NPR 2010-01-14

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

With thousands feared dead from yesterday’s massive earthquake in Haiti, the Pentagon is gearing up to send thousands of troops, cargo¹ planes and ships to help the battered² nation. President Obama promised earlier to launch an all-out rescue and humanitarian³ effort to help the Haitian people. David Wimhurst, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission, spoke⁴ to NPR from Port-au-Prince. He says the level of destruction around the UN mission which is on the grounds of the Haiti’s airport is devastating⁵. “There are bodies on the roads, there are destroyed buildings, there are crashed cars, I mean, and if you go out into the city, the situation just gets worse and worse.” NPR's Tom Bowman has more on the US military’s response to the earthquake.

Navy and Coast Guard reconnaissance planes are flying over Haiti in an effort to determine the scope of the damage, Pentagon officials say. Meanwhile, a military assessment⁶ team is expected to arrive in Haiti sometime today to pinpoint⁷ how much assistance is needed. One official tells NPR we can’t send aid until we know the scope of the problem. The US Air Force is ready to fly in humanitarian medical supplies aboard C-130 cargo planes once are given the go-ahead, and Navy ships in North Virginia are on standby to get underway with additional supplies. Tom Bowman NPR News, the Pentagon.

In south Florida, a pastor⁸ in the Haitian-American Community says everyone is in shock right now. About 275,000 Haitians live in south Florida. One elementary school principal in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood says there was a lot of crying this morning, especially from the older ones.

Secret notes revealed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair promised President George. W. Bush that the UK would join military action in Iraq a year before the actual invasion. Larry Miller⁹ has more from London.

Britain’s inquiry¹⁰ into the Iraq War was told by key Blair aide Alastair Campbell the military commitment to take part in an American-led invasion was outlined in a series of secret notes to President Bush in 2002. Blair’s former spokesman revealed the private notes about overthrowing¹¹ Saddam Hussein were so sensitive they may not have been seen by Britain's Defense¹² Secretary. Campbell defended the part he played in drawing up the now discredited¹³ dossier, suggesting Iraq had weapons of massive destruction, though he denied asking intelligence chief to beef up the evidence. He also denied Blair misled parliament to secure a vote for war. Blair himself is expected to testify to the inquiry in the next few weeks. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

The trial of a US trained scientist charged with shooting at FBI agents in Afghanistan is underway in Manhattan. Dr. Aafia Siddiqui told juries I'm boycotting¹⁴ the trial just to let all of you know. She then placed her head on the defense table and remained silent while prosecutors¹⁵ flashed a photo of her on a television monitor.

On Wall Street at this hour, the Dow Industrials are up 45 points to 10,662. The NASDAQ is up 18.

This is NPR.

President Obama plans to announce a new fee on big banks tomorrow to try to recoup the money taxpayers¹⁶ spent on the financial bailout. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says Wall Street executives still think nothing has changed. He says White House will also call on bank executives to issue an apology to the nation. Meantime, four big Wall Street bankers are being grilled¹⁷ on Capitol Hill. A panel is looking into the causes of the financial meltdown and deciding whether the bankers have learned their lesson after employing risky¹⁸ lending practices.

A bill intended to severely¹⁹ penalize²⁰ gay people in Uganda may be withdrawn²¹ from parliament. NPR’s Gwen Tompkins has this report form Nairobi.

Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but the Anti-Homosexuality Bill introduced in parliament last fall goes even further. The bill would in some instances seek the death penalty against gay people, but following international investment and intense criticism from aboard has prompted a change in tone from Uganda’s formally enthusiastic government. President Yoweri Museveni now says the government must take into account foreign policy interests. Speaking to party members, Museveni reportedly said, the Prime Minister of Canada came to see me and what was he talking about? Gays; British Prime Minister Gordon Brown came to see me and what was he talking about? Gays; Secretary of States Mrs. Clinton rang me and what was she talking about? Gays. Gwen Tompkins, NPR News, Nairobi.

Tiffany stained glass and large crystal chandeliers from the Tavern²² on the Green in New York City are on the auction²³ block today. The landmark²⁴ restaurant's dining area has been converted to a temporary auction space. Other items for sale include copper²⁵ weather vanes and garden furniture. The Tavern was 8 million dollars in debt.

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

1 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。

2 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。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

6 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

7 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

8 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

11 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

14 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

15 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

16 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

17 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

18 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

19 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

20 penalize   

vt.对…处以刑罚，宣告…有罪；处罚

参考例句：

• It would be unfair to penalize those without a job.失业人员待遇低下是不公平的。
• The association decided not to penalize you for the race.赛马协会决定对你不予处罚。

21 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。

22 tavern   

n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店

参考例句：

• There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角处有一家酒馆。
• Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦总是心情愉快地来到这家酒菜馆。

23 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

24 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

25 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。