put together a good team on this. And now we're really looking at the next step. But I do think it's important to underscore that in this kind of negotiation, especially at this high level, you get to walk away from the table once. You don't get to walk away from the table twice.

Right. I mean, you used a phrase there, pick up the pieces. It's not just President Trump and North Korea. It's the president's son-in-law trying to almost single handedly bring Middle East peace after the United States took a move like moving the embassy to Jerusalem. You know, some would say that the Trump administration gives away the carrots, like moving the embassy to Jerusalem, without getting concessions and only selectively applies the sticks, like curtailing Palestinian aid. Doesn't that make it harder to negotiate?

Sometimes it can. Sometimes, however, that - what you want to do is try to rearrange the pieces on the table and do so in ways that are surprising or unexpected and can open space for - for talks and negotiations.

Do you think Jared Kushner is the man to do that?

turn 1 : The carrots and sticks refer to how you get a horse to move the way you want.

How does "B" describe the Trump administration's use of carrots and sticks?

Answer: Selective


What goes in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse - until the baseball manager writes a book, that is. It's Thursday, and if you haven't guessed, it's time again for a look at sports with our very own sports guru, the New York Times Sports Columnist, Mr.  Bill Rhoden. Mr.  Bill, what's up?

Hey, the great Tony Cox. How you're doing?

I'm doing great, man. Joe Torre, leaving New York as a beloved figure, but now he has written his autobiography, "The Yankee Years. "I know that he's been on his New York tour. People are buying the book. But, you know, some people are happy, some people not so happy.

Well, the people who are most important to be happy are happy. The publisher of course. . .

Anybody reading book, it's about selling books. And I, Tony, I sort of equate it to in football, the most important statistics for a receiver are yards after catch.

turn 2 : Some people are unhappy with Joe Torre's book

Which person/people are not happy with Joe Torre's book?

Answer: Some


That's right, one of these men - yeah, there was a seafood, wholesale seafood dealer in Southern China, in the province of Guangdong, who got the nickname the poison king because he had infected so many other people. He got very sick, went into a hospital in the city of Guangzhou. He started to suffer respiratory blockage.

They intubated him, they put a tube down his throat to help him breathe, but in the course of doing that, he was - you know, he was spewing out virus, he was coughing and sputtering and spitting. And health care workers became infected just in the course of intubating him.

So he infected more than his share, and then there was the other fellow at the hotel who infected more than his share.

It really - your book really made me feel a huge debt of gratitude to people who work in the health care industry because it can be really heroic work, and it seems like they put their life on the line in some cases.

turn 1 : Health care workers are at risk of getting infected.

How were health care workers affected during the intubation process?

Answer: infected


I didn't think this was going to go so immediately to the sex life of plants. But, apparently, that's where we're headed. I mean, why, though, has modern fruit become as sugary as it has?

Well, one of the main dates to remember here is 1930, which is when the United States passes the Plant Patent Act. And from that point forward, the idea is we're trying to encourage farmers to actually manipulate those plants and to make them sweeter and to make them fatter and also to make them seedless, to take their sex away. In fact, what's happening is that when you actually take the sex drive of a plant away, when you take away its seeds, it actually puts more energy into getting fat and sweet.

When you read about how fruit has impacted these zoo animals, were you surprised?

No, not at all. I mean, as I say, for years now, we've been lobbying these natural varieties of almost everything about them except their sweetness. You look at a watermelon. There is no seedless watermelon that's full of just bright red, luscious fruit. There's nothing like that found in nature. The tomatoes you find in nature are tiny and tasteless. The apples you find in nature are - almost all of them are spitters. People don't realize that everything that we're seeing in the supermarket, they're like superstars. They're like supermodels and elite athletes like LeBron James. That's what we're looking - at the supermarket.

turn 3 : the fruit isn't actual superstars; they aren like supermodels and elite athletes like LeBron James;

Answer: like


. . . food.

And. . .

And so when someone like Roger has this incredible density of taste buds on his tongue, we call those people super-tasters. Or I refer to them in "Taste What You're Missing" as hyper-tasters. To me, it just sounds a little bit less caped crusader. . .

. . . than a super-taster. But what that means is that that people who have this type of anatomy, in combination with some genetic traits, are much more sensitive to sweetness, sourness. It turns out, they're also more sensitive to the heat that comes from jalapeno chilies, for example. And so. . .

turn 2 : The phrase "less caped crusader" is an idiomatic expression used to mean "less superhero-like" or "less exaggerated." In this context, it means that the term "hyper-taster" sounds more reasonable and less exaggerated than "super-taster."

What is the meaning of the phrase "less caped crusader" in turn 2?

Answer: Less-superhero-like


That's one of the projects, yeah, that I followed in the book. Can we build a limb that is basically indistinguishable from a natural arm?So if you're missing an arm, you get this new prosthetic that can sense and move and operate like a natural arm. And that's typically ambitious, and they call that DARPA-hard. Let's try something that just seems completely insane, totally, you know, crazy ambitious. And in that case, they didn't get there. They didn't quite get to that point, but they did get a lot of these technologies in motion for controlling a robot with mind power alone, for instance.

Yeah. How do they ensure that they keep getting new cutting-edge thoughts inside of DARPA?

That's one of the challenges, and that's one of the reasons I was able to write this book, too, because they need to get the word out. They need to find people out there who've got these ideas, who want to pitch them to DARPA. Or come to work for DARPA as a program manager because DARPA program managers, they all leave. After two to six years, they're gone. Their expiration dates are printed on their ID badges. So they've got this turnover, 25 percent every single year.

And they also have a deadline, right?

turn 2 : DARPA needs new ideas from people who want to work for them.

Answer: pitch


No costume changes, no props.

Did you go into being someone who could be so mutable in part because you had to kind of - you had to have a place to escape, I'm assuming?

