It's perfect.

Yeah, bubbly jock. And an owl is a hoolet. And that, again, is based on the sound that it makes. And - but my favorite is a wood pigeon, is a cushie-doo.

That is an absolutely dead-on approximation of its sound.

Isn't it lovely?So a frog is a puddock and sparrow is a speug. So I've never used speug in a sentence, but when I was a boy, we used puddock. So I don't go around trying to convince everybody that my culture's better than theirs, but sometimes it suits my face better. It sits nicely in my mouth.

turn 3 : suits refers to make proper or fit in and not a set of clothes to be worn

Which word in turn 3 has a different meaning than what it is commonly associated with?

Answer: Suits


It's significant because you have a journalist who's killed in the line of duty doing some investigative work into a story he wanted to write. And as far as we understand, the people that he was investigating put out a hit on him, and he was killed. I mean, that's a very chilling reminder that we do - sometimes do dangerous work. And the project's main mission is to tell those people, if indeed they are the ones responsible, that you cannot kill the message by killing the messenger.

There has been a confession, hasn't there?And yet you remain unsatisfied. Why is that?

Well, the person who confessed was a very low-level member of the Your Black Muslim Bakery. He was a handyman. He originally told police he did not do the crime, and then after he was led to - he was allowed to meet privately with the bakery CEO, a 22-year-old named Yusuf Bey IV, this guy basically convinced him to confess. Now, whether or not he did the crime or not, we don't know. What we do know is, is that he did not do this by himself, as he has told police.

Now, what would you say is the latest in the ongoing investigation?Or is the investigation ongoing, since the police had someone who confessed, although your organization doesn't necessarily buy it?

turn 0 : Journalists sometimes face danger, and killing them won't stop the truth.

Which profession is at risk of danger according to turn 0?

Answer: journalism


Well - and very fortunately because the plane at the time he bailed out was headed more or less straight for a densely populated area - Pensacola, Florida. And if you look at the map, it came down just a few miles outside of town, also not far from the Gulf. That plane almost - he almost did guide it into the Gulf maybe 10 miles away.

And since this plane crashed, has anybody heard from Marcus Schrenker?

Well, supposedly one of his friends or acquaintances did get an email from him today. The county sheriff's office in Milton, Florida, which is sort of coordinating the crash investigation, said they couldn't confirm that email, but there were reports that he did send out this email.

Business reporter for the Indianapolis Star, Jeff Swiatek, thank you.

turn 0 : The pilot could have intentionally crashed the plane.

Which Florida city was the plane headed towards when the pilot bailed out?

Answer: Pensacola


And now it's letter time. Our editor, Sasa Woodruff, is here with me. Hey, Sasa.

Hey, Farai. How's it going?

I'm doing fabulously. So, what are folks saying this week?

Well, our series on race and our discussions on California's measure to ban gay marriage got the most hits this week. Jenny Livingston(ph) in Brooklyn, New York wrote in after hearing one of our discussions about Prop 8. She wrote: As a supporter of the Obama campaign, I was ecstatic about the Obama victory. Then the news the next day about Prop 8 and about other civil rights setbacks for lesbian and gay and transgender families flavored our victory with more than a dash of bittersweet. I like your piece the other day, as I always like your show. But I think it could have gone much deeper. The question I wanted to hear more directly addressed was, is the black community and Americans at large open to seeing gay, lesbian, transgender rights as a civil rights issue?

turn 3 : The victory of Obama was flavored with sadness after Prop 8.

Which event caused sadness after Obama's victory?

Answer: B


And it's the same university where, in the early days of gene therapy, a young man did die in a very early gene therapy study that set the field back, like, a decade. So the last thing these researchers want to do is, you know, do anything risky. They're taking it very carefully, being very slow. They're going to follow these patients for a long time to see if it's safe and how well it's working.

All right. There's a lot at stake here. And this isn't the only study, I understand, that's trying to use CRISPR to treat diseases. What else is going on?

Yeah, yeah. It's actually a really exciting time for - in the world for CRISPR and medical treatments right now. There's about a half a dozen studies that are - have been going in China for cancer for a while. And now another half a dozen or so are being launched in Europe, in the United States and in countries like Canada that try to treat a variety of diseases. In the first one are blood disorders. One is known as beta thalassemia. That first patient was treated there in Germany recently. And then there's - another trial is going to be starting soon in this country to try to use CRISPR to treat sickle cell disease. So it's a lot happening right now with CRISPR and diseases.

And it sounds like it's still early days.

turn 1 : The literal meaning of this sentence is asking what other studies are being conducted using CRISPR. However, the implied meaning is that the stakes are high and the researchers need to be careful to ensure the success of the study.

Which field set back a decade due to a young man’s death in an early gene therapy study?

Answer: Genetherapy


You know, Renee, this was the week Kamala Harris found out what happens when a candidate breaks out in a debate and gets in the face of the frontrunner. You get a bump in the polls, but it comes with a lot of attention, much of it critical. And people take a longer look at your own positions on, say, busing and other issues as well. And we also saw headlines about how she and her husband made their money. We see folks on Twitter questioning her racial origins, which, by the way, caused her rival candidates to rally around in her defense, including Joe Biden.

And what about Joe Biden?He's trying to recover ground lost in those debates.

He's been doing television interviews and trying to talk about his sort of multipart position on busing over the years, and talk about his endorsements from African Americans who are local and state officials in key states. It's very early. The field is shifting. And if Biden can ride his ship in time for the debates at the end of this month, he'll still be the one the other candidates are coming after.

NPR senior editor and correspondent Ron Elving, thanks for joining us.

turn 1 : Is Joe Biden trying to recover the support he had and lost in the debates.

How did Joe Biden respond to questions about his position on busing?

Answer: Talk


If you stand outside the old DeKalb County Courthouse in Decatur, Ga. , you can't miss the 30-foot-tall obelisk erected there in 1908. It's a monument to Confederate soldiers, and its inscription calls those men part of a, quote, "covenant keeping race," praising them as men of virtues in peace and in war.

Well, as of this month, there's now a contextualizing plaque alongside that obelisk. It reads, in part, this monument and similar ones were created to intimidate African Americans and limit their full participation in the social and political life of their communities. That marker was approved by vote of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners. And county Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson joins us to talk about that decision.

Welcome to the program.

Thanks so much, Melissa. I am happy to be here.

The original vote by the county commission was to remove that Confederate obelisk, but ultimately, that ran up against a state law in Georgia. What does that state law say?

turn 2 : You may not actually want to be here.

What was the inscription on the Confederate monument at the old DeKalb County Courthouse?

Answer: Covenant


The big one was that they died of lead poisoning due to the canning of the canned tin goods. The problem with that - these guys hadn't eaten any tin food. It was only three months into their voyage.

It was a dire situation anyway you look at it. But, of course, in your book, it wasn't dire enough. You throw in an Arctic beast.

I do, an unexplained Arctic beast that we never see. And the reason for that is I wanted something to personify just the terror, the horror of the darkness, the five months of darkness, the terrible cold - 100 degrees below zero - the constricting ice that you had to listen to against the hull, you know, all the time.

What would be the best-case scenario for you if they find which ship it is?What would you like to know?

turn 3 :  implies the speaker is asking what would make the best outcome for the speaker's book if the identity of the ship was discovered.

Answer: Ship


Over 700 people were killed this week when a stampede took place during the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. The sheer volume of pilgrims every year has led to problems before. In fact, over 1,400 people were killed in a similar incident back in 1990. This week, Iran and other regional powers criticized the Saudi Arabian government for poor management of the crowds that come to their holy places. Gary Sick is a senior research scholar at Columbia's Middle East Institute. He joins us now from New York. Thanks so much for being with us, Mr.  Sick.

It's a real pleasure.

What do you read into Iran's outspoken criticism of Saudi Arabia over these deaths?

This is very standard stuff. The Iranians and the Saudis have a running battle about the Hajj. And the worst incident they've ever had was actually back in 1987. In each case, they've blamed the Saudis. And in each case, the Saudis have blamed the pilgrims for misbehaving, for not doing what they were told. And on the previous case, the Saudis broke diplomatic relations with Iran over the incident. And that was only restored a few years later after Khomeini died.

turn 3 : (4) A: This is very standard stuff. (implied meaning: This type of disagreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia is not unusual or surprising.)

How does PersonA describe the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia over Hajj?

Answer: Standard


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.

Which term describes the suggested approach to dealing with Assad in turn 3?

Answer: Pressure


I think the major difference from the time you were here is that then we were experiencing shortages, but as we speak right now, there is nothing on the shops here. People also surviving on imports, that is the food that people are surviving on is direct imports by the citizens themselves from South Africa from Botswana. And most of the families that are also surviving from their kid's work - seeking economic refugee in those countries and give them to (unintelligible) of Africa. Pay taxes affected the livelihoods of the people involved. As we speak especially with the finding of food distribution by NGOs, we will Zimbabwe is heading towards Somalia. People starve of hunger. There's no food for people to buy even in the stores, that means that people don't have money, but if they had money there is nothing to buy.

Do you plan to vote even though the MDC has dropped out on Friday?

