NPR 2010-03-15

The State Department is warning Americans to be extra careful about traveling to Mexico, the day after three people, two of them US citizens, were gunned down in Ciudad Juarez. NPR’s Sonari Glinton has the story.

 

Drug cartel violence, especially along the US-Mexico border, that’s what’s prompted the State Department to issue a travel warning for Mexico. The cartels are battling among themselves and with Mexican law enforcement over profitable drug-trafficking routes. Three people associated with the United State’s consulate¹ general in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico were killed in a drive-by shooting this weekend: a consulate employee, her husband, both US citizens, and the husband of a Mexican citizen employee. In a statement, the president is expressing outrage² over the killings³. The State Department is also allowing consulate workers in Northern Mexico to send their families out of the area. The State Department says US citizens should exercise caution when traveling throughout Mexico. Sonari Glinton, NPR News, Washington.

 

House Democrats⁴ are predicting victory for the healthcare bill they hope to bring to the floor this week. But as NPR’s Allison Keyes tells us, optimism is tampered⁵ by a GOP threat to block that bill.

 

South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn in the House Whip concedes that as of today Democrats do not have the 216 votes they need to pass President Obama’s healthcare overhaul⁶. He told NBC's “Meet the Press”.

 

“No, we don’t have them as of this morning, but we’ve been working this thing all weekend. We’ll be working it, going into the week. I’m also very confident that we'll get this done.”

 

Clyburn says Democrats have the will to pass the measure, but the House Republican leader John Boehner told CNN's “State of the Union” if the Democrats had the votes to pass the legislation, they would have already done so.

 

“I’m doing everything I can to prevent this bill from becoming law.”

 

Boehner says President Obama and the Democrats have refused to work with Republicans, and that the only bipartisanship in Washington right now is opposition⁷ to the healthcare bill. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

 

A lot of northeasterners are spending the weekend doing storm clean-up. David Ferguson who lives in Englewood, New Jersey⁸ tells WABC that tree parts certainly didn’t miss his home.

 

“The wind was blowing really, really hard. I was hanging in the sun, and the next thing I know, I see tree parts falling onto our house.”

 

The storm unleashed⁹ heavy rains, floods and wind gusts¹⁰ of up to 70 miles per hour in the Mid-Atlantic. Several people have been killed. The storm's moving into New England and could stick around through tomorrow.

 

The search continues for survivors¹¹ of yesterday’s avalanche¹² in British Columbia. Authorities are using helicopters to survey the area near Revelstoke. Authorities believe that at least three people have been killed. They say more than 20 people have been injured. They say as many as 200 may have been on the slopes of Boulder¹³ Mountain when large mass of snow came crashing down.

 

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Egypt’s calling off plans to celebrate the reopening of a synagogue in Cairo that the government spent seven months restoring. NPR’s Peter Kenyon reports the decision was triggered by people’s behavior at an earlier rededication ceremony the government's calling “provocative”.

 

The cancelation announced in a statement from Egypt’s Antiquities¹⁴ Chief Zahi Hawass has no practical effect on the 12th-century bin¹⁵ Maymun synagogue which has already been reopened and was rededicated at a closed ceremony last week attended by Israeli and Jewish religious leaders, diplomats¹⁶ and others. According to Hawass, it was at that earlier ceremony that acts such as dancing and drinking alcohol took place which Hawass called “provocative to the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world”. The statement went on to say that “Muslims sanctuaries¹⁷ in occupied Palestine are subject to aggression¹⁸ by the occupation authorities”. An apparent reference to security measures taken by Israel at the Al-Aqsa Mosque¹⁹ compound in Jerusalem known to Jews as the Temple Mount. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.

 

The Taliban’s behind the latest suicide attacks in southern Afghanistan. The militant²⁰ group says on its Web site that the strikes in Kandahar yesterday were just a warning to NATO forces. Troops are widely expected to launch an offensive in that city later this year. Yesterday’s coordinated²¹ attacks killed at least 35 people and wounded dozens more.

 

In Pakistan, the Taliban are under fire by local forces. Today, fighter jets pounded suspected militant hideouts near the Afghan border. Officials say they have killed at least 16 insurgents²². The operations are part of Pakistan’s crackdown on the Taliban’s part of a broader global battle against terrorism.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.
 

1 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tampered   

v.窜改( tamper的过去式 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄

参考例句：

• The records of the meeting had been tampered with. 会议记录已被人擅自改动。 来自辞典例句
• The old man's will has been tampered with. 老人的遗嘱已被窜改。 来自辞典例句

6 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

7 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。

8 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。

9 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 gusts   

一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作

参考例句：

• Her profuse skirt bosomed out with the gusts. 她的宽大的裙子被风吹得鼓鼓的。
• Turbulence is defined as a series of irregular gusts. 紊流定义为一组无规则的突风。

11 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

12 avalanche   

n.雪崩，大量涌来

参考例句：

• They were killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.他们在瑞士阿尔卑斯山的一次雪崩中罹难。
• Higher still the snow was ready to avalanche.在更高处积雪随时都会崩塌。

13 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

14 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

15 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

16 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

18 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

19 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

20 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

21 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

22 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