You know, I think that's exactly what it was. I remember as a teenager that - you know, I was born in Germany. I lived in Japan 'til I was 10 and then, you know, moved to Iowa, which is where I graduated high school. But you know, just being surrounded by so many different cultures, I just found myself kind of being a sponge. And so, as an extracurricular activity, I ended up, you know, doing standup comedy, you know, telling jokes to my friends. And I think you're right. I think it ended up being an escape into these different characters to be able to make people laugh. And it kind of made, you know, kind of made me laugh on the inside as well, because everything on the outside was really, really hurting.

Can you either give us a snippet of a character, to be in character or show how you transition between characters?

turn 2 : A used comedy as an escape from personal struggles and pain

How did PersonA cope with personal struggles and pain?

Answer: Comedy


After Kristen's story dropped, there was some conversation in circles for about a week. And then immediately, institutions started deflecting responsibility. People immediately responded with some codes of conduct or some immediate action. But no one really wanted to take a look, listen, understand the extent of this problem.

You are continuing your reporting on this. What has been the reaction from female photographers that you have spoken to?

It's really difficult. I was just at a photo conference a few weeks ago. Two women shared their stories of being raped in the field. I don't think we know the extent of how bad it is. Many women in private rooms are starting to speak about what they've experienced. But they're extremely scared to go on the record because they don't want to be seen as difficult to work with. They want to continue photographing. They want to continue doing the work. There's very few people that can hold our own industry accountable. And that's why I wanted to take Kristen's reporting further and really look at, why can't photojournalism really take a hard look at itself and say, you know what?- we might not have been treating each other fairly, and there might be some consequences for our audience because of that?

In your piece, you write that there are these bigger implications here because, as you say, photography informs how we see the world, literally. And when you have the number of women photojournalists behind the camera getting smaller, what does that mean in your view for how the world is then represented?

turn 0 : The story was told to people and many became aware of it.

How long did the conversation in circles last?

Answer: Oneweek.


You mentioned Slate, which is one of the - it's in the corporate umbrella that you are. And there's also - Henry Louis Gates Jr. , he is obviously an academic superstar and a media superstar. He's played a major role in this organization and in popularizing genealogical research.

But how does the magazine try to bring together the news part with the genealogy part, where you have, actually, links to AfricanDNA. com?

Right. The two parts of the site - the site now has two core missions - the magazine and the tools-based part of the site, which is The Root's part of the site. And where it makes sense, there will be a crossover between those two functions. There's an essay that we've got coming in today from someone who's well known, who's doing an essay on researching her family history.

And it's in written form, so it'll run in the magazine. And so that is a direct connection to The Root's part of the site. But I don't think we'll always force the two things to be connected. What I would hope is that people who come to the site for - maybe if we have political junkies who are coming to the site tomorrow to see what our take is on Super Tuesday, that they would come to the site, read a good article and then maybe jump over and try to start building their family tree by the same token.

turn 2 : The literal meaning of this phrase is that the site has two primary purposes. The actual meaning, however, could be interpreted as suggesting that the magazine and the tools-based part of the site serve as the foundational elements that make up the larger site.

What is the two-part mission of the site?

Answer: Two


The New York Mets lost 7 to 1 to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, but the real loser was their mascot, Mr.  Met. Mr.  Met has a huge white baseball of a head dappled with red stitching and embellished with a perpetual grin.

But as he left the playing field Wednesday night, Mr.  Met flipped a middle finger to a group of fans who posted it on Twitter - busted, Mr.  Met. The club apologized, and the team employee in the Mr.  Met costume that night has reportedly not returned. There were reports that fans heckled him, which fans deny.

The Mr.  Mets middle finger controversy poses a physical and philosophical question. Mr.  Met has four fingers on each hand. How can you say that any of them is a middle finger?Anyway, flipping the bird in New York, isn't that just how they say good morning in Queens?

(Singing) Well, everybody's heard about the bird - bird, bird, bird, the bird's the word. Well, bird, bird, bird, bird is the word. Well, bird, bird, bird - the bird is the word. Well, bird, bird, bird, bird is the word. Well, bird, bird, bird - the bird is the word. Well, bird, bird, bird's the word. Well, bird, bird, bird - the bird's the word. Well, bird, bird, bird, bird is the word. Well, bird, bird, bird's the word. Well, don't you know about the bird?Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word. Well, bird, bird, the bird's the word. . .

turn 1 :  the figurative use of the phrase "flipping the bird" and the phrase's implication in New York City, respectively.

How is "flipping the bird" commonly used in New York City?

Answer: Greeting


Last year, we gave almost $50 million of our internal resources for aid. So between 25 percent and a third of all of our students had enough grant aid from the college for tuition to be free. Why is that possible?Because we have this endowment that we use to underwrite the cost and to provide opportunities for students.

OK.  You have, as you mentioned, an enrollment of 1,700 students with an endowment of 1. 8 billion. That's more than a million dollars per student. The government only wants to take 1. 4 percent in this proposal.

Well, first of all, 1. 4 percent may seem like a small percent, but that is every dollar there - takes dollars away from students. It takes away either from the quality of educational experience or from our ability to offer aid. And we do this as a public good. We do it for students from all over the country. We admit need blind. So we admit students without even considering how much they can pay. And we're able to do that because of these resources, and we're not unique.

Right. But, you know, if you look at something like Harvard and Yale, they have an endowment of a combined $60 billion. I mean, that's an astronomical amount of money. And, in effect, by it being tax free, aren't we the taxpayer subsidizing these elite universities that are hardly hurting for income?I mean, aren't we all paying for it?

turn 2 : "Takes dollars away from students" implies that they are actually taking money from the student's pockets.

How does the proposed government tax affect students?