Well, voting on Friday means I'll be legitimizing an illegitimate process. I'll be saying what, even if I don't want from Mugabe, but the outcome of that election will be a reflection of the people in Zimbabwe.

Are you hopeful that someone, I mean the U. N.  Security Council has heard arguments from the U. S.  and Britain, different countries and coalitions of African leaders have tried to make statements, but statements have not so far changed things. What would help?

turn 0 : Despite the presence of goods in shops, people are still starving due to lack of money and high taxes.

What is the reason behind people starving despite the presence of goods in shops?

Answer: MONEY


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

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

At least two-thirds of the people there.

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

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

Which issue will the expanded committee investigate?

Answer: Other


But I have to say, every time that I think, OK, now is the time I'm going to get in, this is a great buying opportunity, as everyone tells me, every time I look at the stock market, it's gone down again, and I think, phew, it's the end of the day. Thank goodness I didn't buy in today. But then the next day, it happens again.

Yeah, I know. It's depressing. Looking at this market, the market is a reflection of worldwide psychology. So clearly, people around the world are depressed right now, and they're not optimistic about the future, which is sad.

But in the long run, the things that will make the most money are not pieces of rock like gold or liquids like oil or cash, which is just pieces of paper, but real growing companies that are servicing strong demographic trends.

It's impossible to call a bottom. Yes, all these stocks that are cheap could get cheaper, but now is certainly one of the best times to buy stocks that we've seen in the past 70 years. I mean, it's incredible, which is why Warren Buffett is out there buying stocks right now.

turn 3 : Although stocks may continue to decrease in value, it is currently a great time to invest in the stock market

Which market does Warren Buffett buy stocks from right now?

Answer: stock


So, people like him, which I believe there are a lot of them out there, you know, and people like Oprah, for instance, you know, people like that. I mean, they need help. You know, $100, 1,000 - maybe $20 you know, it can help people. And people in Africa are human beings just like you and others. So, they feel the pain. They are suffering every day. So, you know, here I am doing music. I'm not rich, you know, I am not rich, but I want to share a little bit of what I have with the ones that we left behind.

What do you want to be your legacy in the world of music because there's the philanthropy you're doing but then there's also the music that you're doing. What do you plan to do in the future?

I want to be able to play music to please Americans, and I want to be able to make them see just the beauty of music, not just African music but just the gift of music. That's my goal — to make people happy, to make them dance.

Well, Shiko, I'm so glad that we got a chance to talk. Thank you.

turn 0 : "people like him...need help" - the literal meaning is that people like him require assistance. The actual meaning may imply that people like him (referring to impoverished individuals in Africa) require financial aid.

Which type of people does PersonB think need help according to turn 0?

Answer: People


So Beijing has basically made an offer to the people of Hong Kong that if they're willing to give up on dreams of greater democracy, they can be part of China's amazing economic rise, and they have offered them more integration with the kind of boom cities on the other side of the border in the mainland. The problem is that again and again and very dramatically over this extradition bill, the people of Hong Kong have said, no. They do not want that trade off. They actually are willing to protest and fight hard to maintain those freedoms that they still have.

So it's not even as though these protesters in Hong Kong are fighting for additional freedom. They're just saying we want to keep things the way they are. We don't want to see an erosion of the freedoms we do have.

That's right. I think it's important to be realistic. I mean, this has been an absolutely extraordinary - at times, very moving - protest by over a million people - overwhelmingly peaceful, very civic-minded, lots of different generations coming together. That's a fantastic thing and utterly unthinkable where I'm sitting in Beijing on the mainland - could never happen. But they are not about to get more democracy. They're not even about to get more freedoms. This is a defensive set of protests to keep what they have.

Interesting that you point out this would be very, very unlikely to happen in China. It makes me wonder, do the protests in Hong Kong pose any threat to China's leadership, to President Xi Jinping, to the Chinese Communist Party?Are they worried about this?

turn 1 : The protesters in Hong Kong are fighting to maintain their current level of freedom, not to gain more freedom.

What are the protesters in Hong Kong fighting for?

Answer: maintain


The tragedy in Burma is it's just hard for us to comprehend. It is true that the current projections are that the numbers will rise significantly. I've heard numbers as high as 50,000 people being killed. So it's something that just automatically pulls at the heartstrings.

And you know, Farai, scientists have discovered that human beings are actually wired to be altruistic, so it's a part of our DNA. It's natural for us to want to give. We see a crisis, we want to give. And so I think it's really important to acknowledge that, and to really encourage people to give. It can. The giving, overwhelming giving for a major public emergency like this can have a negative impact on other parts of the world. We've seen it in the past.

For example, when the tsunami hit Asia, several years ago, where a quarter of a million people lost their lives, you saw relief and development organizations flooded with donations. OxFam UK, at a certain point, actually had to refuse donations because they no longer had the capacity to actually program funds. So what I would actually advocate for those that are really interested in making contributions, is to give responsibly. To really look at those organizations that you are interested in making a contribution to, and making your donation in flexible kinds of ways. . .

So, for general support as opposed to necessarily for one thing.

turn 2 : When making a donation, it's important to do research and give to organizations in a flexible way.

How should you give donations to organizations?

Answer: Flexibly


Good. So, you received about 8,500 questions in your Explainer inbox over the year, and it's your job to go through all of these and pick the ones that you then allow your readers to vote on for their top pick. Can you give us a sample of what's on the ballot?

Well, there's a wide range of questions. For example, one person asks, can an average person not in politics get a pardon from the president of the United States?

Good question.

Which is a - yeah, a question that we've actually gotten quite a few times, especially as Bush gets ready to leave office. But then this particular reader adds in parenthesis, possession of a forged instrument, October of 1989.

turn 0 : top pick usually means the number one choice

How does PersonA describe the reader's question in turn 1?

Answer: Wide


No. It's a tie right now at 50/50, which does make it rather tense. But there is no sign yet of a third Republican turning against DeVos. And if it's a tie on the floor next week as we expect it to be, that will be broken by the president of the Senate, who is, of course, Vice President Mike Pence.

A CNN-ORC poll out yesterday gives President Trump a 52 percent - 53 percent disapproval rating. That's the lowest of any new U. S.  president since polling began. Does this make some Republicans in Congress rethink their support for his policies?

No, or at least not yet, not at this point. After last year, we need to remember polls are just polls. And besides, Donald Trump is still very popular among Republicans, and Republican members of Congress care first and foremost about their own voters.

I have to ask you about this finally. The president chose the national - the White House prayer breakfast to unload on Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California, the man who succeeded him as host of "The Apprentice. "The president said, they hired a big, big movie star to take my place. We know how that's turned out. The ratings went right down the tubes. It's been a total disaster.

turn 3 : implication: By attacking Arnold Schwarzenegger, the President was actually expressing his own insecurities and dissatisfaction with the fact that he was replaced on the show.

What was the President's motive behind attacking Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Answer: Insecurities


So, this isn't someone who is just - and forgive a homey analogy for our listeners - this isn't someone who is just the Michael Jordan of Indian cricket. This is somebody who is the Michael Jordan times five, six or ten.

Probably yes, exactly. All - the Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig all combined. I don't know which other icons to come with from which sport that Americans relate to. And he somehow managed to be uncontaminated by scandal, by controversy in a sport that's been laden with examples of both. And his rise, in a sense, became tied up with or almost emblematic of India's own rise to ascension on the world stage. When Sachin Tendulkar made his debut for India in 1989 at the age of 16, India was still a developing country, a poor country, one with lots of problems, a semi-closed economy, that still called itself socialist. All of these problems. And then India liberalized in 1991 with the end of the Cold War and the major change in financial calculations and political philosophy in the country, and that coincided with Sachin's rise. So, India rose and Sachin rose, and he leaves just as our economy has also begun to tank a bit over the last year or two.

Shashi, what happens to a star of this magnitude in the retirement?Any idea?

Well, amusingly enough, my government nominated him to our Upper House. We have an Upper House that's weaker than your Senate.

You know, Shashi, let me simply interject: very few things are weaker than our Senate at the moment, but go ahead.

turn 3 :  Has my government nominated Sachin Tendulkar to our Upper House?

What did Shashi's government do with Sachin Tendulkar?

Answer: Nominated


And then I decided to come out. Now it's been going on several hours. I'm several streets away from the Champs-Elysees, Scott, but the people - it's like it's the second revolution coming because people are turning over - they're building barricades in the street. We're still - we've got helicopters overhead. They're still firing tear gas. And everyone around me is wearing a yellow vest.

Now, fuel prices have gone up - I have read, I think - 23 percent over the past year. And protesters blame the government for this.

Well, the government - the French pay some of the highest gas prices in the world, like, about more than $6 a gallon, Scott. And the government says it's going to raise the taxes again in January to finance the transition to an ecological economy - you know, more environmentally friendly fuels.

And, you know, for people who have to drive to work - blue-collar workers, just everyday people - this is outrageous. They say they can't make it anymore, so they've come out into the street. And, Scott, this movement has no leaders. There are no unions behind it. There are housewives. There are retirees - regular people. There are people who have never protested before. So it's turned into a movement. No one knows where it's going to go now.

turn 1 : GOVERNMENT HAS INCREASED GAS PRICE SO PROTESTER  BLAMING THE GOVERNMENT

What are the protesters blaming the government for?

