NPR 2009-01-20

President-elect Barack Obama is spending his inauguration¹ eve observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is called a national day of community service. At a Washington D. C. high school, Mr. Obama pledged to provide service opportunities every day of the year. "If we're waiting for somebody else to do something, it never gets done. We're gonna have to take responsibility, all of us. And so this is not just a one-day affair. "People from all across the country are already crowding into the nation's capital, for tomorrow's historic inauguration of the first African-American president in the United States. NPR's Trina Williams reports the city is ready.

So many people are expected for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration that officials have anticipated the Capitol swearing-in site won't be able to accommodate everyone. So, the expected overflow² is being encouraged to watch from the National Mall, home to Smithsonian museums, the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. Security will be tight with most bridges into the district closing early Tuesday morning. Many roads in the city also will be closed to vehicle traffic. Celebrities³ are among those in town. Many performed at Sunday's Lincoln Memorial concert. They will also be on hand to perform at inaugural⁴ balls, official and unofficial, which are being held through Tuesday night. Oprah Winfrey has brought her show to the district. She's broadcasting from the Kennedy Center. Trina Williams, NPR News, Washington.

In one of his last official acts, President Bush today commuted⁵ the prison sentences of two former Border Patrol agents, who were convicted of shooting an unarmed Mexican drug dealer⁶ and several other charges. The former agents have been sentenced to prison for ten years. Both Republicans and Democrats⁷ urged the president to intervene, arguing the sentences were too harsh.

Israel's prime minister says Israeli troops will be fully⁸ withdrawn⁹ from Gaza by tomorrow if the ceasefire with Hamas holds. Meanwhile, the king of Saudi Arabia says his country will donate one billion dollars to help rebuild Gaza badly battered¹⁰ by the 21-day Israeli offensive. Gaza is at the top of the agenda of an Arab economic summit taking place in Kuwait. Dale Gavlak, details.

Saudi King Abdullah criticized Israel at the summit's opening, saying it used excessive force in Gaza. He called the one drop of Palestinian blood more valuable than all the money in the world. Summit host Kuwait's Emir Sheik Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah called for practical steps to be taken by Arab countries to help stabilize¹¹ the ceasefire in Gaza. Arab leaders are also expected to discuss ways to deal with the impact of the global financial crisis that has so far cost the economies of their countries 2. 5 trillion dollars. Many wished to accelerate Arab economic integration¹², including the launch next year of an Arab customs union and power and grid¹³ and railway projects. For NPR News, I'm Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan.

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In Iraq, a leading Sunni politician has been assassinated¹⁴ ahead of provincial¹⁵ elections at the end of this month. A suicide bomber¹⁶ armed with a machine-gun shot his way into a guesthouse, where Hassan Zaidan al-Luhaibi was staying, and then detonated a vest full of explosives. Al-Luhaibi was the deputy leader of one of the main Sunni parties in parliament.

The Czech government has approved plans to increase its number of troops in Afghanistan, but as Bruce Konviser reports from Prague, the increase is smaller than originally called for, because of strong political opposition¹⁷.

The government approved plans to add just 80 more troops to its contingency¹⁸ in Afghanistan. The original plan called for 200 additional troops, but that was rejected by parliament in December. The failed bill also called for extending the mandate¹⁹ of Czech troops abroad, most notably²⁰ in Afghanistan and Kosovo. With their mandate due to expire at the end of the year, the government was forced to pass a 60-day extension to maintain the troop deployments. The new plan approved by the minority government is set to meet some of the requirements of the leading opposition party, and appears to have a good chance of winning support in parliament. The US is asking its NATO allies to increase its troop commitments in Afghanistan in order to combat the growing insurgency²¹ there. For NPR News, I'm Bruce Konviser in Prague.

Russia and Ukraine have signed an agreement that will resume natural gas supplies to Ukraine and Europe. Moscow has stopped shipping²² gas to a frozen Europe nearly two weeks ago because of a contract dispute with Kiev. Under the deal, Ukraine will pay 20 percent less than Europe does for Russian gas, and Russia will get preferential transit²³ fees.

1 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

2 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。

3 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

4 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

5 commuted   

通勤( commute的过去式和过去分词 )； 减（刑）； 代偿

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment. 他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• The death sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment. 死刑可能減为无期徒刑。

6 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

7 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》

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

10 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

11 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。

12 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

13 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

14 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

15 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

16 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

17 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。

18 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

19 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

20 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

21 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

22 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。

23 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。