Answer: Away


So this didn't happen overnight. Russian agents start making covert research visits to the United States all the way back in 2014. They used that information to then begin these social media accounts about different political issues, and they start gaining momentum, getting hundreds, then thousands, then hundreds of thousands of likes and follows, even gaining legitimacy and reach by getting retweets and engagement from people in President Trump's orbit, people like Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump Jr. , engaged with this content.

And then you think back to 2016 when these social media companies were basically saying, we don't have much of a role in election interference. And this report really shows that that's not true. This content was seen by as many as 126 million people on Facebook alone.

Now let's talk about the issue of hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign. What does the report say there?

So this section got really technical, but the report detailed exactly how these Russian agents ended up getting a hold of these emails that ended up on WikiLeaks. It all starts with a phishing campaign. They're able to break into the account of one account holder with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and they basically leveraged that access into being able to start exploring the entire Democratic national party network between the DNC and the DCCC.

turn 2 : There are no idiomatic expressions or figurative language in this turn.

Which turn mentions the number of people who saw the content on Facebook?

Answer: A


Oh, absolutely. The lactobacillus have been around for many years, thousands of years, perhaps millions of years, and they are already, you know, well identified as being able to survive in the human body and thought to be, quote, "beneficial," unquote, bacteria.

Mm-hmm. And it's just a question of testing this out, I would imagine.

Well, yes. So the investigators did test it on human cells, like in a petri dish, where they caused them to get inflamed and then show that by giving them this bacteria, that produces the LFn that decreased that, too. So they've done it in live mice. They've done it in human cells.

Right.

turn 2 : the speaker uses the phrase "in a petri dish" which literally means a flat dish used to culture cells. However, in this context, the speaker is using it to refer to an artificial environment created in a laboratory setting. Similarly, the phrase "live mice" in this context is used to refer to real, living mice that were used in an experiment.

Answer: Petri


You're listening to SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow. Thinking about hitting the gym or going out for a jog this weekend?Well, we all need some kind of motivation to get us going, right?We make the plan. Well, here's a reason to do it, to stick to those plans. Researchers have found that aside from helping us burn calories and shed pounds, exercise changes the DNA, changes the DNA in our muscle fibers, which raises all kinds of questions. Just how do workouts change DNA?

Do we pass on those DNA changes to our offspring?And how do those modifications affect muscle strength and metabolism?Well, here to talk about it is Dr.  Juleen Zierath. She is a co-author of the study in the journal Cell Metabolism, and professor of clinical integrative physiology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. And she joins us from there. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY.

Well, hi, Ira. Thank you for your interest in our work.

We're very interested, because I don't think anybody has ever given two-minutes thought that exercise changes your DNA.

turn 2 : The speaker is actually expressing gratitude and appreciation for the host's interest in their work.

What is the emotion expressed by the speaker towards the host's interest in their work?

Answer: Appreciation


No, no. I just - it's always - to me, it's just the joy of storytelling. And I don't think about it. Getting things in on time has never been a problem for me, so I don't worry about it. You know, I remember watching Morgan Freeman when he did the two Alex Cross movies. And he's so confident that he's going to knock the scene dead, and I'm really confident that I can tell a good story now, so I just don't worry about things.

James Patterson. His book for young readers: "Middle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli and Snake Hill", co-written with Chris Tebbetts. His adult book, "Second Honeymoon", with Howard Roughan. Thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you. Nice talking to you.

You're listening to WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News.

turn 3 : WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News." The literal meaning of this turn is that the person is informing the listener that they are currently listening to a radio program called WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. The implied meaning, however, is that this is a standard closing statement for the radio program, and it is used to signal the end of the program. It does not literally mean that the listener is currently listening to the program, as the turn can be heard at the end of every episode.

Answer: NPR


Well, we approach this as sort of a three-front challenge. We changed policy in this state last year. Seven bills were passed that give us more control over prescribing. It gives law enforcement more authority over pills coming into the state. This litigation is going to give us money to deal with the epidemic. And lastly, when we identify prescribers who are being reckless with their patients. . .

OK.

. . . Or running pill mills, we're prosecuting them.

All right. That's Oklahoma State Attorney General Mike Hunter.

turn 2 : We are taking strict actions against irresponsible prescribers.

What is the three-front challenge approach aimed at?

Answer: Prescribing


I would suggest the European Union needs to be there. I would suggest the Arabs need to be there in various configurations. So I think we need to do that. And I think we need to be much more cognizant of the fact that Syrians are really fearful of the future even more than they are of this hideous Assad regime.

And I want to make very clear, I have absolutely no sense that this guy, Assad, should, you know, lead that country in the future. I'm just saying, from the practical task of trying to enlist various factions, you might start with doing that rather than delisting various factions.

Well, it was interesting, the - I think the first effort involved the Kofi Annan effort sponsored by the United Nations. And they're broke down over the insistence by Mr.  Assad and his backers, including Russia, that he be part of the transition.

Yeah. Well, there's no question that Assad made Kofi's job almost impossible. But, you know, we're now well over a year after that, and I think if there are better coordination with whoever the envoy is, if it's another Kofi, if it's Secretary Kerry or some former senate colleague, say, of Secretary Kerry, I think you could kind of work with the Russians to say, OK, we're going to propose this. Assad won't like it. But Russians, do you agree with what we're doing?If you do, we'd like you to put a little heat on Assad to get him at least not to explicitly oppose it.

turn 3 : Putting a little heat on actually means to make trouble for  and pressure Assad.

How does "putting a little heat on" relate to Assad?

Answer: Pressure


How much did you pay for that last box of Girl Scout cookies you bought?Five bucks, six maybe, maybe more?How about $15 billion?That's the price of a single box if - if it were turned into graphine. Researchers at Rice University in Houston have discovered a way to turn anything with carbon into graphine, the super-strong wonder material that can be worth over two million times the price of gold. You heard that right, two million times.

