NPR 2009-09-12

On this eighth anniversary of the terror attacks that prompted the US invasion of Afghanistan, a leading Senate Democrat¹ has demanded that far more Afghanistan security forces be trained. Until that happens, Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin says no further commitment should be made to send more US troops to Afghanistan. More from NPR's David Welna.

With a request expected soon from the top US military commander in Afghanistan for more US forces, Armed Services Chairman Levin said the emphasis should be on training more Afghan forces.

“We need a surge of Afghan security forces. Our support of their surge will show our commitment to the success of a mission that is clearly in our national security interests without creating a bigger US military footprint that provides propaganda fodder³ for the Taliban.”

John McCain, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said he too thinks more Afghan troops should be trained.

“But without a significantly increased troop presence, that training alone will not succeed.”

McCain said what’s needed in Afghanistan is a surge in US forces. David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.

Dignitaries and families of those killed in the Sep. 11th terror attacks gathered in New York today at Ground Zero, to commemorate⁴ the dead. NPR’s David Folkenflik has this report.

On a blustery wet morning, survivors⁵ and people active in public service gathered by the site where the World Trade Center Towers once stood and read aloud the names of those who died one by one. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said New York City would be the first to take up President Obama’s designation of each 9/11 as an annually⁶ recognized day of service, honoring those who answered the call to try to save others amid the carnage.

“We will safeguard the memories of those who died by rekindling⁷ the spirit of service that lit our city with hope.”

Vice² President Joe Biden attended as well, invoking⁸ the words of the poet, Mary Oliver, to remind Americans that while bound by grief, they are also united by the joys of daily life. David Folkenflik, NPR News, New York.

Signs of higher sales at the wholesale⁹ level along with a boost in consumer sentiment are the latest indicators¹⁰ to give credence¹¹ to an improving economy. The Commerce Department reported today wholesale sales rose 0.5% in July while stockpiles on shelves and backlogs¹² fell. Meanwhile, a Reuters/University of Michigan Survey showed the Consumer Confidence Index last month up by nearly five points. Bill Cheney is an economist¹³ with John Hancock Financial.

“This number was definitely up quite significantly well up, and now above the lows from last winter to be fairly confident that consumers are feeling better and ‘feeling better’ means ultimately spending more.”

Economist Bill Cheney.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended the week down 22 points to close at 9, 605. This is NPR.

Coast Guard officials are defending what they say was a routine training exercise on the Potomac River today that briefly¹⁴ set off a major scare. The exercise picked up on closed circuit radio channels, discussed shots being fired at what was termed "a suspicious vessel¹⁵". The incident prompted media reports and sent the FBI agents scrambling¹⁶ to the scene that also led to a brief grounding of planes at nearby National Airport. Coast Guard officials defended the drill even though today marked the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, saying such exercises occur every day. Confusion was brought to mind in an event earlier this year in New York, when a presidential airliner¹⁷ and two F-16 jets were flown low over the city, as part of the White House photo shoot.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has apologized on behalf of the British government for the way of a brilliant World War Two code-breaker was treated for being gay. NPR’s Rob Gifford reports.

Gordon Brown’s statement comes as a result of a petition signed by 30, 000 people, including many public figures, calling for a posthumous¹⁸ apology for Alan Turing. Turing was a brilliant mathematician¹⁹ who helped crack Nazi²⁰ Germany’s Enigma²¹ communications code, which proved to be a turning point in World War Two. But Turing was gay at a time when homosexual activity was still illegal in Britain. And in 1952, he was prosecuted²² for gross indecency. He was given experimental chemical castration as a treatment and his security privileges were removed. Two years later at the age of 41, he committed suicide. Gordon Brown, writing in the Daily Telegraph newspaper said while Alan Turing was dealt with under the law of the time, his treatment was of course utterly²³ unfair. Rob Gifford, NPR News, London.

Crude oil futures²⁴ fell $2.50 a barrel to close at $69.44 a barrel.

I'm Jack²⁵ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 fodder   

n.草料；炮灰

参考例句：

• Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
• Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。

4 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

7 rekindling   

v.使再燃( rekindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There might be a rekindling of the kind of nationalistic fervour of yesteryear. 过去的国家主义狂热可能再次被点燃。 来自互联网
• Bryant and O'Neal on the floor at the same time, rekindling memories both good and bad. 科比和奥尼尔在地板上在同一时间，死灰复燃的回忆有好有坏。 来自互联网

8 invoking   

v.援引( invoke的现在分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• You can customise the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You can customize the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自辞典例句

9 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

10 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

11 credence   

n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证

参考例句：

• Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
• Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。

12 backlogs   

积压未办之事( backlog的名词复数 )； 没交付的订货； 备用； 备用物

参考例句：

• "You'll need kindling and medium wood and logs and backlogs. “点火柴、引火柴、原木、垫底的，你都用得着。” 来自名作英译部分
• Our manufacturers have heavy backlogs on their hands. 我们的生产厂商手头有许多积压而没有交付的订单。

13 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

14 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

15 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

16 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

18 posthumous   

adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的

参考例句：

• He received a posthumous award for bravery.他表现勇敢，死后受到了嘉奖。
• The legendary actor received a posthumous achievement award.这位传奇男星在过世后获得终身成就奖的肯定。

19 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

20 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

21 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

22 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

23 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

24 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。

25 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。