Answer: Gas


I was struck by a phrase in Chris Arnold's piece about the dollar being the bedrock currency for much of the world. Is that jeopardized?

Very much so. Treasury debt is the only risk-free asset in the world. It undergirds the world's financial system, it's in everybody money market's funds. You know, China, among many other countries, buys Treasury bills like crazy - over a trillion dollars. So, if you'd have to start factoring in risk, even if it's political risk, into our debt, you know, two things happen. The rest of the world becomes less enchanted with buying it, and our interest payments - what the government has to pay to issue that debt will rise substantially.

Can I get you to play out your scenario about what happens if October 17 comes and there's no agreement?

I don't think that much will happen on October 17th. I think there's a little wiggle room. What happens on October 17th is the government loses its borrowing authority and it can only pay out the cash it has on hand. However, if we got to the end of the month and the United States missed a bond payment, I believe that you would have an event that is three, four, five, six times worse than the Lehman Brothers of five years ago. Because the banks rely on treasuries to trade with each other overnight. That's how they fund themselves. And if you take away trust in the financial system or U. S.  debt, it will be cataclysmic. The banks will freeze up. There will be no borrowing. It'll be like Lehman. The stock market will go down. It has the potential to be a true out-and-out disaster.

turn 3 :  "Banks rely on treasuries to trade with each other overnight" does not mean that banks trade physical treasuries with each other at night. Instead, it means that banks use treasury securities as collateral to borrow money overnight from other banks.

How do banks use treasuries to trade with each other overnight?

Answer: Collateral


And no nearby bases as there were in Italy. Yet there's also the case of - it's going to be very difficult to get international or at least United Nations backing for an intervention in Syria.

That's right. The chances of getting that past Russia and China, I think, are - that would be a very, very heavy lift. You had - when Bill Clinton went to war in Kosovo, he knew that he couldn't get Russia to approve that through the U. N.  Security Council. And instead what he said was that I'll get the approval of NATO. So it won't just be an American mission. This will be a multilateral venture. So it's not just the United States saying that the United States is acting in the name of humanity. It's a whole lot more governments also saying the same thing. And I think that gives it an added credibility and added legitimacy.

As you mentioned, the Arab League supported the campaign against Gadhafi in Libya. In the present-day case with Syria, the chances of getting something through the Security Council are harder and in part because China and Russia feel as though the U. N.  Security Council approval, which is sort of the standard for international legitimacy, that the U. N.  Security Council resolution that they approved was to stop potential mass killing but not necessarily to overthrow Gadhafi's regime.

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

turn 1 : Getting past Russia and China to get approval would be a very hard thing to do.

How heavy would the lift be to get international or United Nations backing for an intervention in Syria?

Answer: Very


You also call this the start of a new era in America's modern history - in what way?

Well, the Clean Air Act really changed, in many ways, the conception of government's role and gave to the federal government both the power and the responsibility to protect Americans' health. One of the most revolutionary pieces of this very innovatively designed law was a provision which elevated public health as a priority above all others in the setting of air quality standards for the entire country. It put public health over and above corporate profit and cost in determining what amounts of pollution would be allowed in Americans' air.

But that hasn't stopped it from being challenged, right?How has it weathered those challenges?

Well, it's been up and down over the years. And I think what we're seeing right now is a really sort of unprecedented assault on the Clean Air Act and the enforcement of the Clean Air Act by the Trump administration. Obviously, I think, we've all become familiar over the last few years with the idea of climate change denial. But I think what we're now seeing in the Trump years is actually air pollution denial.

turn 1 :  "elevated public health as a priority above all others" - This turn has a figurative meaning, as it means that the Clean Air Act made the protection of public health the most important consideration in setting air quality standards, rather than just one of many factors to consider.

What concept did the Clean Air Act prioritize over all others?

Answer: public


Her father liked the electronic things, which were behind locked cabinets. But she grabbed a slick stereo magazine and managed to slip into one of her boots. It would be a way to warm him for taking the bus by herself. By now she was thirsty and rounded a corner to open a fridge and grab an iced tea in a bottle that felt so good in her hands. It was One Universe Green Tea, which the label said was good for the immune system and for Octavia's skin. No one had stopped her. No one had spoken to her. It was smooth sailing. All for one and one for all.

So is there a straight line from that to piracy or just adolescence?

(Laughter). You think shoplifting is the gateway drug that eventually leads people to board other people's ships?It could be. I think the fantasy of wanting things and wanting to evade the law is certainly something that shoplifters and pirates, in this case, have in common.

I have to ask this, Mr.  Handler. This is the first chance we've had to speak with you since you emceed the National Book Awards in November and made a watermelon joke. Did I say state that incorrectly?I didn't want to tell the whole joke, but if you want to. . .

turn 3 : "made a watermelon joke" - This turn is a figurative expression that means he told a joke that was racially insensitive or inappropriate, rather than a literal joke about watermelons.

Answer: Insensitive


Ron, tomorrow, President Obama will sign the stimulus bill in Denver, and then it's on to Phoenix, and then, he'll round out the end of the week with a trip to Canada. Why so much travel?

I think he's learning from the last few weeks. When he stayed in D. C. , the economic stimulus package got stalled. When he got back on the road, got back on the stump, the energy in the atmosphere changed quickly. And being the campaign Barack. being in campaign mode, talking back to Washington from out in the country, that worked better than being the Washington Barack Obama talking to the country. He wants this symbolic energy to be flowing in that direction. He wants to be the voice of the people talking to the federal government, not the symbol of the federal government talking to the people.

NPR senior Washington editor Ron Elving. Thanks, Ron.

Thank you.

turn 0 : Obama's travel is strategic to push for the stimulus bill.

Answer: push


Thanks for having me on.

You call this man's screed and his other provocative activity online - you call this booby traps. What do you mean by that?

I mean his goal is to provoke and sow division between the right and the left. A lot of the comments that he put in his manifesto are, essentially, things that he knew would be picked up by the world media and cause the right and left to get to each other's throats. Like, that was part of the goal - is to get people angry and fighting.

And can you give me an example?

Yeah. He brought up Candace Owens, who is a far-right YouTube personality and credited her for his radicalization, which is - cannot be true. He said that she was more extreme than him. This is a man who just shot dozens of people at a mosque. She's not more extreme than him.

He also mentions President Trump.

turn 2 : The goal of the provocative activity is to create division and unrest between opposing groups

How did the manifesto aim to create conflict?

Answer: Damage


The main concern is retaliation. We go back to a period where countries didn't coordinate. That was very much the case in the 1930s. If I slap a tariff on you, you don't like that, and you slap a tariff on me, and we're both worse off. That's why after World War II, we had multilateral negotiations to get rid of that problem.

And now we are at risk of going back to the previous period during the Great Depression when people didn't coordinate their trade policy and everyone ended up being worse off. And I think that's the concern. The international architecture, the institutional framework for doing trade policy might just break down, and it might become much more national or bilateral.

Professor Dennis Novy of the University of Warwick, thank you so much for speaking with us.

My pleasure.

turn 0 : Countries imposing tariffs on each other leads to mutual harm, hence the need for multilateral negotiations

What is the main concern mentioned by A?

Answer: Retaliation


Well, I can tell you that people like me and organizations like mine will be pushing for in the new year real spending reform, and there's real spending reform to - had across the board. That's from the military industrial complex all the way through the welfare system. Senator Tom Coburn, when he was in the Senate, demonstrated, according to the CBO, over $400 billion of waste and duplicative spending every year. We ought to start there. And I'm hoping that the country can get rational. Both parties can begin to address that stuff beginning in 2018.

Do you think that Republicans will campaign on spending reform anymore?

You know, I don't know whether they will or not. It depends on how hard the grassroots push them. And I hope the grassroots do continue to push them on that.

Is it important to the grassroots to have that still?

turn 2 : Grassroots are known to be stuck to the soil, the narrator mean by that as the Republicans are stuck on their roots.

How are grassroots related to the Republicans' stance on spending reform?

Answer: Crowding


President Obama faces increasing pressure to intervene in Syria, where the civil war has killed an estimated 70,000 people and displaced more than a million more. Artillery, tanks and anti-aircraft fire - and aircraft fire on civilians, and now there are reports that nerve gas has been used as well. The U. S.  would justify any action as a humanitarian intervention to protect civilians, the same ground cited in Bosnia, Somalia, Iraq and Libya. And as those instances suggest, the president faced tremendous risks and very little prospect of reward. That's the conclusion of Gary Bass, a professor of politics in international affairs at Princeton University. He's the author of "Freedom's Battle: The Origins of Humanitarian Intervention," and he joins now via Skype from his home in New York. Good of you to be with us today.

Thank you.

And it's hard to talk about this topic without bringing up Syria, where the president is being asked to intervene under pressure to do so.

That's right. And increasingly, people are talking about it. Seventy thousand dead, how can this go on day after day?

turn 2 : "without bringing up Syria" implies without speaking about the topic of Syria.