Forget alchemy, that's for chumps. This is graphene, worth a lot more in its weight of gold. Marc Abrahams, editor and founder of the Annals of Improbable Research is here to tell us why graphene is so pricey and what this invention could mean for nanotechnology. Welcome back to SCIENCE FRIDAY.

Thanks, Ira, nice to be back.

So what is this thing about turning Girl Scout cookies into graphene?

turn 2 : nice to be back means its nice that I am here again

Which turn indicates that the speaker has been on the show before?

Answer: 2


Well, you know, in my opinion, a geek is somebody who obsesses, and who tinkers and who tries to kind of take apart the world - whether that's, you know, in a literal way by disassembling things or reassembling them or in a figurative way by being a writer or a musician or something like that. And Tesla was sort of the embodiment of that. He was almost like a - sort of like a Steve Wozniak, in a way, in that he was kind of this brilliant workhorse that maybe early on was a bit naive about money. He wasn't really concerned with that. He was just concerned with seeing what he could do to the world and how he could change it.

And didn't quite get the same glory as Edison.

He did not, no. He was - he wasn't great at marketing himself, and he wasn't great at making money. He was brilliant. He was a genius, but he was not a businessman.

What does this site look like, this old lab of his?Are there things lying around like his tools, or a half-eaten bag of chips or something that could be auctioned off?

turn 0 : urn: "take apart the world" Actual meaning: To understand or analyze the world in a deep and comprehensive way.

Which phrase describes a person who understands or analyzes the world in a deep and comprehensive way?

Answer: Geek


You can point to the same thing in income, in housing, across the board. And if we're not investing very specifically to deal with that, we can continue to expect to see these inequalities to persist.

You are also arguing for a constitutional amendment that would ban the death penalty.

That's right.

Why is this part of a plan to empower black America?

turn 3 : why this part is used to empower black america

What plan element empowers Black America?

Answer: Constitutional


Absolutely. And that's one of the great things about being digital. The librarians' time can be dedicated to working with our students in a teaching role. So a large part of my job and my colleagues' jobs includes being in the classroom, working with the students, showing them how to organize their information digitally.

It was irresistible. I thought about a couple of my favorite books - Ben Hecht, "A Child Of The Century" and Edwin O'Connor's wonderful novel, "The Last Hurrah. "There are no e-editions, at least for the moment. So if a student at Florida Polytechnic wanted to read those books, what would he or she have to do?

The student could find that book through our integrated library system. And let's say it was available here at Florida State University. They could request that the book be sent from Florida State to Florida Polytechnic.

So I'm going to guess that you're familiar with libraries that have what we call stacks?

turn 1 : The implied meaning of turn (2) is that the speaker was tempted to find out if it was possible for the student to access the books they mentioned.

Which book did PersonB mention that does not have an e-edition available?

Answer: Edwin-O'Connor's


You have tough words for President Obama in your Sun-Times column that's been posted now. Let me quote you, "The president doesn't hurry, not even when his city is bleeding. "

Those tough words are a function of - he's at the top of the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice - the feds seldom, if ever, hurry. And this - if they did engage in this - would be a civil rights case. While - when Laquan McDonald was shot and lay bleeding on the pavement after 16 bullets entered his body, the fact of the matter was that Ferguson, Mo. , had already jumped off. We were in the midst of other police situations in other major urban areas involving black youth and largely white officers. And so there was a real feeling of a cauldron boiling, and something - needed more largely than was being done to address it.

In Chicago, are there political implications here?

There are certainly political implications. When Laquan McDonald was shot, Rahm Emanuel was entering a tougher than normal mayoral re-election cycle. This would not have done well for him, so the city kept it quiet. But worse than that, Scott, worse than that is that the city and the union did not tell the truth about what happened. They both said hours after. . .

turn 1 :  Turn (2) implies that the Department of Justice was slow to act in response to a civil rights case, which is different from its literal meaning which is simply that it is a civil rights case

Which case was the Department of Justice slow to act upon?

Answer: Civil


Well, let me give you an example. I walked up to some lawmakers in the Great Hall of the People. And they confirmed to me unanimously that they were going to vote in favor of scrapping term limits. And one thing you hear from a lot of Chinese when you ask them is that they say, look. President Xi Jinping is doing a great job. He's getting China lots of respect on the world stage. He's cleaning up corruption at home. He ought to be given a chance to do more. And also, I think it helps to remember that in Chinese political culture, it's basically been the rule of man. And so people feel, let's get a good man, and let's not worry about, if we don't get a good man, what rules are we going to rely on to give him the boot?

You mentioned critics. And there are critics. What are they saying about this?

Well, you don't hear a lot of them because their views are often censored on the Internet. But I think it's safe to say that they feel very gloomy and pessimistic about the current situation. They look into the future - say 10, 15 or even more years - and they just don't see a lot hope for civil liberties, transparent and accountable government or robust civil society. And they just feel that this is a real historic step backwards into the bad, old days.

The bad, old days being China's monarchs of thousands of years?

turn 0 : 1: Chinese people prioritize having a good leader over having a leader who follows rules.

How do Chinese people prioritize leadership?

Answer: Good


I think this team, by necessity, given the circumstances, is going to be focused more on the more immediate dual strategic challenges that could suck us into international adventures that will be devastating to our national interest.

And primarily, at the top of that list, I think you would put Iran.

Yes, and the Middle East, more generally; or perhaps now even some parts of the Sahara in Africa.

Now there are going to be crises like this situation that's developing in Algeria. We obviously still don't know a lot about what's going on there. But where do you see an opportunity to create - for a geo-trategic approach?Iran - everybody says there are a lot of options. None of them, very good.

turn 0 : adventures implies doing military or conflict based actions in foreign nations

Which challenges could lead to international adventures?

