NPR 2008-04-28

Continental¹ Airlines says it has called off its merger² talks with United Airlines and will instead remain an independent air carrier. United had hoped to reach an agreement with Continental by late this week. But Continental's board of directors decided³ today to abandon the effort after United announced worse-than-expected quarterly earnings⁴ in part because of rising cost for jet fuel. Analysts⁵ say United may now push to complete a merger with US Airways⁶.

 Civil rights advocates in New York City are urging reforms following the acquittal of three police officers involved in the killing⁷ of an unarmed man, Sean Bell in 2006. The recommendations include a proposal to have a special prosecutor⁸ investigate such incidents in the future. NPR's Allison Keyes has the story.

 At police headquarters in New York today, civil rights attorney Norman Siegel talked about the need for an independent body to probe cases where civilians⁹ are hurt or killed by police. "We need to create a statewide permanent special prosecutor for corruption¹⁰ and brutality¹¹." In Harlem today, Bell's fiancé, Rev¹². Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders called for the Justice Department to enforce laws against police brutality and prosecute¹³ those who violate them. The Justice Department has said it will conduct an independent review of the evidence in this case. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

 The latest clashes over the Olympic torch took place in Seoul, South Korea today. Chinese students there confronted anti-Chinese demonstrators, as NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Beijing.

 Flag-waving Chinese students greatly outnumbered South Korean protestors at the start of a 14-mile torch relay route through the city. It began at a park that was one of the facilities for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Thousands of officers kept order, including riot police with shields and batons¹⁴. Still, some fights broke out between groups of demonstrators. Police arrested a few protestors, including North Koreans protesting China's treatment of North Korean refugees in China. No disruptions are expected when the torch goes through Pyongyang. But it may face more controversy¹⁵ during upcoming stops in Hong Kong and Hanoi later this week. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Beijing.

 Thousands of people gathered at Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark today to honor Army reservist Matt Maupin whose remains¹⁶ were recently recovered in Iraq nearly four years after he was captured by militants¹⁷. Among the speakers was Maupin's brother-in-law, Carl Cottrell. "You were strong both mentally and physically¹⁸. God cannot have chosen a better soldier than you to bear what you must have borne. "At a private ceremony for Maupin's relatives, the Army awarded him a number of medals including the Bronze Star. Another mass grave has been located in Iraq. Authorities say soldiers have unearthed¹⁹ 50 bodies in an orchard²⁰ near Baquba.

 This is NPR News.

 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says he will not debate rival Hillary Clinton again before the May 6th primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. Clinton had proposed a Lincoln-Douglas style debate in which the candidates question each other without a moderator. Clinton is campaigning today in North Carolina.

 The space shuttle Discovery has been rolled out of the giant Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in preparation for its upcoming launch on a mission to the International Space Station. Pat Duggins of member station WMFE reports from Orlando.

 The move is slow and delicate. Engineers will tow the space plane to the box-shaped Vehicle Assembly Building or VAB, that's where its twin solid rocket boosters are bolted to the 150-foot-tall external fuel tank. Discovery starts the trip, rolling on its own landing gear. Once in the VAB, a crane will lift the shuttle up off the ground, so technicians can retract²¹ Discovery's tyres and lock the three landing gear doors shut. The next time they pop open will be seconds before the planned landing at mission’s end. Once that's done, the shuttle will be hoisted²² nose up and attached to the external tank. After that, the launch deck will be rolled to the pad to await the arrival of Discovery's payload. That's a schoolbus-sized laboratory module²³ built by Japan. The shuttle's crew will install the compartment²⁴ on the International Space Station. For NPR News, I'm Pat Duggins, in Orlando.

Hundreds of firefighters are battling a wildfire that's spreading out of control through dense²⁵ brush in Southern California toward a suburban²⁶ area near Pasadena. The blaze has forced the evacuation of more than 1, 000 people from homes in the foothills.

 A truck jammed with up to 60 illegal immigrants crashed and rolled over in a remote area of Arizona early this morning. Four people were killed and more than two dozen others were injured. Many of the survivors²⁷ fled into the desert.

1 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

2 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

12 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

13 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

14 batons   

n.（警察武器）警棍( baton的名词复数 )；（乐队指挥用的）指挥棒；接力棒

参考例句：

• There were many riot policemen with batons. 有许多带警棍的防暴警察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chinese police fight? Number one is a person with batons to fight! 满街飘的中国国旗，是一个老华侨在事发时那出来分给大家的，很感动，真的，从来一向多一事不如少一事的中国人今天团结到一起站出来反抗。 来自互联网

15 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

18 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。

19 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

20 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

21 retract   

vt.缩回，撤回收回，取消

参考例句：

• The criminals should stop on the precipice, retract from the wrong path and not go any further.犯罪分子应当迷途知返，悬崖勒马，不要在错误的道路上继续走下去。
• I don't want to speak rashly now and later have to retract my statements.我不想现在说些轻率的话，然后又要收回自己说过的话。

22 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

23 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

24 compartment   

n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间

参考例句：

• We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴，整个客车隔间由我们独享。
• The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。

25 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

26 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

27 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者