Which topic is hard to talk about without mentioning Syria?

Answer: Topic


You know, it's the - there's not formal groups that kind of, you know, identify themselves. They don't have a problem with some other towns in the South where there's like, you know, revived Klan groups and such. I'm aware of the SPLC's research and such. But it's more - I think it's less formal than that but it's probably no less prevalent.

One of the things I'd like to ask you, because you're a person who has been writing about this and the photographs have been printed and seen around the country - the role of the media in covering this, does it make it better, does it make it worst?

Well, I think that really depends on, you know, literally what skin you're in, you know?A lot of the - many of the black folks in that town are very happy to see outside attention brought, they hoped that that scrutiny is going to force some changes down there. But by the same token many of the white folks are just outraged and they think that, you know, this is outsiders meddling in their affairs and they ought to just get their nose out of their business. There was the local Methodist preacher the last time I was there a month ago who told me that I was no better than a Christ killer but you know, you just kind of have to have thick skin.

Howard, thank you very much.

turn 2 : The white people in the town are not happy about outsiders paying attention to their affairs

Which group in the town is outraged by outsiders' attention?

Answer: White


We're going to begin this hour following two developing stories. Odessa, Texas, police officials say at least five people were killed and 21 others injured in a shooting spree. Three law enforcement officers were shot. And a person believed responsible was also shot and killed. We are going to continue to follow that story and provide updates as details are confirmed.

But now we're going to turn to the Bahamas, where they are bracing for Hurricane Dorian. The Category 4 storm is gaining strength and approaching Category 5 status. It's expected to make landfall on the northwestern part of the islands tomorrow, and some short-term models predict as much as 64 inches of rain could could fall over the Northern Bahamas once the storm stalls. Joining us from the Bahamas is Rick Lohr. He is the general manager of the Abaco Beach Resort. That's in Marsh Harbour on the island of Abaco, which is in the path of the storm.

Mr.  Lohr, thanks so much for joining us.

My pleasure.

Could you just tell us what the weather is like right now?

turn 1 : The hurricane in the Bahamas is a developing story.

What is the Category status of Hurricane Dorian?

Answer: Category-4


Of, you know, as climate change or renewable energy, things like that. The choice is not even offered on the sheet of things that you - that is on your radar screen.

Yeah. Well, this is actually a really important point, is that when you look at - and I'll just come back to media coverage as an example. You know, for most people, this is an issue that's invisible. I mean, you can look out your window right this moment, and there's CO2 pouring out of tailpipes, out of smokestacks, out of buildings, but you can't see it, and likewise you can't see the impacts unless you know where to look. In fact, the only way most Americans even know about this issue is because of what they've learned about it in the media. They're not reading the peer-reviewed literature. They don't know scientists personally. They're learning about it through the media. And when the media doesn't report this issue, it's literally out of sight and out of mind.

Mm-hmm. Is there a difference between the national poll you conducted and registered voters?Do they have different opinions about it?

No. In fact, that's exactly what we did in this study, is that we asked people, are you registered to vote?And we only looked at those Democrats, Republicans and independents who are registered because, obviously, those are the people who will actually walk into the voting booth.

turn 1 : The lack of media coverage can make climate change an invisible issue for most Americans.

What is the reason for climate change being an invisible issue for most Americans?

Answer: Media-coverage


Well, part of number two is to go and send swarms of Arkyd 300 spacecraft to these high targets that - high value targets. And then after number two, we'll choose the ones that we want to actually extract resources from. And then number three, phase three comes along, which is to go and extract those resources and deliver them to the point of need.

Good luck to you, Eric Anderson. I hope you get a webcam on those asteroids for us to follow along with you.

We will. Don't worry.

All right. Thanks for joining us.

turn 2 : A is confident about the success of the mission and reassures B

What is PersonA's response to PersonB's hope of having a webcam on the asteroids?

Answer: Don't


There is a - after so long under dictatorship, and it was certainly not just Mr.  Mubarak but his predecessors all the way back through Nasser and before it had a king and, well, effective British rule before that, there's been one person in charge of Egypt for a very long time.

Yes. And, you know, people wanted that to change. And one of the things we heard a lot of in Tahrir Square today is we didn't oust Mubarak to get an Islamist dictator - oust a secular dictator to get an Islamist dictator. And Morsi was elected, but the idea is to have a democratic process. One of the complaints also about the draft constitution is it gives too much power to the president. And now people are saying, we want to be represented; all of Egypt, not just the Muslim Brotherhood.

Is there any indication that at this point, the president and the Muslim Brotherhood will reconsider?

So far we're not seeing indications of that. Of course, as you mentioned, yesterday, the president's spokesman kind of came out and tried to explain the decrees. One of the decrees basically said, any law or decision I make from now until the constitution is written or a parliament is in place has - there is no way to challenge it in courts. He said, actually that's limited to sovereign act. What sovereign acts mean, though, is so vague and unclear. And it really didn't appease his opposition.

turn 3 : A implies that Sovereign act in its acceptable sense does not exist when a decree has been made which makes such claim vague.

Which term used by PersonA makes the decree's claim vague?

Answer: vague


And all this happened after midnight on Friday, so most people were sleeping. They were caught off guard and unable to escape. Houses, cars and bridges were washed away. And 17 neighborhoods were partially destroyed. And the town hospital and morgue are overflowing. Among the victims is a policeman who was carried away by rushing water when he tried to save a 12-year-old girl from drowning. And then there's the case of the Mocoa mayor, who is a pastor - he's homeless because rocks and mud came into his house and filled it all the way up to the ceiling.

Sounds like a horrific situation. How has the government responded?

President Juan Manuel Santos flew into Mocoa to inspect the town. He sent in the army. The Red Cross is there. There are emergency workers searching for survivors. But one of the problems is that there's no airport in Mocoa, and the main road into the town's been partially washed out. Half of Putumayo state's without power, and the drinking water supply has been totally destroyed. Now there've been some reports of people looting stores for food and water.

Just briefly - you know, we've heard a lot about flooding and landslides in Latin America recently. Peru's also had massive flooding. Do we know why this is happening?

turn 1 : (2) "Sounds like a horrific situation." - The speaker is expressing empathy and concern for the situation, rather than just describing the situation as horrific.

What is the PersonA's emotional response to the situation in Mocoa?

Answer: Concern


Do you have any explanation for that?Can you speculate on why that would be so different?

You know, it's just very curious. They must have - you know, they had time to go hands-on with all of the products that were involved in the case, and so they may have, you know, seen from prior art that they thought that it was very clear that the phones involved stemmed from this iPhone design and - but not so much the tablets.

There were several instances of tablets and tablet patented designs that existed before the iPad. So they may have thought that, you know, Samsung got their ideas from somewhere else.

So what's this going to do to buying a future Samsung or other brand that might - you know, has Apple put the fear in people of copying them now?

We'll have to see. So one of the biggest consequences that could come out of this verdict is that the price of Android devices could go up in the future because now Apple's - this portion of Apple's patent portfolio has been validated by the court system, and Apple can pretty confidently go forward and start suing any other Android hardware manufacturers it thinks are infringing on these patents.

turn 1 : The jury had access to all products involved in the case.

Answer: Verdict


Yeah, gosh.

And so I got up and ran. And it wasn't too far. But I just - at that moment, I thought, I don't want to be shot in the back, and I need to find some cover. And there's really no place to hide. But there are these. . .

You found a little, like, alcove that you could duck into.

There was a little alcove, yeah. And I just made myself as small as I could in that little corner.

turn 3 : The speaker tried to protect themselves from danger.

Answer: Made


In 2013, a professor there, Ethan Zuckerman, had said, look - this is a guy who's a sex offender. He's done these crimes against children, solicited procurement of prostitution of minors. He shouldn't be involved in the institute. So two years later, when Ito was making sure that he could come to the offices to look around, they essentially said, we've got to box Zuckerman out so that he won't be able to see that Epstein is on campus.

So have there been any ramifications to this other than Ito's resignation?

Well, sure. Zuckerman resigned. A couple other people have resigned affiliations with the lab. I think there's real questions focusing on the university - why this resignation didn't come sooner, why it wasn't forced. You don't need an MIT Ph. D.  to be able to read the writing on the wall that's in letters that big. And they should have had some accountability and responsibility. The initial statements didn't, you know, seem to allow the precise nature of the interactions, the precise figures involved to be obscured to the public. That's not the kind of accountability you want from a place like MIT.

Can you just talk a little bit more about what you think the bigger-picture consequences are of this?I mean, what does this lab do, and why do you think that it's important that people focus on something like this?

turn 2 : The "MIT PhD" and "writing on the wall" comments imply that the situation should have been obvious to all observers.

What is the significance of the "MIT PhD" comment?

Answer: Obvious


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.

How did Tesla embody the characteristics of a geek?

Answer: Obsesses


It really is. I mean, the fact - and he uses the microscopes that I used as a kid, right, from the '60s because those must be Bausch and Lomb or something like that.

The Zeiss microscope.

Zeiss microscope, different company.

Yeah, right. No, he said that actually if you want to get into this, you know, the cost of one of these microscopes from the '60s or '70s is about that of a computer, but it'll last you a lifetime.