Answer: STRATEGUC


That's Theia. That's the Mars-sized planet that people have been invoking all these years, for about the last 40 years now. And that led to detailed models and dozens and dozens of papers exploring this idea of fleshing out various scenarios. And in the last 10 years, we really thought we were approaching the endgame, where we could make the Earth, we could give it its spin, we could, you know, make a moon. . .

And you had it all wrapped up?

We had it all wrapped up, and not only could we make a moon, but we could make a moon that has pretty odd composition. I mean, the moon has a composition that's really odd. It's like - it is like George Darwin said, it's like you pulled a piece of the mantle out of the Earth and popped it into the sky, but. . .

So it's made of mostly Earth stuff?

turn 0 : A planet named Theia has been discussed for 40 years.

Which planet has been discussed for 40 years?

Answer: Theia


Right now, the police - I can't tell you for sure. I can tell you as to my prosecutors, what we did is we took the supervisor and the people involved in our charging decisions, and they actually help us work the system. So the process that we have created actually was a collaboration with people in my office. So they are supportive, and they're intrigued by what it's going to look like.

Again, we want to make sure that there are no negative unintended consequences to this. So we're going to be looking at it very closely. We are working with the Sanford people to make sure that we create the right metrics, you know?The goal here is to do something that will do the right things. And part of that will be learning and seeing if there are any negative unintended consequences that - we want to go back and fix them very quickly.

That is George Gascon. He is the district attorney for the city and county of San Francisco. George Gascon, thank you so much for talking with us.

My pleasure, Michel.

turn 0 : The prosecutors collaborated with the supervisor to manipulate the system.

What did the prosecutors do with the supervisor?

Answer: Help


Yeah. There was actually at this last Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, there was a talk about a possible Mercurian meteorite.

Would you know it if you found it?

That's the good question. I mean in the case of the Mars meteorites and the moon meteorites, there's actually - we have pieces of evidence from other sciences that can relate to that. And we know that these things are fairly solid. But in the case of a Mercurian meteorite, that would be a little bit harder to do, but it wouldn't be impossible. Hopefully there might be a sample returned sometime in the future.

So there could be around us now and we wouldn't know it.

turn 3 : THere may be mercurian meteorites in the solar system, although not as close "as around us" implies

Which planet's meteorites are harder to identify according to the evidence discussed in the conversation?

Answer: Mercury


Not so well now. We're expecting to have a peace completely after the election, but we still have a few problems here and there as far as human right is concerned. And there is also killings in some parts of the country, in the west, also in east. So, that's not good.

There are a lot of people who've used music to raise awareness about what's going on in different parts of the world. Why do you think people relate to music as a way of understanding and humanizing other people?What is it about music that's so special?

Music is very natural. We are born - our mothers sing for us. The community welcomes you with music, with singing. So, it becomes part of your being, of your nature. At the same time, when you cry, it's also like singing. So, it seems like singing and music is set of human being. So, when we sing, we cry, we shout, we just bring it outside. So, it's very natural.

And your family had a musical tradition, what was its like growing up?

turn 1 : Why do you think people relate to music as a way of understanding and humanizing other people? What is it about music that's so special?"

Which question did PersonA ask about music and understanding in the dialogue?

Answer: Understanding


"VIC" (Member, Overeaters Anonymous): Hi.

Vic, I want to start with you, and I want to be very specific. Give me an example of a day when you completely lost control over your eating.

"VIC": It wasn't a day. It was the day before (Laughing) and that day and the next day. But anyway - OK, so I wake up in the morning, totally hung over. Dr.  Lerner - Marty - described very well, you know, having lost control. So, I wake up, I feel terrible, and the last thing I want to do, I think in my rational brain, is eat because I feel so bad. And yet, I know that if I take one bite of anything, I'll be off and running. And I'm scared. I'm really scared.

Let me just ask one thing. When you say hung over, do you mean hung over from overeating or hung…

turn 1 : B wants to know about VIC's loss of control over eating

What is the name of the member of Overeaters Anonymous that PersonB wants to start with?

Answer: VIC


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.

Which word implies skepticism or doubt about the subject's credibility or qualifications?

Answer: Skepticism


Yes.

I just wondered what that photograph brought up for you that made you want to have it as the cover of your album.

That photograph hit me like a ton of bricks. You know, I had - they had sent me about nine pictures, you know, trying to find something for the album. I didn't see the others. That was the only one I saw, and it grabbed me. You know, these little babies standing on the outside. They want to swing. They want to go on the slide.

And it kind of reminded me of my sisters and I. We had that problem when we were growing up. We couldn't go to the beach. We couldn't go to the park. We wanted some grass. Where we lived, we didn't really have any grass. You know, we'd have to play in a vacant lot with dirt and glass. So that photograph grabbed me in the heart and almost brought me to tears. I said, this is the one.

(Singing) Look at us now. Remember when. We've come a long, long way. We tell ourselves stories only we can believe. It's always hard, so hard to leave.

Does singing these songs give you courage?Do you hope it gives other people courage?What do you hope it gives them?

turn 1 : The photograph had a strong emotional impact on me

Answer: babies


Sure.

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

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

OK.

turn 1 : The Republicans are trying to avoid discussing their record on gun policy, but feel comfortable discussing it on Fox News.

How do Republicans feel about discussing their record on gun policy on this show?

Answer: avoiding


Well, the call has gone out to our NPR listeners, who are either going to be repulsed or intrigued by what you're talking about here, Terry Lee.

Yeah.

That's toe master Terry Lee speaking with us from the Sourdough Saloon in Dawson City, Yukon. Terry, good luck. Thanks so much.

Thank you very much.

turn 2 : (3) B: That's toe master Terry Lee speaking with us from the Sourdough Saloon in Dawson City, Yukon.Terry, good luck.Thanks so much.

