NPR 2008-05-15

John Edwards has made it official. The former presidential contender and one-time challenger to Barack Obama, announcing that he will throw his support behind the current front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination¹. Edwards made the announcement at this hour at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan with Obama at his side, an endorsement² the former North Carolina senator has stayed mum about for four months.

"There is one man who knows and understands that this is a time for bold leadership. There is one man that knows how to create the change, the lasting³ change, that you have to build from the ground up. There is one man who knows in his heart that it is time to create one America, not two. And that man is Barack Obama. "

Edwards started his remarks by praising Obama's rival for the nomination, Hillary Clinton. The endorsement by Edwards comes just one day after Clinton defeated Obama by a more than two-to-one margin⁴ in West Virginia's primary.

President Bush is visiting Israel to mark the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Jewish state. Speaking at a gala celebrating the anniversary of Israeli-US friendship, the president said the two countries share democratic values.

"We believe that the surest way to defeat the enemies of hatred⁵ is to advance the cause of hope to the cause of freedom, liberty as the great alternative to tyranny and terror."

Meanwhile, as President Bush visited Israel to help mark the state's anniversary, a rocket fired from Gaza exploded in a shopping center in southern Israel, wounding at least ten people. NPR's Linda Gradstein reports.

An Israeli police spokesman said the 122-millimeter Katyusha rocket hit the third floor of a shopping center in downtown Ashkelon, about nine miles from Israel's border with Gaza. Among those wounded were a woman and her eight-year-old daughter, both of whom suffered head injuries. A small group, The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, took responsibility for the attacks. The rocket strike came as President Bush wrapped up talks with the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Speaking before the rocket attack, Olmert said Israel will not tolerate continuous attacks on innocent civilians⁶. Meanwhile in Gaza, hospital officials said Israeli troops killed two Hamas gunmen and two civilians in an incursion and an air strike earlier today. Linda Gradstein, NPR News, Jerusalem.

Rescuers in China, for the first time, are reaching the area at the epicenter of this week's massive 7. 9 magnitude earthquake. In one area located near the quake's center, Chinese media reports rescuers found just 2, 300 survivors⁷ in a town of 10, 000 people. Authorities today up the death toll⁸ in the wake of the devastating⁹ earthquake to 15,000. Though, it's expected that number will go much higher.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 66 points to close at 12, 898. The NASDAQ was up 1. 5 points today. The S&P 500 added five points.

This is NPR News.

House lawmakers, by a strong, veto-proof majority, have passed a 290-billion-dollar farm bill. That measure would offer additional subsidies¹⁰ to the nation's farmers as well as food stamps to the poor and special projects lawmakers would be able to bring home to their districts in an election year. The House signed off on the bill on a 318-to-106 vote despite President Bush’s promised veto. Mr. Bush has said the measure is too expensive and provides too much aid to wealthy farmers.

Astronomers¹¹ say they've discovered the aftermath of a spectacular stellar explosion that happened only about 100 years ago. It is the youngest supernova known in our galaxy¹². NPR's Richard Harris has the story.

We are all made from carbon and similar atoms that were cooked up in supernovas. So, astronomers are naturally drawn¹³ to these extraordinary celestial¹⁴ events. Judging by how common they are in deep space, our own Milky¹⁵ Way galaxy should produce two or three of them per century. So far though, astronomers haven't found nearly that many. The youngest supernova known from the Milky Way was about 340 years old. But now, astronomers say they've found the remnant of a supernova that may be only 100 years old. Skywatchers didn't see it at the time it exploded because it's near the center of the galaxy, so it was hidden by gas and dust. But it was sleuthed out, using the modern tools of astronomy: a radio telescope on the ground and an X-ray telescope in orbit around the earth. Richard Harris, NPR News.

Labor¹⁶ Department reported today the Consumer Price Index, the government's broadest inflation gauge¹⁷, was up a scant¹⁸ two-tenths of one percent last month. Excluding volatile¹⁹ food and energy, the so-called core rate of inflation rose just one-tenth of one percent.

Once again, repeating this hour's top story: John Edwards has made it official. He is endorsing²⁰ Barack Obama in the Democratic race.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

5 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

6 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。

7 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

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

13 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

14 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

15 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

16 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

17 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

18 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

19 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

20 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网