Forever. The optics are just terrific.

turn 3 : This implies that the price of a microscope in the 60s and 70s is of the same price with a computer but more durable.

What is the cost comparison between a microscope from the 60s or 70s and a computer?

Answer: Cost


The United Nation says it's made an agreement that will gradually release 3,000 child soldiers from an armed group in South Sudan. The children are between 11 and 17 years of age. They have spent their childhoods fighting and killing for a group called the South Sudan Democratic Army Cobra faction. Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF's South Sudan representative, says these children have been forced to do and see things that no child should ever experience. Sudan has a long history of civil war and using children for war. Only a few of the thousands of children who get captured and dragged into the conflict manage to escape. Emmanuel Jal did. He's now an actor and musician in Toronto, who had a role in last year's film "The Good Lie. "He was 8 years old when he became a child soldier.

Most of us have seen our homes burned down, have seen terrible things happen. So, I mean, I witness one of my aunt raped in our home area. And witnessing and seeing my home village burned down and then when we're told that I'm going to be given skills and a gun to fight the people who did that to my homeland, there was not much for me to be convinced.

What was life for you like as a child soldier?

It's hell seeing 6, 7 years old burying their own dead. Nobody's going to give them questions when they're beginning to ask questions. Simple questions - why are we here?Where's my mommy?That's when you get to know, like, these are children sometimes when the terrible things happen.

turn 3 : In turn (4), the speaker is using understatement to describe the horrific experiences of child soldiers, emphasizing how young and innocent they are and how terrible it is for them to witness and experience such violence and trauma.

Which rhetorical device is used in turn (4)?

Answer: Understatement


Right, I got the love of that from my grandfather. He was a Brooklyn Dodger fan going all the way back to the 1930s. And when I was a kid, I was a Mets fan, and this is in the late '70s or early '80s. There really wasn't a lot of good things to talk about when you're a Mets fan. So I would sit on the porch with my grandfather, and he would start talking to me about the old Brooklyn Dodgers. And, you know, he'd talk about people like Dazzy Vance and Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson, but then he'd start talking about a guy named Pete Reiser. Pete played in the early 1940s. And he would get this glazed look in his eye - this sad, faraway look - when he would tell about Pete Reiser. And he would say that he was probably the best ballplayer that ever played. And I was fairly well-read as a kid on baseball history, but I had never heard of Pete Reiser. So it made me get into baseball history and try to find those players that had an interesting story, which led me to find out what had happened to Pete Reiser and his career.

There are people who will tell you that Pete Reiser was the best of all time, except for the fact he kept running into walls.

He is credited with having five outfield collisions, and 11 times he was carried away off the field on a stretcher. Nine of those times he was unconscious. And today, he's the reason why Major League Baseball has padded outfield walls.

Another name that has been lost to history - Steve Dalkowski.

turn 1 : (2) Implied meaning: The speaker is acknowledging that while some people consider Pete Reiser to be one of the greatest ballplayers of all time, his career was plagued by multiple collisions with outfield walls, which may have prevented him from achieving even greater success.

Which baseball player's career was plagued by multiple collisions with outfield walls?

Answer: Pete


Has the Catholic Church made enough progress in fighting abuse by its priests?That question has renewed urgency after George Pell became the highest-ranking member of the clergy to be formally charged. Cardinal Pell of Australia is a close adviser to the pope. He's been charged with sexual assault. He says he's innocent. Police in Melbourne aren't releasing the details of his accusers.

Joining us to talk about the case from Dublin and the broader questions it raises is Marie Collins. She was until recently on a papal commission dealing with the sexual abuse of children by clergy. Thanks for being with us.

Glad to be here.

So please remind us of your story. How did this come to be an issue in your life?

turn 3 : The turn that has a figurative meaning is turn (4), where the speaker uses the phrase "remind us of your story" to mean "tell us about your experience with this issue". The literal meaning of "remind us of your story" would be asking the person to recall a previous narrative they had shared.

How does the speaker interpret the phrase "remind us of your story" in turn 4?

Answer: Tell


Now, recent satellite pictures show that they are putting these things back together - the buildings, the rail system, the launch pad. It's not exactly clear when they started. It could have started in mid-February, before the summit. Work could have been going on as recently as over the weekend, after the summit finished.

OK. So the timing of this is a little tricky about whether this is North Korea responding to those summit talks falling apart.

That's right. A couple things to remember. First of all, you know, they can launch missiles from mobile launchers. So this site is not that big a deal. Another thing is that when North Korea made these gestures and said, now, why don't you reciprocate?People were just dismissing these as insignificant concessions. They were saying, you know, North Korea's just trying to hand us their junk. These sites are outdated. They're not worth much. Well, by that token, then people should not be too alarmed about them being reassembled.

OK. So I mean, but we've always talked about that North Korea's nuclear capabilities are, you know, something to be reckoned with. So explain exactly why we're not supposed to be so concerned about this one move.

turn 3 : In turn (4), the literal meaning is that North Korea's nuclear capabilities are something to be reckoned with and the speaker is asking why we shouldn't be concerned about this one move. However, the actual meaning is that the speaker is asking for an explanation as to why the reassembling of the site should not be a cause for concern, despite the fact that North Korea's nuclear capabilities are usually considered a threat.

Which move is the speaker asking for an explanation about?

Answer: Reassembling


You got a sinus infection but you taking a yeast infection medicine figuring if you lay down, it'll work its way up.

Do you believe in Mars and Venus, the whole idea that men and women are totally different?

I really do. And if I can get women to understand that every man that sleeps with you is not going to love you, then half of us will be all right.

What about the other half?

turn 2 : The reference to "half" isn't literal. it just means many women will be all right.

Which word in turn 2 indicates that the reference to "half" is not literal?

Answer: Literal


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

And do - I bet you are a little tired.

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

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

turn 3 : If late in the second half he could hit seven or eight consecutive threes and he knew something special was going on after that, then he was definitely aware of the record

Which record was he not aware of during the game?

Answer: Record


Tell me how you grew up.

Well, my grandparents raised me. When their - they had - they've been foster parents for as long as I can remember. And I was actually the first child other than their own that they actually took care of, and they raised me since I was six months old.

Although my mom lived there as well, she was always - you know, raised me as well, but I lived in their house. I always kept myself around something musical, whether it was being in a play where I played the drunk daughter, or sneaking out to the studio to make a, you know, a demo that never became anything. But you know, it was all a part of what I felt I needed to do beyond, you know, those - that house and beyond church. You know, I was always looking for something to do outside of that - of those four walls.

In this book, you talk about some really rough times you went through. Being held out a window by an abusive boyfriend who threatened to drop you to your death, being beat up, being manipulated. Why do you feel that it was important to put all that in the book?

turn 2 : B pursued music and activities outside of his grandparents' house and church.

Which place did PersonB consider to be limiting and needed to escape from?

Answer: Church


The Negro National League's last innings came in 1940s, after Jackie Robinson headed for the big leagues. Kadir Nelson's new book, "We Are the Ship" captures black-American baseball at the top of its game. Kadir is an award-winning children's book illustrator. He's collaborated with Will Smith, Spike Lee and Debbie Allen. For "We Are the Ship," he did all of the writing and all of the artwork, and his rich, detailed paintings show Negro-league superstars as if they're posing for the camera or deep in a game of hard ball.

Kadir Nelson joins me now. How are you?

I'm great. Thanks for having me.

So you have done playful children's books. You've illustrated books for young people about historic figures. Tell me about Buck O'Neil.

turn 1 : joins me now implies to be a part of program or activity and not referring to get attached together

Which word in the dialogue implies that Kadir Nelson is a versatile artist?

Answer: Collaborated


. . . and copied the symbols that most closely resembled the text. And we had a friend who lived across the street who was an artist, and he helped me translate it into proper copy. And then we resubmitted it to Stan.

And Stan was stuck.

And so he smiled, accepted defeat, and this became the first page of this book.

All right, so this came to light recently because Stanley Fischer was head of the Bank of Israel, and he's nominated to be vice chairman of the U. S.  Federal Reserve. Somebody got the idea that it was about time to find out what this is all about, I gather.

Somebody thought - somebody in my team thought that it would be fun to actually put this as a challenge, and basically promised a prize to whoever would be able to make sense of that page.

turn 2 : 3: Stan accepted the challenge and was happy to see the result of it.  2: Stan was frustrated or overwhelmed

What was Stan's reaction to the challenge?

Answer: Accepted


And then we're going to measure not just their genotype and their environment - things like air quality, water quality, their social setting - but also all the molecular biology that might help us to understand how it is that genes and environment shape aging.

Do you have a dog, Doctor?

I have a dog. I had two dogs until last year.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Our 11-year-old Weimaraner passed away. By 11, he was pretty geriatric. I have an 11-year-old mutt. And when I take her to the dog park, people think she's a puppy. She looks like a 1-year-old. And she's still very vigorous.

turn 4 : "Passed away" doesn't mean to actually leave a physical place, it's a nicer way of saying someone or something died.

Answer: Death


Hey, thank you very much.