Which saloon is Terry Lee speaking from in turn 2?

Answer: Dawson


. . . The people coming forward on the basis that they were poor young girls who were often troubled families and in, you know, the care of the state.

Mr.  Ramesh, the five men arrested were all from the Pakistani community of Rotherham, and you have written about this, how did that perhaps complicate the situation?

Well, it complicated it because there was a feeling - or at least the report laid bare - this idea that people were afraid to speak out for fear of being called out as racists. Now, that's part of the story. We have a policy here of community cohesion. The government at the time wanted communities to work things out for themselves and have the gentle hand of government sort of prod them into action. But there was this idea that, you know, people couldn't speak out because of this. And unfortunately, that led to the situation - exacerbated a situation where people weren't paying attention anyway.

People were flabbergasted about the allegations about Jimmy Savile a couple of years ago, the longtime BBC host. And I wonder if people in Great Britain are turning to each other now and wondering - not to wrench things out of context - but if there's something going on and the way they behave as the nation that aids and abets a kind culture of silence when such allegations are made.

turn 3 : (4) B: People in Great Britain are turning to each other now and wondering - not to wrench things out of context - but if there's something going on and the way they behave as the nation that aids and abets a kind culture of silence when such allegations are made.

Which nation is being referred to in turn 4?

Answer: Great-Britain


Physically in our experiment that took up - we couldn't really measure it in a scientific way, but between you and me, it's like a speck of dust.

All that stuff on a speck of dust.

Yeah.

And how much room would you need to store all the information in the world?

turn 0 : A speck of dust is teeny tiny, so it implies it is tiny.

What is the size of the speck of dust mentioned by A?

Answer: Tiny


With us now, author and economist Julianne Malveaux, she is president of Bennett College. Welcome, Dr.  Malveaux.

Greetings, Farai. How are you?

Well, people are looking ahead and they're very uncertain, and that's what we see in markets. We see people laying people off. We also have some challenge in financial market. Certainly, the Bear Stearns' crisis raises all kinds of questions. The housing market, of course, we've talked about that on this program several times, but the fact is that we see a stagnancy. We don't see growth. We see houses that are overvalued. Lots of people in mortgage crisis. People who bought homes within the last five years finding that they overpaid for their homes and they couldn't sell them in what they paid for them, so they're stuck. That removes liquidity.

turn 2 : "I'm doing well, but some people aren't. And let's talk about these figures and really, what is shifting in our economy right now in terms of the different sectors where people are losing these tens of thousands of jobs?" - The literal meaning is a statement about the current state of the economy and its impact on employment. The implied meaning is a suggestion to discuss the economic issues and the resulting job losses.

Which sector is experiencing job losses according to the discussion in turn 3?

Answer: different


Well, I will say he's not so much trapped. He did do the wrong thing, and he knowingly did the wrong thing for what he believed were for the right reasons. But he still did break the law. So there was going to be some sort of comeuppance in regard because I didn't want to do it where he does something illegal, and it's, like, but it's the main character. Let it slide. On the other hand, the idea was to show that once he's there, exactly where he's sending people.

And one of the reasons I found this interesting is there are comics like "Doonesbury," for example, that are known for taking on topical issues, but that has always been the flavor of "Doonesbury. "As I said before, this is a legacy comic. I mean, it started in 1952. The people who've been reading this comic aren't necessarily used to this. And I'm wondering how people - or how are your fans, how are the readers of the comic are taking it?

I - we'll use the word fans.

This is a legacy strip. And I'm not trying to go, OK, now I'm just going to make it so now, and it's going to be thing. But on the other hand, you never want any strip or anything to be caught in amber, and you do want it to always be moving and feel like it's alive. So - now, granted, we do have the fantastic elements. Assassins appear regularly in this strip. . .

(Laughter).

turn 0 : A implies that he wants to show the consequences of breaking the law, even for the main character, despite doing it for the right reasons.

How did PersonA want to demonstrate the consequences of breaking the law?

Answer: Consequences


And when we returned at the beginning of this year, in the beginning of 2008, we could really see that the sectarian violence was beginning to abate, and that's continued tremendously throughout this year. So we've been able to focus a lot of our efforts on stability operations and infrastructure and just helping with building up the government and the local government forces there. So it's been a really good, positive year, and I think that the soldiers all the way down to the lowest level can see that progress.

And the Status of Forces Agreement, known as SOFA, went into effect today, and that among other things mandates the withdrawal of all U. S.  troops from Iraq by 2011. Are people talking about that?And how is it affecting them?

Well, the SOFA basically states that we will be continuing to work with the Iraqi forces for the remainder of the time that we're here. And it has set a timeline, but our timeline to come home really hasn't changed even according to that. But a lot of the troops now are looking towards the future, knowing that they'll probably wind up going to Afghanistan.

So right now, the schedule of deployments, we don't really know how far out that's going to go, and so people are just sort of looking towards getting our job done here and then heading home to their families.

turn 1 : SOFA is not affecting the current timeline for troops to come home.

Which agreement has not affected the timeline for troops to come home?

Answer: SOFA


You've probably seen the signs in pharmacies now - flu shots here. You can buy shampoo, deodorant, nasal spray, M&M's and a flu shot. But if you're of a certain demographic, you might consider waiting a while before you get that shot. Here's some advice from Dr.  Laura Haynes, a professor of immunology at the University of Connecticut.

The best time for most people to get the flu vaccine would be in October. If you're a little bit older and over 65, I would say between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Why should older people wait a month or more?Dr.  Haynes says. . .

