NPR 2010-03-21

From NPR news in Washington I am Lakshmi Singh.
President Obama is on Capitol Hill attending a democratic pipe rally of sorts ahead of tomorrow’s land mark health care vote in the House.
“This debate has been a difficult debate. This process has been a difficult process，and this year has been a difficult year for the American people.”
Democratic leaders say despite some hold out still over abortion¹ language they have the commitment to have enough members to pass this bill. However tomorrow there won’t be just one vote on health care. As NPR’s Julie Rovner reports three are on the line.
In order to get the health overhaul² finished，House democrats³ were going to use something called the self executing role to allow members to vote indirectly⁴ on the bill the senate passed in December. Many House members dislike major portions of the senate bill. But thanks to a favorable ruling from the parliament area now the House can vote on the senate bill after it vote on a bill to make changes to that measure. So tomorrow show down vote would consist of three votes instead of two. One on the rule to structure the debate one on the bill with the changes to the senate bill and one on the senate bill itself. That will take away a key source of criticism from republicans they have called the plan for the executing rule also known as demon⁵ pass in abuse of House roles. Julie Rovner NPR news the capital.

Pope Benedict the 16th is apologizing today to survivors⁶ of child abuse by Irish clergy⁷ members. NPR’s Rob Gifford reports the pontiff is also accusing bishops⁸ of committing grave errors in the way they dealt with allegations of abuse. 
In a pastoral letter to Irish catholic Pope Benedict acknowledged the sense of betrayal felt by victims and their families. Addressing the victims he wrote “you have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity violated” he went on “and I openly express the shame and remorse⁹ that we all feel.”the Pope also said there have been serious mistakes made by Irish bishops in responding to allegations of pedophilia. Ireland’s main group of cleric abuse victims said it was deeply disappointed by the letter because it failed to lay blame with the Vatican for what it called a deliberate policy of the church’s highest level to protect sex offenders¹⁰. The letter address only Ireland but the Vatican said it could be read as applied¹¹ to other countries hundreds of new allegations of abuse recently come to light across Europe. Rob Gifford NPR news London.

Thousands of people across Russia protesting government's economic policies are also calling for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s resignation. Rallies have been held in several cities including Saint Petersburg. There have been no immediate¹² reports of violence, meanwhile anti war protest were held across the US today. People were marking the 7th anniversary the start of the Iraq war.

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The streets of Bangkok are again crowded with tens of thousands of protestors calling for new elections，many of them wearing red shirts to show support for ousted¹³ former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. This was the latest series of mass demonstration¹⁴ in the Thai capital. Activists¹⁵ are vowing¹⁶ to keep protesting until new elections are held.

Residents of Fargo North Dakota nearby Moorhead Minnesota are breathing a little easier today after hearing the Red River may not crest¹⁷ tomorrow morning as high as expected. The national weather service predicted the water will rise around 37 feet that still about 19feet above flood stage. ..Paul.L says the situation is unpredictable.
Right now we got the river almost high as point as going to be there for a while we need to you know we need to .. the rain we got under snow storms and that are some we had to be cautious another rainy forward，so right now it’s quite clear we are not looking like that
More details from Minnesota public radio’s A.A
Local state and federal agencies reported they had more time to prepare and train for the flood disaster. They arrived early to get familiar with the flood trained. Officials also say they are communicating better among one another. The national weather service expect water levels to climb more quickly than original expected. Flooding could continue to threaten homes and roads for much of next week. Fargo officials report or breaches¹⁸ in the temporary levies¹⁹ index as flood water continues to rise slowly. About 800national guard troops are on duty in the Red River valley for flood support. That’s .. reporting.
 

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 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。

3 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》

4 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

5 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

6 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

7 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。

8 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

9 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

10 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

11 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

14 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

17 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

18 breaches   

破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背

参考例句：

• He imposed heavy penalties for breaches of oath or pledges. 他对违反誓言和保证的行为给予严厉的惩罚。
• This renders all breaches of morality before marriage very uncommon. 这样一来，婚前败坏道德的事就少见了。

19 levies   

（部队）征兵( levy的名词复数 )； 募捐； 被征募的军队

参考例句：

• At that time, taxes and levies were as many as the hairs on an ox. 那时，苛捐杂税多如牛毛。
• Variable levies can insulate farmers and consumers from world markets. 差价进口税可以把农民和消费者与世界市场隔离开来。