Everybody who is an average taxpayer wants to know, how does this bailout affect me?So how does it affect the average taxpayer?

Well, it affects you in a couple of ways. One of which is is that, if it that if it works and the financial system does in fact stabilize and move forward, we're all better. We've averted a vast crisis. But it also does mean that probably down the pike you might be seeing higher taxes, you might be seeing higher inflation, you might be seeing a lower dollar. All of these things are potential possible fallouts from the bailout.

To follow that point a little bit further. Let's say you have a person who pays his bill on time - his or her bills on time - has a mortgage, has a small savings account and no major investments. What does this mean to that person?

turn 2 : The bailout could have potential negative consequences for the average taxpayer

How would the average taxpayer potentially be affected by the bailout?

Answer: Potential


The section on that 1,700 mile track is relatively short, but it's absolutely searing. And it begins in a bullock cart.

That's right.

Well, tell us about it if you could.

At that time in the 1930s, that - you had the development of this tension between the Indians who had migrated there and the Burmese who were already there. And in the midst of all of that, we had other tensions that were simmering at a global level, and which eventuated in the second world war. My grandfather was living in 1941 in a town called Okpo, 108 kilometers north of Rangoon. He was running a small grocery shop, essentially.

turn 3 : Implied Meaning: Based on the speaker's tone and choice of words, there may be an underlying message or intention behind this turn that suggests they have a particular opinion or feeling about the subject being discussed. However, the meaning is not entirely clear and may be open to interpretation, leading to some level of uncertainty about whether everyone will agree on its implied meaning.

Which turn of the dialogue is open to interpretation?

Answer: 3


Maybe they pass along in bodily fluids. Maybe they pass along through the air, on a cough or a sneeze. And those are the ones that become not just outbreaks but epidemics and pandemics.

And some humans are even call super-spreaders. Can you - do we know why some people are super-spreaders?

Well, we don't know why, but we know that it happens, this phenomenon of super-spreaders. It's a little bit similar to the famous case of Typhoid Mary, but a super-spreader is a person who becomes infected with one of these diseases, and then Typhoid Mary didn't show symptoms, but these super-spreaders generally show severe symptoms, and they pass their infection along to more than their share of secondary cases of other people.

For instance when SARS, SARS virus spilled over into humans in Southern China and then got to Hong Kong in 2003, it was amplified out of Hong Kong and went on to Toronto and Hanoi and Beijing and Singapore. But one of the reasons it was amplified is because there were a couple of super-spreaders in the case of SARS, two men who were very sick and who really spewed the virus out and infected a lot of health care workers.

turn 3 : couple implies few carriers of the virus and not two people in romantic relationship

What does the term "couple" refer to in turn 3?

Answer: few


"The Interview," a bromance.

Tamara, are these mostly symbolic sanctions?I mean, North Korea's already under significant sanctions.

Significant. There have been four UN Security Council resolutions adopted since 2006, as well as two U. S.  sanctions programs. These are largely targeted at North Korea's weapons development - nuclear weapons development. So you could easily argue that these new sanctions are just piling onto a pretty big pile already.

U. S.  officials insist, though, that these are new and different because they name 10 individuals, most of whom work for the country's main arms dealer. They say that this naming them is going to make it very hard for those people to do business basically anywhere in the world. The White House also says that there are more sanctions yet to come.

turn 3 :  Implies that the new sanctions are going to make life very difficult for the individuals named, and that there may be more sanctions in the future.

Which individuals are most affected by the new sanctions?

Answer: Named


I haven't talked to him in years.

(Laughter).

Well, you know, Ron Paul - you know, he's got some oddness in his closet. But, you know, compared to Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush, Rand Paul has, like, the greatest situation in terms of family members lingering around the campaign in a lot of ways. You know, his foreign policy is distinct from his father's. Many of his economic policies are distinct. He needs to expound on what is his governing philosophy and why does restraint in foreign policy also mean restraint in domestic affairs?And why are those both good things?

As you survey the political landscape on issues like privacy or foreign policy, do you see traces of libertarian success?

turn 2 : "oddness in his closet" - This phrase is a figurative expression meaning that Ron Paul has some controversial or potentially damaging aspects of his personal life or history that could be problematic for him politically. It does not refer to a literal closet or physical space.

What does the phrase "oddness in his closet" refer to?

Answer: Potentially


And what they're suggesting is that you can lose spin from the Earth-moon system and transfer it to the sun-Earth system. And it's a very complex calculation. I mean, it's not just trivial that it took 30, 40 years to figure this out. But once that is on the table, and you say hey, I can start with an Earth that's spinning with a period of two hours, now you have an Earth, that if you were to look at this - and you can download the simulations from Science magazine - and you can see that - or from Harvard - and you can see that this Earth looks kind of like a muffin.

It's spinning so fast, it's got kind of a two-to-one axis ratio. And so their solution is hey, I can make the moon out of Earth's mantle, I'll just sort of hit it with a tiny projectile - you know, not tiny but much smaller than we thought previously - so Theia becomes smaller.

And you hit it, and off of the equator of this rapidly spinning muffin comes this stuff, and it's mostly Earth's mantle.

Little muffin that becomes the moon.

turn 2 : The moon was formed from the Earth's mantle.

Answer: mantle


The advice I'd give to others is, do your homework, and don't be afraid to do it. The one rule I gave myself was, it's OK if you fail. And coming from a type-A legal background, you don't make any mistakes. But in business, you have to be flexible. So, I allowed myself the freedom to make those mistakes and grow from them.

Have there been any moments when being an African-American entrepreneur has either hurt you or at least given some food for thought?

I'll take the food for thought. I'm a member of the International Spa Association. That's a pretty high-end spa group. And that market's OK, but other trade shows I would do, people would walk up and they'd say, oh, is this a black skin-care company?And I'm thinking, well, everybody has skin, irrespective of who you are - because they see me there. Even though the woman on the cover, model is - she's kind of every woman. She's actually Filipino and German, but people can't tell her background. But when they see my face there, they assume it's a company just for African-American skin, which is not the case.

When you think about that aspect of marketing, do you think that black companies that market directly to African-Americans, just very briefly, have an advantage or disadvantage over businesses like yours?

turn 0 : It's important to take risks and learn from failure.

Answer: Rule


That's true.

Exactly. So, what's happening, Murray?

Well, you know, I think, just like copper and grain, I mean, I think there are shortages that arise every once in a while in important human commodities. And this is kind of a replay, to me, of when I became a clown. In the late 1960s, a lot of the real great master clowns were getting old and dying off. And so the Ringling Brothers show started the College of Clowns, which lasted until, I think, 1997. And I was in the second class.

You think people maybe react differently to clowns.

turn 2 : (3) A: Well, you know, I think, just like copper and grain, I mean, I think there are shortages that arise every once in a while in important human commodities. And this is kind of a replay, to me, of when I became a clown.  The literal meaning of this turn is that the speaker is drawing a comparison between shortages in important commodities, like copper and grain, and a shortage in "human commodities," which the speaker then explains is a reference to the shortage of great master clowns in the late 1960s. However, the implied meaning could be that the speaker is making a commentary on the current state of the world, suggesting that there are shortages in important areas beyond just physical commodities, such as in human connection, joy, or creativity. The speaker may be using the example of the clown shortage to illustrate this broader point, and to suggest that this shortage represents a larger trend of a loss of something valuable in society.

How does the speaker connect the shortage of great master clowns with shortages in important human commodities?

Answer: Comparison


Earmarks and pork-barrel spending are as American as a bridge to nowhere. They're little, and sometimes not so little, holiday packages designed to win the votes of senators and representatives for national legislation with government money that's earmarked to directly benefit their states or districts. Many Democrats have groused about the latest examples that have been added, often in hand-written scrawls, into the new tax bill. Norman Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and joins us now. Norm, thanks for being with us.

A pleasure, Scott.

What are some of the earmarks you've noticed in this tax bill?

Well, we have, of course, the most famous one, which is now being called with hashtags all over Twitter, the Corker kickback, named for Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee who had famously said quite early on I will not vote for any tax bill that adds a dime to the deficit and then turned around at the last minute and voted for this one with a provision added very, very late in the game to provide additional benefits to a particular set of real estate LLC's, as they're called, a particular kind of corporation. And Corker has significant investments in them, as does Donald J.  Trump and other members of the Trump family - something that would specifically give them millions in additional tax benefits.

turn 2 : Asking what financial benefits are being provided to certain individuals through the tax bill.

What is the name given to the provision added to the tax bill that provides additional benefits to a particular set of corporations?

Answer: Corker


. . . In terms of choices. I mean, am I wrong about that?

You know, that research is still in the early stages as well. And I don't want to undermine it or underplay it, but you have to think about things sort of globally. And one thing that you can do is - if you're concerned about sunscreen use is you can just be extra careful about covering up.

So I know for my own kid, the swimsuit I got for him has long sleeves. And I'm always putting, like, a big hat on him. So you're telling me that's not overkill.

That is not overkill. That's actually a great idea. You know, there are a lot of sun-protective clothing on the market now, so that will help protect the environment 'cause you're using less sunscreen. And it will also help protect you against any potential problems with sunscreen ingredients.

