NPR 2009-06-13

The polls have now closed across Iran after a day that saw a massive number of Iranians cast their votes for president. NPR's Mike Shuster reports from Tehran.

From early in the morning when the polls opened until late at night, Iranians besieged¹ the polling stations, in many cases in lines so long they had to wait up two hours to vote. The government kept the polls open for four extra hours to accommodate all the voters. The election was essentially² a referendum on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's performance as president. Former Prime Minister and reformer 0Mir-Hossein Mousavi is Ahmadinejad's primary challenger. Mousavi's campaign allowed millions of the president's opponents to voice their disdain³ for him and his policies. The election was not marred⁴ by any major problems, although the Mousavi campaign did complain its monitors were being barred from some polling stations. Iran's Interior Ministry⁵ has warned partisans⁶ of the candidates not to demonstrate or gather in large numbers while the vote counting is taking place. Mike Shuster, NPR News, Tehran.

Congress has approved and President Obama is expected to sign a bill that will give the Food and Drug Administration broad new powers over the tobacco industry. That will include putting in place stringent⁷ new limits on the manufacturing and marketing⁸ of tobacco products, something President Obama speaking at the White House today said industry foes⁹ have long sought.

"After a decade of opposition¹⁰, all of us are finally about to achieve the victory with this bill, a bill that truly defines change in Washington."

It's estimated that nearly 20% of Americans smoke. Mr. Obama who has admitted his own battles with tobaccos said he looks forward to signing the legislation. The FDA would also have the final say over such claims as light or low tar¹¹ made by tobacco makers¹².

The UN Security Council has unanimously agreed to put in place new sanctions on North Korea to punish it for its recent nuclear tests. The US ambassador said the sanctions are very tough with, as she put it, "teeth that will bite". NPR's Michele Kelemen has more.

The US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said the resolution that passed 15:0 includes a complete embargo¹³ on North Korean arms exports and imposes sweeping¹⁴ new financial sanctions. She described the resolution as innovative¹⁵ and said it sets out a tough inspections¹⁶ regime for any suspicious North Korean cargo¹⁷ shipments.

"We needed to demonstrate and today we have demonstrated, that provocative¹⁸ reckless actions come at a cost and that North Korea will pay a price for its actions."

China's UN ambassador said countries should act prudently¹⁹ with the inspections and he called on North Korea to return to disarmament talks and act with restraint. Ambassador Rice said she wouldn't be surprised if North Korea reacted with further provocation²⁰. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average wound up the week with a gain of 28 points. The S&P 500 was up a point today.

This is NPR.

Defense²¹ Secretary Robert Gates said the US and its allies must do more to reduce the civilian²² death toll²³ in Afghanistan. Calling such deaths resulting from the ongoing²⁴ fight with the Taliban, "one of our greatest strategic vulnerabilities", the Defense Secretary made his comments in Europe today, where he is consulting with NATO allies. Mounting civilian casualties have been a source of tension between the US and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Karzai has demanded the US-led coalition²⁵ forces reduce the number of civilian deaths.

A young US woman standing²⁶ trial in Italy for the murder of her British roommate today took / the stand. Amanda Knox accused police of beating her and forcing her to make statements against her will. NPR's sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome.

Amanda Knox alternated between English and Italian as she told the court where she was on November 1st, 2007. That's when British exchange student Meredith Kercher was murdered in the apartment they shared in the university town of Perugia. Knox said she and her Italian boyfriend and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, were at his apartment where they smoked a marijuana joint²⁷, had sex and then fell asleep. On the stand, Knox said she was confused that the day after the killing²⁸, she was beaten by police when she was questioned. “The declarations were taken against my will”, Knox told the court. She said police called her a stupid liar²⁹ and accused her of trying to protect someone. If found guilty, Knox and her co-defendant could face Italy's stiffest penalty: life in prison. A verdict is expected in the fall. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

Crude oil futures³⁰ prices ended the week down slightly. That's after some recent run-ups. The price of crude was down 64 cents a barrel to end the session at 72.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

I'm Jack³¹ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 disdain   

n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑

参考例句：

• Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
• A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。

4 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 partisans   

游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙

参考例句：

• Every movement has its partisans. 每一运动都有热情的支持者。
• He was rescued by some Italian partisans. 他被几名意大利游击队员所救。

7 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

8 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

9 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

10 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。

11 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

12 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

14 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

15 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

16 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

18 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

19 prudently   

adv. 谨慎地，慎重地

参考例句：

• He prudently pursued his plan. 他谨慎地实行他那计划。
• They had prudently withdrawn as soon as the van had got fairly under way. 他们在蓬车安全上路后立即谨慎地离去了。

20 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

21 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。

22 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

23 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。

24 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

25 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。

26 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

27 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。

28 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。

29 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

30 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

31 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。