NPR 2008-02-20

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Raum.

 

Fidel Castro said today he's resigning as president of Cuba after 49 years in power. From member station WLRN in Miami, Shannon Novak reports.

 

Fidel Castro's announcement is published in today's Communist Party daily newspaper Granma. The 81-year-old wrote "It would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility¹ and dedication² than I'm physically³ able to offer." Citing an intestinal⁴ illness 19 months ago, the leader temporarily ceded⁵ power to his brother, Cuba's Defense⁶ Minister, 76-year-old Raúl Castro. Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since. Cuba's National Assembly meets Sunday to select the members and a president of the Council of State. The president of the Council is the ruler of Cuba. It has been widely speculated Raúl Castro will follow his brother as president. 'This is not my farewell to you.' Fidel Castro wrote, 'My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas.' For NPR News, I'm Shannon Novak in Miami.

 

President Bush says he sees Castro's retirement⁷ as an opportunity for Cubans to turn to democracy. "Eventually this transition, I believe, to free and fair elections, I mean free and I mean fair, not this kind of stage to election that the Castro brothers try to foist⁸ office, being true democracy.

 

The president's spoken in Kigali Rwanda. He visited a memorial to those who died in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were shot, clubbed or hacked⁹ to death by extremist Hutu militias¹⁰. The president said the memorial reminds him there is evil in the world that must be confronted.

 

Voters in Wisconsin go to the polls today to help nominate Republican and Democratic candidates for president. It's an open primary meaning people can choose any candidate they want from either party. Chuck Quirmbach of Wisconsin Public Radio reports.

 

Democrats¹¹ Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and Republicans John McCain and Mike Huckabee have all campaigned in Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee political scientist Tom Holbrook says the competition may help boost turnout above normal levels for a presidential primary in the state. He says he doesn't think cold temperatures and snowy showers predicted for part of the day will push the numbers back down. "Well, you know, I think Wisconsinians are used to inclement¹² weather in February and they are not gonna be deterred¹³ from a little bit snow or cold or blowing wind…" Holbrook says he expects both Democratic candidates to win some convention delegates, because it's not a winner-take-all primary on the Democratic side. For NPR News, I'm Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee.

 

Democrats in Hawaii are holding their caucuses¹⁴ today where there are 20 delegates at stake. Obama was born there. The next contest will take place two weeks from today. Both parties are holding primaries in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont. This is NPR News.

 

The opponents of Pakistan's president have won a victory in yesterday's parliamentary elections. Preliminary return set showed that no single party has won a majority. But the party of President Pervez Musharraf came in third in the balloting¹⁵. The two opposition¹⁶ parties are expected to join forces to form a government.

 

In Germany, authorities have raided the homes and offices of suspected tax evaders in one of the country's largest sub-operations ever. From Berlin, Kyle James reports.

 

The tax sting operation is being carried out all this week in Germany. And media reports say more than 100 raids will be conducted. Yesterday, investigators¹⁷ fanned out across the country, carrying out searches in private homes and offices in Munich, Cologne, Hamburg and other cities. The raids come in the wake of revelations that Klaus Zumwinkel, the former head of Germany's mail and logistics giant Deutsche Post, had evaded¹⁸ some 1.5 million dollars in taxes. He had done so by sending money to the tiny Principality of Liechtenstein, a well-known tax haven¹⁹. Authorities were tipped off by an informant who sold German intelligence agency officials a CD for over 7 million dollars that contained names of account holders²⁰ from a Liechtenstein bank. Germany is now pressuring Liechtenstein to ease its banking²¹ secrecy²² laws. For NPR News, I'm Kyle James in Berlin.

 

Toshiba announced today it will stop producing HD/DVD products, conceding the market to Blu-ray technology. Movie Studios have been increasingly lining²³ up behind the Blu-ray standard. Both formats²⁵ deliver high definition pictures and sound but they are incompatible²⁶ with each other and neither will play on older players. The rivalry²⁷ is reminiscent of the video format²⁴ battle in the 1980s, when VHS prevailed over Betamax.

 

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

 

1 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

2 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

3 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

4 intestinal   

adj.肠的；肠壁；肠道细菌

参考例句：

• A few other conditions are in high intestinal obstruction. 其它少数情况是高位肠梗阻。 来自辞典例句
• This complication has occasionally occurred following the use of intestinal antiseptics. 这种并发症偶而发生在使用肠道抗菌剂上。 来自辞典例句

5 ceded   

v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Cuba was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898. 古巴在1898年被西班牙割让给美国。
• A third of the territory was ceded to France. 领土的三分之一割让给了法国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

8 foist   

vt.把…强塞给，骗卖给

参考例句：

• He doesn't try to foist his beliefs on everyone.他不会勉强每个人接受他的信念。
• He tried to foist some inferior goods on me.他企图把一些劣质货强售给我。

9 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

10 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 inclement   

adj.严酷的，严厉的，恶劣的

参考例句：

• The inclement weather brought forth a host of diseases.恶劣的天气引起了种种疾病。
• They kept on going,even through the inclement weather.即使天气恶劣，他们还是执意要去。

13 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

14 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

15 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

17 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 evaded   

逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
• The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。

19 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

20 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

21 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

22 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

23 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

24 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

25 formats   

n.（出版物的）版式( format的名词复数 )；[电视]电视节目的总安排（或计划）

参考例句：

• They are producing books in all kinds of different formats. 他们出版各种不同开本的书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. 真正的图形用户界面包括表示文字和图形的标准格式。 来自互联网

26 incompatible   

adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的

参考例句：

• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
• Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。

27 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。