NPR 2010-01-17

From NPR News, in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

 

Frustration¹ is mounting in the Haitian capital where millions of earthquake survivors² are spending a fourth day without fresh food, water or medicine. Many are also working alongside international rescuers to find the countless³ number of missing people since the quake struck Tuesday. The death toll⁴ is expected to reach the tens of thousands. NPR's Jackie Northam is in Port-au-Prince where she says rescuers are having a very difficult time reaching survivors still trapped in the rubble⁵ of collapsed⁶ buildings.

 

"To get here, you have to travel through these roads hole, just crowds  of people and we saw some looting going on and local militias⁷ have set up. So between those two things and the rubble from all the buildings have collapsed in this area, it was a really slow process. But we're here now. And they are just about to start searching this hotel that has collapsed. They're just about to send the first dog in. " NPR's Jackie Northam reporting.

 

At the US's main relief coordination⁸ site in Homestead, Florida, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is urging private citizens not to charter flights to Haiti so the government aid can get through. "Yesterday, there were 48 lifts into Haiti, 17 of those came from here. We're hoping that that number increases very shortly to 60. We don't know the number of those that would be from the United States or from here. So that precious airspace is like gold right now. "

 

A US naval⁹ vessel¹⁰ has left from Baltimore for Haiti to offer medical support to survivors. The USS Comfort, is a 900-foot ship that is a fully¹¹ functioning and self-contained hospital. Sabri Ben Achour of member station WAMU is aboard that ship.

 

"It has laboratories, radiology facilities, several types of surgical¹² facilities. And it has enough beds to hold up to 1, 000 patients and see several hundred everyday rotating through. It's not expected to arrive before Thursday and by then medical officials acknowledge that people who were the most seriously injured and have not been treated, probably will have died. But they still feel there is a lot of surgical need there. Beyond that, they're going to be providing primary care and infrastructure¹³ support and even water support for at least six months according to the navy surgeon general. " That's WAMU Sabri Ben Achour reporting from that ship.

 

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is due to arrive shortly in the Haitian capital. She is scheduled to meet with Haitian President Rene Preval.

 

A boat smuggling¹⁴ nearly two dozen illegal immigrants into the US has capsized in the waters off California. Authorities say one person was killed, several others were wounded, two of them critically. They believe eight people are still missing. The San Diego Newspaper reports more than 100 emergency crews were involved in the rescue operation.

 

This is NPR.

 

The nation's top railroad official says it is still could be several weeks before the Obama administration is ready to award funding for high-speed rail projects across the country. President Obama announced last April that he was setting aside 8 billion dollars in stimulus¹⁵ funds for high-speed rail. NPR's David Schaper has this from Chicago.

 

When Mr. Obama announced his vision for high-speed rail, he said the 8 billion dollars would begin to go out to ready projects before the end of last summer. But that time line was significantly delayed when the Federal Railroad Administration was flooded with applications from more than 30 states, seeking more than 50 billion dollars. FRA administrator¹⁶ Joseph Szabo denies his staff was overwhelmed, but says it has been challenging, evaluating the merits of the proposed high-speed rail projects. He says the 8 billion will be awarded to the most worthy¹⁷ corridor sometime this winter, but he refuses to be any more specific.

 

"Well, winter started three weeks ago, and there is nine more weeks to go. So obviously that window would be December 21 to March 21. "

 

Szabo made the comments after a speech at a high-speed rail conference in Chicago. David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

 

Yesterday, at least three more banks were shut down as a result of the US financial crisis. Federal regulators closed sites in Utah, Illinois and Minnesota, bringing the total number of closures to four so far this year.

 

The US has released the names of 645 prisoners held at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, some of whom have been there for years. The Defense¹⁸ Department decided¹⁹ to disclose the detainees identities yesterday, more than three months after the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.
 

1 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

2 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

3 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

4 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。

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

8 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

9 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

10 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。

11 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。

12 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

13 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

14 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

15 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

16 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

17 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

18 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。

19 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。