Their immune response isn't as good to the vaccine. So the protection that's induced wanes more quickly. So therefore, you'd want to wait a little bit longer than you would if you were a younger adult. That way, you're protected throughout the majority of the really bad flu season, which happens from, say, January to April.

turn 0 : (1) A: On the other hand, in this case, much as you or I might find to step on the flag terribly offensive, it was - it seems to me - actually well integrated into the lesson plan. I think he was probably trying to shock his students. I think that maybe the best way to do that pedagogically, however, is to do something with a little balance. If you think your more conservative students are going to be shocked by the - you stepping on the flag, do something that's going to shock your more liberal students as well to illustrate to both sides in the classroom that shocking speech is also OK.  The literal meaning of this turn is that the act of stepping on the flag was integrated into the lesson plan to shock students and that the speaker suggests doing something with a little balance to shock both liberal and conservative students. However, the implied meaning is that the speaker believes that educators should not shy away from using provocative or controversial material in their lesson plans, even if it might offend some students. The speaker is suggesting that this approach can be a useful pedagogical tool to engage students and challenge their beliefs, but it should be done in a balanced way that respects all viewpoints in the classroom.

What was the speaker trying to illustrate to both sides in the classroom by doing something that would shock them?

Answer: Beliefs


Yeah.

. . . We first went up there. But he and I got to be very close friends.

Bishop Woods remembers the friendship, the music and good food at the Gaston. But it also became a target for hate. On May 11, 1963, two bombs exploded near Dr.  King's room.

But he just happened to have gone home to visit his wife on that day. And the citizens were upset, thinking Dr.  King had been killed. But he hadn't been killed.

What happened to you that day?

turn 3 : Implied meaning: It was a lucky coincidence that Dr. King was not present in the Gaston on that day when the bombs went off.

Which day was it when the bombs exploded near Dr. King's room?

Answer: May-11-1963


I want to kind of mention quickly the things that are floating out there as rumors and are not confirmed. Again, these are things that people are talking about and are not confirmed. There are many people who immediately assumed this is a terror attack. Tovia, this is not confirmed.

Not confirmed. Nothing about the cause of this, whether it was some kind of unintentional explosion from down in a manhole or something or whether it was a bomb. The police do tell me that the bomb squad is on the scene, as you would expect, along with police and fire and rescue, but they are not talking about the cause. They - a briefing is coming soon but it's taking some time to maneuver down there and also to collect some good information, some hard data about what's going on and numbers of injured and the rest.

What agency are you speaking with to confirm what's going on?Is it the Boston Police Department?

Boston police is who I have been talking to. The hospitals are confirming that people are on their way as well.

This is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.

turn 0 : "floating out there" implies that people are talking about this incident without any confirmed information so what is being spread may not be true

Which word describes the nature of the rumors being spread about the incident mentioned in turn 0?

Answer: Unconfirmed


And how - it has a unique design to it. Who designed it and why does it have the shape it has?

That's a really interesting question. There's - it's actually a complicated story. The chief architect was a man named John Graham Jr. , had a large architectural firm. He was mainly known as the man who invented the first really successful shopping mall, which was here in Seattle, Northgate. He had the task of creating the Space Needle. But he - they got stuck on the design. They had a doodle on a napkin. He had a bunch of architects who began looking at a tower-like structure. They were inspired by a tower, a broadcast tower in Germany, in Stuttgart, which had a restaurant on it. And so they knew they wanted an observation deck. But they were kind of open to what else they would do. They thought about putting a planetarium up there and a helicopter pad.

No kidding.

Yeah. They considered all kinds of things. And - but they were stuck on coming up with a design that was really a wow design. So John Graham hired as a consultant a professor from the University of Washington named Victor Steinbrueck. He's known locally in Seattle as architect-activist who saved the Pike Place Market. But he was a designer, and he worked on the Space Needle design.

turn 1 : They could not think of any ideas on what to build and how to build it.

How were the architects inspired to design the Space Needle?

Answer: Inspiration


The balance we saw in Kenya was unexpected. Kenya had had a smooth transition from the rule of Daniel arap Moi to the rule of Mwai Kibaki, and it could very well have turned out that we had two, if it wasn't for some electoral rigging and planning on the part of the two different camps to destabilize the country after these elections.

Ghana's had a smooth transition eight years ago and is going to have another election pretty soon, and it's expected that that will be a free and fair election. Benin is a good place to think about, Madagascar, Mauritius. So I think that, you know, it's important to realize that even though it looks like Africans are always at each others' throats surrounding elections, it's not as dire as we might think.

You mentioned that you believe that elections don't equal democracy. How do you distinguish the two of those?

turn 3 :  "Well, you know, elections are procedures that we find in democracies. But, you know, there has to be a culture of democracy. If you had a free and fair election, there wouldn't be rigging. There wouldn't be ballot-stuffing and intimidation. So democracy has more components than just elections."  In this turn, the speaker is using the word "democracy" in a broader sense than its literal meaning. The literal meaning of democracy refers to a system of government where power is held by the people or their elected representatives, and decisions are made by majority rule. However, the speaker is using the term to refer to a culture or society where democratic values and practices are ingrained and respected. They argue that free and fair elections alone do not guarantee democracy, as a democratic culture involves more than just electoral procedures.

Answer: Culture


And what do you serve?I said $5 bowls of cereal, but expand on that menu if you could.

We sell 120 different cereals from all over the world. So we import cereals from America, from New Zealand, from Australia, from France, from Israel. We import cereals from all over the world, so it's a real experience coming in here because the walls are just littered with cereal memorabilia, toys that you used to get in the boxes. It's a real experience.

I can see their point, but there's also a Versace shop that has just opened up around the corner. They're complaining that people in the area can't afford to come here and afford four pounds for a meal. But there's a Versace shop open around the corner and I think it's - very, very few percent of people in this neighborhood would even be able to walk in there and buy anything. I know I couldn't.

turn 2 : "Now, I don't for a moment expect you to identify with the people who attacked your store. But can you - can you see where fancy bowls of cereal would kind of fit into their agenda about the world, their neighborhood changing right before their eyes?"

