Fed Raises Interest Rates, Iran War and Oil Prices, EU-Canada Alliance
Up First from NPR

Fed Raises Interest Rates, Iran War and Oil Prices, EU-Canada Alliance

B2Upper-intermediateSeptember 17, 202613 min

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years as it tries to bring down stubborn inflation, putting new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh at odds with President Trump’s calls for lower rates. Rising fuel prices linked to the Iran war are driving protests and economic pressure around the world as Saudi Arabia faces attacks on its oil infrastructure and shipping routes. European Union President Ursula von der Leyen is proposing a new “associate member” relationship with Canada as the two draw closer amid tensions with the United States, while President Trump threatens new trade pe...

Play episode

Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.

Try it: tap any word

Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.

Sentence 1 of 12 · 0:00

, ,

him to do.

Hear this sentence

Tap a word to see its meaning in your language.

Do you know these words?

8 harder words from this episode. Tap one to see what it means, then mark it.

  • B21:40
  • B22:17
  • B23:40
  • B25:34
  • C17:04
  • B29:39
  • B210:40
  • C112:13

Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.

Is this episode right for you?

B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 31%A2 41%B1 16%B2 10%C1 2%
  • 88% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 189 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
  • 94 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:00

President Trump's hand-picked Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, did the opposite of what Trump wanted him to do. He raised interest rates. The president is not happy and pressed the Fed to reverse course and lower rates.

0:12

How is a new chair reacting to the pressure? I'm E Martinez. That is Michelle Martin, and this is a burst from NPR News. From Syria to Portugal, people are protesting higher fuel prices.

0:25

With the war in Iran showing no sign-up ending, countries are drawing from their oil reserves and Saudi pipelines are under attack. Canada's prime minister will address the European Parliament today after an invitation to become the EU's first associate member, Trump threatened more tariffs if he decides it's a hostile

That was the opening. The rest of the episode (12 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.

Continue in the player

Automatically generated from the audio. May contain errors. Audio belongs to its publisher and is played from their feed. Rights holders can request removal — copyright & takedown policy