NPR 2008-07-04

Campaigning in Fargo, North Dakota today, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said if elected, he still plans to bring troops home from Iraq. However, the presumptive Democratic nominee¹ also said that depending on what he learns from an upcoming visit to Iraq, he may refine his policy, and he said any troop withdrawal² would be phased in. "I have seen no information that contradicts the notion that we can bring our troops out safely at a pace of one to two brigades per month. And again, that pace translates into having our combat troops out in sixteen months' time. So, the last point I would just make is that this is the same position that I had four months ago. It's the same position that I had eight months ago. It's the same position that I had twelve months ago. " Republicans were quick to say Obama appears to be reversing himself, including his previous hard-line opposition³ to the war. Republican John McCain has been a vocal⁴ supporter of current Iraq war policy.

The Pentagon is extending the tour of 2,200 marines sent to Afghanistan earlier this year and expected to come home in October. Now, those troops will stay an extra 30 days. NPR's Tom Bowman reports.

Defense⁶ Secretary Robert Gates sent the Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina to Afghanistan in March for seven months. Gates said recently he’d be loath⁷ to add to that time. Now, the Pentagon is extending the 24th Marine⁵ Expeditionary Unit, because NATO and other countries are not sending enough combat forces. Twenty-eight American troops were killed in Afghanistan last month, making June the deadliest month for American forces in Afghanistan since 2001, when a US-led invasion overthrew⁸ the Taliban government. This week, the nation's top military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, told reporters more troops are needed in Afghanistan, saying he can't send any more until he can reduce American forces in Iraq. Tom Bowman, NPR News, the Pentagon.

Treasury⁹ Secretary Henry Paulson wound up a European trip in London, where he admitted politicians are limited to what they can do about the cost of oil. Larry Miller¹⁰ reports.

Treasury Secretary Paulson warned there will be no quick fix that will slow or bring down the oil price. He told a London news conference there are short-term questions about the ability of oil producers to meet demand. Paulson said the cost of oil is serving as a strong headwind which will prolong the global economic slowdown. The treasury secretary and his British counterpart Alistair Darling warned that both countries must urgently become less dependent on oil and promote investment in renewable alternatives. Paulson said he wants more transparency from oil producers about their reserves. His comments come as the oil price hit a new record and after the Saudi oil minister said his country has no plans to increase production further. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

On Wall Street, in a holiday-shortened trading day, the Dow gained 73 points. The NASDAQ was down six points.

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An internal State Department report is suggesting that some employees may have spent more time looking at the passport records of celebrities¹¹ than previously¹² disclosed. (The) report from the Inspector¹³ General's Office examined the records of 150 politicians, athletes and entertainers, and found 127 of them, or 85%, had been accessed more than 4, 100 times between September of 2002 and March of 2008. Of those 150 files, nine had been looked at more than 100 times.

 One of the nation's largest grocery store chains is expanding its voluntary recall of ground beef products, and is asking customers to check items they may have at home. From member station WVXU in Cincinnati, Katie Orr reports.

The Kroger Company is recalling ground beef products in more than 20 states. Spokeswoman Meghan Glynn says the recall affects products from supplier, Nebraska Beef, with sell-by dates of May 21st or later, because they may be contaminated with E. coli. Glynn says Kroger is taking precautions to prevent further sales of the affected¹⁴ items. "All the ground beef supplied to us by Nebraska Beef, based on information the USDA gave us, has been removed from our stores. And ground beef for sale in our stores across the country, as of yesterday and today, that ground beef is from other suppliers. " Glynn says customers should check any ground beef products they might have at home and either throw out or return affected items. For NPR News, I'm Katie Orr in Cincinnati.

Serena Williams has set herself up for a third Wimbledon final against her older sister Venus, defeating Zheng Jie 6-2, 7-6. The two-time winner had little trouble fending¹⁵ off her Chinese challenger, the first woman to ever make it to the semi-finals from China.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

3 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。

4 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

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 loath   

adj.不愿意的；勉强的

参考例句：

• The little girl was loath to leave her mother.那小女孩不愿离开她的母亲。
• They react on this one problem very slow and very loath.他们在这一问题上反应很慢，很不情愿。

8 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

9 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

10 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

11 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

15 fending   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的现在分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He is always spending his time fending with the neighbors. 他总是与邻里们吵架。 来自互联网
• Fifth, it is to build safeguarding system and enhance the competence in fending off the risk. 五是建立政策保障体系，提高防范和抵御风险的能力。 来自互联网