In the end, how big a deal is this study published by JAMA?

turn 3 : Using sun-protective clothing helps protect the environment and against potential problems with sunscreen ingredients.

How does using sun-protective clothing help protect against potential sunscreen problems?

Answer: environment


Struggling yes, and because our ballots were delivered late this time. There was a delay in approval from the State Board of Elections which affected everybody in the state really. Consequently, the printer had to work all weekend to get the absentee ballots to us and he walked in about two o'clock yesterday afternoon. So then of course we had three volunteers yesterday afternoon folding those eight and a half by fourteen ballots and putting them in the - in a sealed envelope that then goes in the pack that we had previously prepared.

We've been hearing that there is a big increase in the number of people who want to vote early this year about a third of all voters nationwide. Are you seeing that where you are, an increase?

Well we don't have early voting in Virginia in the same sense that North Carolina for instance does. In Virginia you have to have a reason, one of the reasons listed on the absentee application for needing to vote absentee.

What are those reasons?

turn 0 : The late delivery of absentee ballots caused a lot of work for us

Which event caused a delay in the delivery of absentee ballots?

Answer: Ballots


We're hoping that this research kind of paves the way to looking at novel high-speed adhesives. So how do you grab things - difficult things - very, very quickly?And so, like, if you were to grab something that's dusty, like a brick, or furry, duct tape's not going to be able to stick to either of those things. You know, you're going to have to use something like claws or grabbing mechanisms. But we think that with this new type of thick, viscous fluid coating a very soft substrate, that it will be able to grab oddly textured things very quickly. So in my mind, I'm dreaming of a - like, a frog tongue attached to a drone, and the drone can fly around and pick up packages really quickly and fly away.

Do you mind me asking - after a day in the lab - I'm just guessing- do you just want to go home and fast?I mean, it must be difficult to eat anything.

(Laughter) There are times that - especially in the beginning - where I had the smell of frog in my nose for at least an hour, and I couldn't eat anything. But by the end of the study, I'd been - you know, I was eating frog legs every week - part of the study.

Oh, no. Seriously?

turn 3 : (4) implies disbelief or shock at A's response in the previous turn.

How did PersonB react to PersonA's response in turn 2?

Answer: Disbelief


Yes, and not even as big as a credit card in size - tiny. And she held it up, and my mother fleetingly saw her younger self, so she knew that this was true.

Wow.

She goes home to her mother, and her mother says nothing and summons the father. And eventually, there's a scene and - the mother and father sitting opposite my mother. And they just tell her that they took her in as if a kind of kindness - that she was a sort of waif or a stray and, you know, it was a charitable act. So she immediately began to feel that nobody wanted her.

Pause the story there because you touch on one of the crazier things, which is that bus. When this old woman appears with a photograph, you describe everyone as freezing because they all knew. The whole village, surrounding villages all knew way more about the story of your mother's life than she did until she was a much older woman.

turn 0 : The 'it' that the woman held up is not referring to a physical object, but a photograph

Answer: Photograph


And there was "Hip-Hop: Hot On The Runway," which was - HOT107. 9 had a fashion show with a lot of artists, yeah, at Compound, with Ray J.  Whitney Huston showed up. This is the live music scene as of last night. But at that same last event, at Compound, someone got shot. And there was incredible security at all of these events.

You go in there and you have to pass two or three people. And you know, the crowd is not - you can't say it was all young kids at Compound or it was - you couldn't even point out who in the audience could have done that because it was a very mixed crowd, in a lot of ways in terms, of economic strata and that kind of thing.

And in the end of the night, as a matter of fact, I woke up the next morning and saw on the news that someone was shot there. The guy was in critical condition at this time. So, you know, it's rough, but the same time, those were great events, three events in one night. And that is not atypical in Atlanta, you know, on a given week.

You know, do you think it is affecting the scene?And certainly violence isn't limited to hip-hop clubs, and it isn't new, but does it affect the ability of the audiences to go out?Or are they just like, hey, this is part of what it is and I am willing to go out anyway?

turn 2 : Atlanta has a busy and active live music scene with multiple events in a week despite occasional violence

Which city has an active live music scene with occasional violence?

Answer: Atlanta


OK.

We're in a tent at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. So if you hear some extraneous sounds that you wouldn't normally hear in Studio 3A, please forgive us. But it gives us the opportunity to do some things that we wouldn't ordinarily do. We want to hear from comedians today. How do you translate your material, which comes from a certain time and place, to a wider or different cultural or even ethnic group?Give us a call: 800-989-8255. Email us: talk@npr. org.

And Trevor Noah, what did you find translated well?Is there a material that you did in Cape Town that you can do in Los Angeles, or Baltimore for that matter?

Not really, no. Because the points of view changes, you know?I think the one - well, I could talk about Oprah. Oprah is worldwide. Yes.

Oprah is worldwide.

turn 2 : And Trevor Noah, what did you find translated well? Is there a material that you did in Cape Town that you can do in Los Angeles, or Baltimore for that matter? (This turn has a literal meaning of asking Trevor Noah if his material translates well across different cultural settings)

Which comedian's material did PersonB ask about translating to different cultural settings?

Answer: Trevor


Finally, Mike, the Super Bowl is usually one huge party. But given the current economy, do you think it'll be as big of a celebration?

Officially, they give figures that are absolutely impossible to check about how much the Super Bowl adds to the economy. $300 million is one of the official totals. But I've read different economists saying the impact on a local economy is very small. And I have informally talked to some limo drivers and talked to some people who work in hotels. And they said, you know, a year ago, if you told them the Super Bowl was going to be here, they would've thought they'd all be booked up by now. But you can still get a limo maybe on Friday and Saturday, maybe not Sunday going to the game.

So it does - and another indication is that there used to be two huge parties sponsored by Playboy and Maxim, and Playboy is not having its party. So that's the economic indicator of this Super Bowl, that Playboy is not having its party.

NPR's Mike Pesca in Tampa, Florida for this weekend's Super Bowl. Thanks Mike.

turn 0 : the super bowl is the nfl finals, not a huge dish or bowl; economy is not liteally hit by the super bowl, but affected by it

Answer: NFL


Well, so far, they've gotten houses in Jeddah, a city on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. They've also gotten monthly stipends, or monthly payments, of about $10,000 to $15,000 per month.

Although it sounds like, from your reporting, that's just the beginning. You report negotiations for possible larger payments. What would they be?

Yeah. So this is - this happens in sort of two stages. These were payments that were approved by the king late last year for the family. But going forward, you know, there are cases; there are prosecutions underway in Saudi Arabia. When those conclude, there would be an opening for discussions for far more money. And that's where you get into the real sort of blood money situation or scenario. Those could be millions and millions of dollars (inaudible). . .

Now, we should just underline that. I mean, we understand, from civil lawsuits in the United States, the idea of punitive damages. Blood money, I guess, is somewhat similar but also different. This is a way to wipe away a killing rather than the family of the victim having to seek revenge. Is that right?

turn 2 : (3) implies that there is a possibility of further financial compensation beyond the previously approved payments, while

Which stage was the payment approved in late last year for the family?

Answer: First


Now it's, I should say this is a demonstration, it's not, you know, there is an actual kill that takes place in the video, but it's not a real kill, it's a demo kill. But what the system that they are playing or working on actually is designed to do and will do when it is deployed is to hunt, and if necessary kill, real targets. It fires missiles, it drops bombs, you can hear the guy talking about the weapons that he has available on one of his drones.

And they didn't just make it feel like a video game, they figured out that there's a sort of a feedback loop that was a problem for the operators, they couldn't kind of sense what was happening. And they hired video gamers to redesign their system for them.

Yeah, they hired real game developers. Because, you know, when you compared what people in the military were using to operate drones to what the latest Xbox or PlayStation system looked like, I mean the screens on this wrap around you so you feel as though you were there. One of the executives Raytheon describes it as projecting your mind into a place where you want it.

You write about watching this demonstration video with your seven year old kind of standing behind you watching this screen, and he gets it right away and he kind of likes it.

turn 0 : "it's not a real kill, it's a demo kill" - The literal meaning is that a demonstration kill took place, but it was not a real kill. The implied meaning is that the system being demonstrated is capable of killing real targets.

What type of targets can the system being demonstrated kill?

Answer: Real


Yep, I mean, that is absolutely true. I'm, you know, I'm still young but I've definitely moved past the age where, you know, I feel young and feel completely invincible. Something catastrophic, whether it's an illness that comes along or whether it's an accident, or something of that nature, is a risk that's there. And, you know, it still seems to be a very low risk. But you're right. I mean, there's no logical way around that. That is definitely something that could happen at any time.

So you're not one of these people that thinks I'm young and strong and nothing will happen.

No. My, you know, shoulder and back hurts bad enough right now that. . .

. . . I know that's not the case.

turn 1 : the turns whose actual meanings are different from their literal meanings. By saying "you're not one of these people that thinks I'm young and strong and nothing will happen"

Which type of turn is mentioned in the statement?

Answer: Figurative


When we say kids, how old are these kids?

So once they get these cars, what do they do with them?

