NPR 2009-03-02

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Carol Van Dam.

A powerful winter storm is dumping snow on southern states including Alabama and Georgia, and is soon expected to blanket North Carolina before it turns northward¹. The system is expected to dump several inches of snow on northeastern states. In Pennsylvania, the National Weather Service says Philadelphia could get as much as 14 inches by tonight. Gene² Blaum of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says people are bracing³ for the worst. "We'll have 400 trucks out throughout the five-county Philadelphia region as the storm beginning early this evening, and we will be on top of the storm throughout the morning." More than a foot is expected around New York City.

The nation's top military official says he's optimistic US troops will accomplish their new mission in Iraq. Admiral Mike Mullen appeared on two of the Sunday talk shows. The appearances bolstered⁴ President Obama's recent announcement detailing his withdrawal⁵ plans for Iraq. NPR's Kate Davidson has more.

The Chairman of the Joint⁶ Chiefs of Staff told Fox News Sunday that conditions are set for the Iraqi government to assume control of the country. But, he did not speak of victory. "I'm a little bit reluctant to talk specifically about winning and losing. We've turned it around over the last two years, and in great part that's because of our incredible young men and women who've served us so well." Mr. Obama's plan calls for all combat troops to leave Iraq by August 2010. A transitional force would remain temporarily. Mullen said the president arrived at his decision through a very deliberate and very thorough consultation⁷ with military leaders. He added that if past is prologue⁸, he expects the president to continue listening if conditions in Iraq should change. Kate Davidson, NPR News, Washington.

European Union leaders held an emergency summit today to device strategies for combating the global financial crisis, but also to dispel⁹ the appearance of deep rifts¹⁰ between Eastern and Western Europe. As Teri Schultz reports, EU officials say they've achieved both.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy in particular has been under fire from many other EU governments, especially those in Central and Eastern Europe, for his bailout plan for French automakers along with his recommendation they keep industry jobs home in France. But after today's discussions, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who presided over the meeting, said it was now clear no member was enacting¹¹ protectionist policies. And European Commission President José Manuel Barroso insisted the bitter differences of view had been overcome. "And I'd like to underline the high level of convergence that was achieved during this meeting, in fact, a meeting of minds and a meeting of purpose." One topic which did not find support was Hungary's call for a special aid program for the newer members hardest hit by the financial crisis. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Egypt today. It's her first stop on a visit to the Middle East and Europe. She'll be attending a donors¹²' conference on Gaza and is pledging about 900 million dollars for the Palestinians. She says the trick is to figure out how to get the aid to the people without it falling into the hands of Hamas.

This is NPR.

President Obama is expected to announce tomorrow that Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is his nominee¹³ for Health and Human Services Secretary. Sebelius was praised by several Republican governors today on TV talk shows. She's also receiving favorable reviews from the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Montana Democratic Senator Max Baucus. That panel will handle her nomination¹⁴ hearings.

A Chinese spacecraft crashed into the surface of the moon today. The impact had been planned as part of the mission of the unmanned space probe called “Chang'e”. Patt Duggins of member station WMFE reports.

Today's crash landing of the “Chang'e” spacecraft followed its mission to orbit the moon to create a map of its surface. The box-shaped probe named for a Chinese moon goddess was launched aboard a Long March rocket back in 2007. It's only the latest achievement for that country's growing space program. China became only the third nation to launch a man into orbit when astronaut Yang Liwei circled the earth 14 times in 2003. A follow-up mission last year included China's first spacewalk. A docking flight between two of that country's Shenzhou space capsules is scheduled for 2011. China says it also wants to build a space station and land a man on the moon. For NPR News, I'm Patt Duggins in Orlando.

Defense¹⁵ Secretary Robert Gates says Iran is not anywhere close to possessing a nuclear weapon. And he says that gives the US and other allies time to try to convince Tehran to abandon its suspected nuclear arms program. Gates told NBC's “Meet the Press” today that the continuing focus has been on how to get the Iranians to walk away from an atomic weapons program. Washington suspects Tehran of using its nuclear energy program to build an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists its program is for peaceful purposes only.

I'm Carol Van Dam, NPR News, in Washington.

1 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

3 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

4 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

8 prologue   

n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕

参考例句：

• A poor wedding is a prologue to misery.不幸的婚姻是痛苦的开始。
• The prologue to the novel is written in the form of a newspaper account.这本小说的序言是以报纸报道的形式写的。

9 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

10 rifts   

n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 )；裂隙；分裂；不和

参考例句：

• After that, through the rifts in the inky clouds sparkled redder and yet more luminous particles. 然后在几条墨蓝色云霞的隙缝里闪出几个更红更亮的小片。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• The Destinies mend rifts in time as man etches fate. 当人类想要再次亵渎命运的时候，命运及时修正了这些裂痕。 来自互联网

11 enacting   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Generally these statutes apply only to wastes from reactors outside the enacting state. 总之，这些法令只适宜用在对付那些来自外州的核废料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• In addition, the complexion of enacting standards for live working is described. 另外，介绍了带电作业标准的制订情况。

12 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。