What is the reason for PersonB's question about the connection between fancy bowls of cereal and the attackers' agenda?

Answer: Connection


And how do you?

So what we found works the best is you need champions within that community. You need strong, influential voices that are going to say we need to accept these girls and women back, and the children. These are victims, it was not their fault. They're part and parcel of our society. So what we do is we identify not just the traditional religious and community leaders, but also those who have an influential voice amongst the women in particular in the community, so that they can become those carriers of the messages that these girls, these women, they deserve our support. They deserve our acceptance back. And then we can open up community dialogues so that people - we can't just dismiss that communities have fear. We must address it head on and allow communities to express those fears, but with religious and traditional leaders providing that voice of reason and tolerance so that these girls and women can come back into their communities.

Rachel Harvey of UNICEF in Nigeria. Thanks for joining us.

Thank you very much.

turn 3 : (4) implies that Rachel Harvey is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the conversation and she appreciates the invitation.

Which UN agency was mentioned in the dialogue?

Answer: UNICEF


I don't know that all of it will be seen. Some of the evidence went to the grand jury, and in order for that to be revealed, you'd have to go to the judge and show a particularized need for disclosure. There's also some FBI reports and other types of evidence and possibly Freedom of Information Act requests - we'll get that. But I don't think you're going to see everything that the prosecutors accumulated and might have presented in the criminal case.

Because now there's going to be a bunch of different investigations into the circumstances surrounding Jeffrey Epstein's death, might that reveal some information that otherwise would have been hidden?

Well, that's a possibility because as they look at people, there's all sorts of conspiracy theories already floating out there. And as they start investigating who might have had an interest, who had a motive, might that information come out?It could. But we don't know yet. And many questions still may not be answered. I think for the victims, this is going to be hard because they're never going to see Jeffrey Epstein in court, get what they think is due to him. But I think more of the information still could come out.

As you mentioned, there have been a lot of conspiracy theories about Epstein's death. And people are angry. And and I'm wondering, do you share that feeling?

turn 2 : The theories do not float but are being spoken out to repeatedly to a large number of people to see if others will believe them.

How are the conspiracy theories being spread?

Answer: Spoken


Wouldn't you like to know?

I would.

They are being very, very discreet, and they're not telling anybody anything. And I think the usual conclusion from that is that they're not doing things with it that we would be pleased about. One of the things that they appear to have done with it is pay out $1. 6 billion in bonuses and other benefits to executives, which obviously is not something that would have gone over very well. From the banks' perspective, obviously, they will say, hey, wait a minute. We don't put the taxpayer money in a particular bucket and then use that to make certain things. It just all goes into a big cash bucket, and obviously, we have to pay our people. But no, we're not going to give you details on that or anything else even though it's your money.

But they are supposed to use it, or at least the intent of the legislation was for them to use it, to loosen the credit squeeze, to ease up credit and to lend to one another.

turn 3 : to loosen the credit squeeze means that credit is very harsh and it needs to be less harsh in this context

Which term describes the banks' behavior regarding the distribution of taxpayer money?

Answer: discreet


Yes.

. . . Following the election in 2000, when - and I'm sure the news industry was part of it.

(Laughter).

A lot of people said, how can the greatest country in the - you know, you can go to an ATM and get $200. Why can't we have a sleek, electronic voting system in this country?

turn 2 : The news industry was partly responsible for the controversy surrounding the 2000 election and its aftermath, as people questioned why the U.S. had not adopted a more efficient and reliable voting system.

How did people react to the voting system in the US after the election in 2000?

Answer: Questioned


Right.

In south L. A. , it's black-Latino. Do you think that the NAACP will or should reach out to particularly other people of color to try to form coalitions?

Well that's been something that Julian Bond has been emphasizing throughout his chairmanship. I'm not sure the various precedents, the CEOs understood it. But it's the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. And Du Bois said at the beginning of the century that it was not jut black people, but black, brown, yellow all the colored races that had to work together. So I think that - and Jealous comes from a community and background where he is very much aware of that. I think the NAACP needs to do it, whatever the tensions are, whatever the issues are, whether it's housing or whose turf is available to whom, or immigration or whatever it is, jobs. I think the NAACP has to that, and I think Ben will do that.

Now, when it comes to civil rights, I talked to a young activist who is very much within the black community. His entire focus is on young black men and yet he hates the term civil rights. He thinks civil rights, the term, has undermined civil rights, the movement, because it's outdated, in his opinion. What do you think on that score?

turn 1 : The NAACP should form coalitions with other people of color

Answer: Community


We're back with Donna Brazile and we're talking about superdelegates and how they can shape the Democratic nominee for president. Donna is a superdelegate, she's also a Democrat, and she's uniquely qualified to speak on those issues for that reason. Donna, welcome back.

Thank you so much for having me.

So I understand that you told the New York Times that basically your niece, among nine million other people, has been lobbying you. What does it feel like to get that — first of all, how did your niece call up?And, you know, did she know that you were a superdelegate. And what about all the other people who were calling you up?What do you say to them?

Well, first of all, I'm flattered by the amount of attention that we all are getting, not just the superdelegates but those who are out there running for pledge delegate today across the country. Look, Democrats are hungry of a victory. They want change. They are tired of George Bush and they don't want to see four more years of Bush/Cheney.

turn 3 : "Democrats are hungry for a victory" - This turn has a figurative meaning as the word "hungry" is used metaphorically to convey the strong desire for success, rather than a physical hunger for food.

Which word is used metaphorically in turn 3?

Answer: Hungry


They're all priceless.

Exactly.

Tell us about the priceless ones in your collection. How many do you have in your collection?

We have about - in excess of 1,800 different meteorites. If you consider. . .

turn 2 : priceless implies a zero price or worthless, but it really means valuable

Answer: Valuable