NPR 2008-07-07

A US airstrike in eastern Afghanistan this morning was aimed at a gathering¹ of insurgents². But local officials claimed that at least 27 civilians³ were killed. The victims, who were said to be walking to a wedding, included the bride and other women and children. But the US is denying that charge. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports it was the second disputed incident this weekend.

On Friday, US helicopters were accused of killing⁴ more than 20 civilians traveling in two vans in Nuristan province to the north. The US-led coalition⁵ denied the allegations, however. A spokesman says in both cases, US aircraft tracked and struck only combatants. Still, US Army General David McKiernan, who heads NATO forces in Afghanistan, told NPR that both incidents are being investigated. He says that Western forces take every precaution to try and prevent such casualties, which is not easy when militants⁶ often hide among civilians. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered his own investigation⁷ into the airstrikes. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Kabul.

President Bush and other G8 leaders are in Japan for a summit of the world's major industrialized nations. At a news conference today, Mr. Bush said not to go to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing would be an affront⁸ to the Chinese people. A number of groups have urged Mr. Bush to stay away from the event, given China's human rights record. But the president said he disagrees with that logic⁹. "I don't need the Olympics to express my concerns. I've been doing so. "

 Demonstrators have begun a series of protests near the site of the summit. NPR's Allison Keyes reports.

 From soaring food and gas prices to poverty, to climate change, the nations have a smorgasbord of issues on the agenda.  Ciara O'Sullivan is one of the demonstrators and activists¹⁰ who have converged¹¹ on the site from around the world. "People have gone online and asked for more money to be spent on education, more money to be spent on health, on HIV/AIDS. " The US faces pressure to take action to stabilize¹² the dollar. Britain is advocating united action against poverty. And Germany wants the summit to tackle soaring food prices. France says the gathering is unfair, because  no Arab, African or Latin American country, or China, or India, are members of the G8. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

 Firefighters in California are hoping to capitalize on favorable weather conditions as they try to contain hundreds of wildfires including two major blazes. Fire Information Officer Mark Savage¹³ is with crews fighting a stubborn fire in the Big Sur area that has spread to more than 100 square miles of land. "High pressure is moving in. It's gonna increase temperatures, lower humidities in the next few days, and it's the things that we'd really like to have done before that happens. So, we're working very, very aggressively to get resources in. " To the south, in Santa Barbara County, fire crews are dropping flame-retardant chemicals by helicopters to slow the spread of a blaze that's forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 homes.

 This is NPR News.

 In the former Soviet¹⁴ Republic of Georgia, there've been several explosions near the frontier between government-controlled territory and areas controlled by Russian-backed separatists. Lawrence Sheets has the story from Tbilisi.

 Georgian officials said five explosions went off near the de facto border with Abkhazia, a separatist region in the west of the country. One of the blasts went off under a police car, injuring a local law enforcement official. Georgia accused Russia of shipping¹⁵ arms into Abkhazia. The separatist province has effectively become a protectorate of Russia. But it is internationally recognized as part of Georgia. Russia blamed Georgia for the attacks. Moscow, however, does back Abkhazia militarily. The explosions followed clashes two days ago between Georgian troops and separatists in South Ossetia, another Russian-backed separatist region. Russia is angry over Georgia's drive to join NATO. Moscow says it has drawn¹⁶ a so-called "red line" to prevent Georgia from joining the Western alliance. For NPR News, I'm Lawrence Sheets in Tbilisi, Georgia.

 In a marathon showdown at Wimbledon, Raphael Nadal has defeated defending champion Roger Federer. The two top-ranked players endured rain delays, gusty¹⁷ winds and the onset¹⁸ of darkness as they battled it out through five sets. Federer said it was probably the hardest loss of his career. "It was a fair battle, which was tough with the rain delays and, you know, some great points and, really I just think we,we both played tough till the very end, you know. In tennis, unfortunately, sometimes there has to be winners and losers. You know, there's no draws. " Federer had won 40 matches in a row at Wimbledon and a record 65 in a row on grass courts before today. Nadal became the first man in 28 years to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same season.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 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。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 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。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 affront   

n./v.侮辱，触怒

参考例句：

• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
• This remark caused affront to many people.这句话得罪了不少人。

9 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

13 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

14 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

15 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

16 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。

17 gusty   

adj.起大风的

参考例句：

• Weather forecasts predict more hot weather,gusty winds and lightning strikes.天气预报预测高温、大风和雷电天气将继续。
• Why was Candlestick Park so windy and gusty? 埃德尔斯蒂克公园里为什么会有那么多的强劲阵风？

18 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。