NPR 2010-04-18

Europe is in the throes of unprecedented¹ flight disruptions for a third day because of a growing ash cloud from a volcanic² eruption³ in Iceland this week. At least 17 countries have shut down their airspace. Frank Browning reports travelers are scrambling⁴ to find another ways of getting to their destinations.

 

At least 15 million people have had their travel plans disrupted since the airports began closing Thursday and it could be several days before the repercussions⁵ of the shutdowns are sorted out. Travelers as far away as Bangkok have found themselves stranded⁶ and unable to return home. Some airports in Norway have reopened. Full service at Europe’s two major hubs, London Heathrow and Paris’s Charles de Gaulle, may not be fully⁷ restored even until the first of the week. Despite the ten-day-old rail strike in France, French rail has managed to add international train service toward Britain, Belgium and Holland. Airlines have not committed to reimbursing⁸ travelers for unused tickets. For NPR News, I’m Frank Browning.

 

NPR’s Joe Palca is in Iceland where he and a team of scientists got a close-up look today at the ash plume⁹ wreaking¹⁰ havoc¹¹ across the continent.

 

This is astounding¹². I have to say it made me think of Lord of the Rings. When they go into the temple, I mean, the valley of doom¹³ or whatever at Mordor was like this end of the earth kind of scene. This completely black cloud settled down over the road. And the two scientists, two women that I have been traveling with, were across the road from me and it’s not a wide road and I couldn’t see them at all.

 

NPR’s Joe Palca.

 

The flight disruptions in Europe are affecting world leaders’ plans to fly to Poland this weekend for a state funeral. The latest cancellation¹⁴ comes from President Obama. Details from NPR’s Allison Keyes.

 

In a statement, President Obama says he’s spoken with Poland’s acting¹⁵ President Komorowski and told him he regrets not being able to make it to Poland due to the volcanic ash that is disrupting air travel over Europe. Mr. Obama added that he and his wife, Michelle, continue to have the Polish people in their thoughts and prayers and will support them in anyway they can as they recover from this terrible tragedy. President Obama went on to call the late President Kaczynski a patriot¹⁶ and close friend and ally of the United States. Some other world leaders, including the Canadian prime minister, the king of Spain and German Chancellor¹⁷ Angela Merkel have also been forced to cancel their travel plans because of the ash. Allison Keyes, NPR News, the White House.

 

But Poland still plans to hold its state funeral for President Lech Kaczynski who was among 96 people killed in a plane crash a week ago. Today, Poles marked that tragic¹⁸ moment.

 

A memorial service held today for the 96 victims in that crash. Their names were read aloud and for one-minute sirens wailed¹⁹ to mark the moment Poland’s president and many other members of Poland’s political elite²⁰ were killed.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Toyota says its own engineers have confirmed a potentially dangerous problem with one of its Lexus SUVs. NPR’s Martin Kaste has details.

 

On Tuesday, Consumer Reports magazine ... this GX 460 showed a handling problem that might cause the vehicle to roll over on tight, fast turns. Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons says the company immediately took the problem seriously.

 

“We contacted them to get the details of their driving evaluation²¹. And Tuesday night in the United States, what would have been Wednesday morning in Japan, we began attempting to replicate²² that driving procedure. We have since been able to duplicate that condition and we are evaluating potential remedies at this point in time.”

 

Lyons says the problem affects 5,400 SUVs in the U.S. Some already sold, others still on dealer²³ lots. Toyota has suspended sales of the model, while it tries to come up with a fix. Martin Kaste, NPR News.

 

President Obama says financial firms need to be held more accountable for the bad decisions they made. He uses his Internet radio address this week to make the case for new rules. The president has long argued for a sweeping²⁴ change to the financial regulatory system that, he says, should prevent risky²⁵ practices and avoid another financial meltdown.

 

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor slams Congress’s Democratic leaders for passing a string of measures that, he says, will cost taxpayers²⁶ dearly over the next decade. In a Republican Party address, Cantor says Congress has enacted²⁷ 25 tax increases that, he says, will cost small businesses and individuals nearly $700 billion over ten years.

 

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

3 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

4 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

7 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。

8 reimbursing   

v.偿还，付还( reimburse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• All banking charges outside Korea and reimbursing are for account of beneficiary. 所有韩国以外的用度及偿付行用度由受益人承担。 来自互联网
• A reimbursing bank's charges are for the account of the issuing bank. 然而，如果费用系由受益人承担，则开证行有责任在信用证和偿付授权书中予以注明。 来自互联网

9 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

10 wreaking   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Coal mining is a messy business, often wreaking terrible environmental damage nearby. 采矿是肮脏的行业，往往会严重破坏周边环境。
• The floods are wreaking havoc in low-lying areas. 洪水正在地势低洼地区肆虐。

11 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

12 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

14 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

15 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

16 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

17 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

18 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

19 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

20 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

21 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

22 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

23 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

24 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

25 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

26 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

27 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