NPR 2010-03-14

A series of explosions including suicide blasts is blamed in at least 27 deaths in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar today. Authorities say more than 50 people are wounded. The biggest attack was on a prison. Officials believe insurgents¹ may have been trying to free fellow militants². Another explosion occurred near the residence of President Hamid Karzai’s half brother Ahmad Wali Karzai; he heads Kandahar’s provincial³ council.

 

There’s still no word on who’s behind today’s suicide attack in northwest Pakistan where at least 11 people were killed. The blast was the second major strike in Pakistan in less than 24 hours.

 

The latest tally⁴ of votes in Iraq’s parliamentary elections shows Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki leading in the crucial province of Baghdad. NPR’s Quil Lawrence reports the results are still preliminary, with less than 30% of the votes counted.

 

Baghdad is Iraq's most populated province and a key battleground between the three leading electoral slates⁵. Despite high-profile bombings here over the past six months, it appears that Prime Minister Maliki’s claim of improved security has won over residents of the capital, though it will still take days, if not weeks, to certify⁶ the results. Difficulty with the computer system have put Iraq’s election results at least a few days behind schedule. Several candidates charged series of irregularities in last Sunday’s nationwide poll, but international observers say the problems are not severe enough to affect the outcome. Maliki is expected to get the most individual votes, but it’s unlikely he'll win an outright⁷ majority. And political party horse-trading may still turn Maliki out of office in favor of a compromised candidate in the months to come. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Baghdad.

 

Thousands of anti-government protesters in Thailand, many of them wearing red shirts in support of the former prime minister were flocking to the capital. They’re demanding new elections in that country.

 

In the US, the storm that’s drenching⁸ much of the Mid-Atlantic threatens flooding in several major cities. Mary Karmis Jordan reports Philadelphians are among those exasperated⁹ with a difficult winter.

 

Ask those who live in the Delaware Valley about the latest weather event and you might hear: Thank heaven, it’s not snowing. But the heavy rain and high wind forecasts for today are not to be treated lightly. Meteorologists are calling for totals of two to four inches of rain, some spots possibly seeing five inches. Those of us who finally got to clear trees and branches downed by February snows will probably be out there again next week. Winds today will be gusty¹⁰, especially down the Jersey¹¹ shore. And the grounds are saturated¹², meaning, according to the experts, vulnerable trees might topple, power outages are being reported and there have been some delays and cancelations at Philadelphia International Airport, but there are also flights that are on time. The system begins the clear-up locally overnight and then the clean-up begins again. For NPR News, I’m Mary Karmis Jordan in Philadelphia.

 

From Washington, this is NPR News.

 

President Obama’s weekly address tackles reform in education. He’s proposing a redo of the No Child Left Behind law which was passed during the Bush administration. The president talks about the need to make American students more competitive with young people abroad. He’s expected to send a blueprint¹³ to Congress on Monday. This is that president also tries to push through other major initiatives on jobs, financial regulatory reform and healthcare.

 

The US has no plans to Americanize the conflict in Somalia. Those words this week from a top US diplomat¹⁴ who denies that the US is helping¹⁵ Somalia’s government fight a group on a US terrorism blacklist. We have more on this from NPR’s Michele Kelemen.

 

While the US supports Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government or TFG, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson says the US is not directly helping it fight the al-Shabab militia¹⁶.

 

"We do not have any American US military advisors¹⁷ on the ground. We’re not planning coordinating¹⁸ any of the TFG’s military operations."

 

Carson says the US has provided about $185 million to support African Union peacekeepers in Somalia. And the US remains¹⁹ a major supplier of food aid, though the UN agency that handles that has had to suspend much of it for security reasons. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

 

The Vatican today is defending Pope Benedict XVI against claims that he tried to hide abuses by the clergy²⁰ in Germany. Today, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio that attempts to link Benedict to an alleged²¹ cover-up have failed.

 

I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

5 slates   

（旧时学生用以写字的）石板( slate的名词复数 )； 板岩； 石板瓦； 石板色

参考例句：

• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。
• They roofed the house with slates. 他们用石板瓦做屋顶。

6 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

7 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

8 drenching   

n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• A black cloudburst was drenching Siena at midday. 中午，一场天昏地暗的暴风雨在锡耶纳上空倒下来。 来自辞典例句
• A drenching rain poured down and the rising hurricane drove it in sheets along the ground. 一阵倾盆大雨泼下来了，越来越大的狂风把它顺着地面刮成了一片一片的雨幕。 来自辞典例句

9 exasperated   

adj.恼怒的

参考例句：

• We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
• Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。

10 gusty   

adj.起大风的

参考例句：

• Weather forecasts predict more hot weather,gusty winds and lightning strikes.天气预报预测高温、大风和雷电天气将继续。
• Why was Candlestick Park so windy and gusty? 埃德尔斯蒂克公园里为什么会有那么多的强劲阵风？

11 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

12 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

13 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

14 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

17 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

18 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

20 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

21 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为