NPR 2010-02-15

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Barbara Klein.

 

In southern Afghanistan, NATO troops are slowly clearing streets of home-made bombs and mines in the second day of a major offensive in the town of Marjah. U.S. marines are spearheading the effort to take control of the last big Taliban stronghold in Helmand province. They're finding IEDs buried underground on the streets and hidden in walls. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is with the 3rd Battalion², 6th Marine¹ Regiment³ and reports pockets of militants⁴ have dug in and are shooting.

 

General Larry Nicholson, the head of, of the marine operations here in the southern part of Afghanistan, he'd come for a quick visit and... in trying to counter this threat, told me they had started receiving tip-offs from local residents about where the bombs were hidden. Many of those residents are believed to be cautious about welcoming government forces for fear they will soon depart again. Today, tribal⁵ councils known as shuras are being held in both districts with the aim of persuading the population to back their government and not the Taliban. The BBC’s Frank Gardner reporting from Kandahar.

 

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Beirut today to mark the five-year anniversary of the assassination⁶ of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Don Duncan has more from the Lebanese capital.

 

Hariri's murder five years ago led to massive public demonstrations⁷ supported about the withdrawal⁸ of Syria from Lebanon after 29 years of occupation. Today's rally is an affirmation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and a protest to lingering Syrian influence. Many Hariri’s supporters point the finger at Syria for having a hand in his assassination, although a UN special tribunal on the matter has yet to name the killers⁹. Hariri’s death spawned¹⁰ a political division dominated by a pro-Western alliance called the March 14 and the Syrian-backed opposition¹¹ led by Hezbollah. But Syria has begun to improve diplomatic relations with Lebanon and the U.S., and this is causing the gulf¹² between Lebanon’s opposing alliances to narrow. If this trend continues, the pro-Western alliance could further weaken, spelling trouble for Western interests in Lebanon. For NPR News, I’m Don Duncan in Beirut.

 

Vice¹³ President Joe Biden and former Vice President Dick Cheney are engaged in a war of words of the Obama administration’s handling of terrorists. Speaking on ABC today, Cheney accused the administration of being slow to recognize the U.S. is at war with terrorists.

 

“There are key members in the administration, like Eric Holder¹⁴, for example, the Attorney General who still insists on thinking of terror attacks against the United States as criminal acts, as opposed to acts of war.”

 

But Vice President Biden said his predecessor¹⁵ isn’t paying attention.

 

“I don’t think the former Vice President Dick Cheney listens. The president of the United States said in his State of the Union we're at war with al-Qaeda. He said this, and by the way, we’re pursuing that war with a vigor¹⁶ like it’s never been seen before, we’ve eliminated twelve of their top twenty people.”

 

Biden spoke¹⁷ on NBC.

 

This is NPR.

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says evidence is mounting that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. Speaking at the US-Islamic World Forum¹⁸ in Doha, Qatar, Clinton urged Persian Gulf states to take a tougher stand against Iran.

 

The newest addition to the International Space Station now has plumbing¹⁹ and power thanks to space walking astronauts, but an ammonia leak during the hook-up forced them to end the space walk early as precaution. Last night, NASA resolved a problem with a critical insulation²⁰ cover. The new module²¹ called ‘Tranquility’ provides living space for the station’s crew.

 

Best-selling British crime writer and former jockey Dick Francis has died. Horse racing²² was a backdrop in his more than 40 novels. The 89-year-old was the only three time recipient²³ of the Mystery Writers of America’s award for best novel. From London, Larry Miller²⁴ has this look at the writer’s career.

 

Dick Francis retired²⁵ as a jockey after riding a horse owned by Britain’s Queen Mother in the 1956 Grand National steeplechase. Francis sold more than 80 million copies of his horse racing novels, stories populated by murder, gambling²⁶ and race fixing. "Racing isn't nearly as bad as what happens in my novels." The Queen Mother became one of his biggest fans and that actually shaped what he wrote. "I’ve always sent her a new book as soon as it was out and I didn’t want her reading these scenes, sex scenes." Francis literally²⁷ admitted he co-wrote the books with his wife Mary who died a few years ago. Since then, he wrote jointly²⁸ with his son Felix. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

 

And I’m Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

3 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

7 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

8 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。

9 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

10 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

11 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。

12 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

13 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。

14 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

15 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

16 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

17 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。

18 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

19 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

21 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

22 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

23 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

24 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。

25 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

26 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

27 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

28 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。