Well, so that's where the fact that they're juveniles really comes into play. When adults steal cars, it's often about, you know, sending them off to another continent or chopping them up for parts, making money.

When kids steal cars, they keep them on the streets. They're using them as toys. They're seeing how fast they can go - 160 miles per hour on the highway. They're driving the wrong way. They're chasing other friends in other stolen cars. In at least one case, we saw stolen cars used in a drive-by shooting.

turn 1 :  A: "We saw kids as young as 10 stealing cars. And the kids we spoke to that were older talked about getting involved around that age, around 10 or 11." - The literal meaning is that children who were 10 or 11 years old were involved in stealing cars. The actual meaning is that children as young as 10 years old were involved in stealing cars, which is surprising and concerning.

What is the age range of kids involved in stealing cars according to A?

Answer: 10-11


It is largely an age distinction. There are younger people who think that our geography has now trumped our history. We are in the world where it's more relevant than the ties we used to have. But for an older generation, those ties are really important, especially when it comes to war, and World War I and World War II, and New Zealand lost more soldiers per the population than most countries in the world. And they died and served under that flag.

Well, what are some of the alternatives that have been proposed?

Who gets to choose?

turn 2 : The prime minister, John Key, here is a big fan of the silver fern. We have a symbol that we use on our sporting outfits. And one of our major teams, which is literally of a plant, a wee fern plant on a black background. For others, though, that's a bit too much like a brand or a logo than really a sovereign flag. There are artists who have come up with sort of designs of white skies and - 'cause, you know, it's also known as (Foreign language spoken) in Maori, the land of the long white cloud. There are Maori, the native people here, have independence flag that are talked about. So, quite a lot of options on the table to be debated.  The implied meaning in this turn is that some people perceive the silver fern as more of a commercial symbol or branding rather than a true representation of national sovereignty. The mention of alternative designs, such as white skies representing the "land of the long white cloud," and the discussion of independence flags for the Maori people, suggests a range of options for consideration. The literal meaning would focus on the description of different symbols and designs being discussed.

Which plant is featured on one of New Zealand's major team's outfits?

Answer: Fern


Well, tomorrow, it's going to be a lot of pomp and circumstance. There'll be a wreath-laying at Westminster Abbey. There'll be a state dinner in the evening with the Queen at Buckingham Palace tomorrow, a meeting with Prime Minister May. Of course, she's a lame duck, so we're not expecting a lot there on the policy front. The big thing tomorrow is going to be street protests.

And what are we expecting there?

Huge numbers. There are going to be buses coming in from around England. The streets are going to be jammed. Londoners, of course, very progressive - this is a cosmopolitan city. And they tend to really dislike this president. His anti-immigration policies, his things that he said about women - it just really rubs Londoners the wrong way.

We'll be seeing a lot of things that - a lot of signs, clever signs, which is what British protesters are known for. And we'll also see Tuesday morning the Trump baby blimp make a reappearance. This is the blimp of Trump in a diaper and crying and looking - he's in the form of a baby. Very popular, and I'm sure we'll see lots of people out there when that goes aloft in Parliament Square.

turn 2 : Londoners dislike the president's policies and comments about women.

Which city tends to dislike Trump's policies and comments about women?

Answer: London


Curative instruction meaning, I'm sorry I said that. Disregard that.

Exactly. Yeah, I made a mistake - mea culpa. I shouldn't have said that. Please disregard what I said and don't hold it against the counsel for either of the parties.

Dramatic testimony from Richard Gates, Manafort's former business partner, this week who essentially said, look. Paul Manafort's a crook. And I know because I am, too. And we schemed together to steal money. That's an argument the defense can turn against the prosecution in a way, though, too, isn't it?

Absolutely. So what the defense may try to do is say, what we're dealing with here is a criminal, a dishonest individual from start to finish. He is being sponsored - his testimony is being sponsored by the government. But you can't trust him. After all, look at all the things he's done. He's stolen, in fact, not only from others but from his own business associate, Mr.  Manafort.

turn 1 : A takes responsibility for their mistake and doesn't want it to reflect on the counsel

Which party's counsel does PersonA not want their mistake to be held against?

Answer: Either.


And the president did a victory dance in the end zone on Twitter after he was fired. He said Andrew McCabe being fired is a great day. He said he knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI. Then what happened was even more significant because the president's private lawyer John Dowd released a statement saying that now that McCabe has been fired, he hopes that acting Attorney General Rosenstein will follow Jeff Sessions' lead and bring an end to the Mueller investigation. Now, at first, Dowd said he was speaking for the president when he issued this statement. Later, he backtracked, although it doesn't really matter.

Yeah. It's not news, though, that the president hates the Mueller probe. He's been pretty vocal about that on Twitter. Why is his lawyer statement so important?

It's important because it's a change in the legal strategy. Up until now, Donald Trump has always stopped short of saying something that could be perceived as an order to Rod Rosenstein to fire Mueller. He's always said, no, I'm not going to fire him. He's even said he looks forward to talking to him. Now it looks like they're opening a new phase, openly calling on the Department of Justice to shut down the Mueller investigation.

The Democrats have been pretty vocal. I've been seeing a lot of their reaction. Do we know what the Republicans in Congress have been saying or doing?

turn 2 : Trump is now openly calling for the Mueller investigation to be shut down

How is Trump changing his approach towards the Mueller investigation?

Answer: Shutdown


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 2 : The speaker's childhood experiences were similar to those in the photograph

What childhood memories did the photograph remind the speaker of?

Answer: beach


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

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

MS.  SAMUELS: Right.

She basically said she wanted the part.

turn 3 : The literal meaning of the turn is that Kelly Rowland expressed interest in the part. However, the actual meaning may be that Kelly Rowland was not mentioned before this turn, and the speaker may be changing the subject or trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.

What was the reason behind the PersonA's turn in statement 3?

Answer: Change


(Laughter).

So. . .

So I take it you don't like it.

I think it's kind of a joke. I think it has nothing to do with Wall Street.

Well, bullish markets - that sort of thing - yeah?

turn 4 : The implied meaning of this turn is that B is suggesting that the joke is related to Wall Street, such as the stock market and other financial activities.

What sort of markets does PersonB mention in turn 4?

Answer: Bullish


The African nation of Gambia may see its own peaceful transition of power but only after weeks of negotiation and threats of military intervention. After initially accepting election results that voted him out of office, the reigning president of 22 years then refused to concede for weeks - until today. When facing international pressure and dwindling support, reports came that he has agreed to step down. Ruth Maclean is the West African correspondent for The Guardian. She's in the capital of Banjul, Gambia. Ruth, thanks very much for being with us.

Thanks for having me.

And what did the president say today?

Well, the president said last night in a midnight broadcast that he would step down and that he would act in the interest of the Gambian people. And that was the last that we heard from him. But he is still in State House. He hasn't left the country yet, and he hasn't ceded power as far as we know.

So I guess it's premature to ask who would replace him.

turn 2 : is asking for the president's statement today, but the actual meaning is asking for an update on the situation.

How did the president's statement today impact the situation in Gambia?

Answer: Resign.


Yeah, we're looking at how people make movies through a microscope. And I hadn't really thought about this much before this week, but there's a sort of long history of this, and there have been a few real pioneers of this field. And one of them is a guy, a photographer called Roman Vishniac.

And you may know this name because he's famous for sort of a very different kind of photography. He took portraits. He has a picture of Einstein that's pretty famous. And he is famous for documenting Jews in Eastern Europe for World War II.

But it turns out that he also was this huge science buff, and he made these educational movies funded by NSF and others for classroom use, and a lot of them featured his micro-movies, these movies that he did in his New York apartment through the microscope with, you know, pond scum that he collected I don't know where, my guess would be Central Park, just looking at some of the footage.

Right, and so then he trained - this moviemaker trained his camera into the lens of the microscope.

turn 1 : Roman Vishniac was a multifaceted artist who had interests in various fields.

How was Roman Vishniac involved in science education?

Answer: Science


You've been following temporary staffing trends for more than two decades now. What sectors are relatively insulated from layoffs?

Well, the sectors that are most resilient are the higher-skill sectors, or if you can get into industries that are involved in education or health care or government. Those are the areas where you get the most bang. We're also seeing a nice increase in the mortgage-processing area, because one of the things the government's doing is lowering the conforming rate for mortgages. And so, there's kind of a rush to refinance.

When you say higher skills, are you talking about engineering, things of that sort?

Well, even within, say, clerical admin, there's always demand for good, you know, personal assistants. There's always demand for engineers or, you know, highly skilled folks. There are sometimes fewer jobs in those areas but for good people, you can get employed.

Now, geographically, where are the hot spots for temporary work?

We're seeing the best demand really around the D. C.  area. You know, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, of course the government's kind of gearing up, and there's lots of activity to, you know, take on some of these new projects. Another good area is Texas. Texas still has some residual goodwill related to energy and utilities. Beyond that, there is most of the - most every area of the country is feeling some pinch. Some of the toughest places are California, Nevada and Florida.

turn 5 : Most everyone in the country is feeling that they have to cut back on spending money.

Which feeling is common among people in the country?

Answer: Pinch