NPR 2011-03-20

NPR News has confirmed that the US has fired a cruise missile targeting Libyan air defenses. The first shot in the UN authorized² force against Libya came earlier today, when a French jet attacked a Libyan military vehicle. Representatives from the US, Europe and Arab nations met in Paris only hours before that attack to finalize³ plans to protect Libyan civilians⁴. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports there are questions about the effectiveness of such intervention⁵.

I think one of the big questions around this operation is whether it is coming too late. Just this morning, Muammar Gaddafi's forces were reported already to be inside Benghazi. And I think that some of the people, some of the critics of this government and others, who have been calling for this response for days and weeks now, are raising this question of whether it is coming too late. I think one of the things that's important here is how Gaddafi and his forces react. If they freeze, if they begin to pull back, we may see sort of some loss of momentum⁶ here as far as the international military action is concerned. If, on the other hand, he charges ahead, I think this will probably escalate⁷.

Russia is saying it regrets the West involvement in the Libyan conflict. In addition to aircraft, the US Navy has ships off the coast of Libya.

Events in Libya are prompting Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates to delay by one day a planned trip to Russia. A Pentagon spokesman says Gates wants to stay here to keep an eye on events in Libya. He is set to leave for his trip on Sunday.

People leaving the immediate⁸ area around the crippled Fukushima power plant are being encouraged to take potassium iodide. NPR's Joe Palca reports that potassium iodide is a harmless salt to protect people from the potentially damaging effects of radioactive iodide.

Radioactive iodine⁹ is one of elements produced as a byproduct in nuclear reactors¹⁰. Japanese officials have reported unacceptably high levels of radioactive iodine in milk and spinage from farms near the Fukushima plant. The thyroid gland¹¹ concentrates iodine. Concentrating radioactive iodine increases the risk of thyroid cancer. The potassium iodide salt prevents this. Joe Palca, NPR News, Washington.

Japanese health officials say that small amounts of radiation have been detected in food and water miles from the stricken power plant. They says they do not pose an immediate health threat.

And the ripples¹² of the earthquake and tsunami¹³ are having an effect on Honda. The automaker says it will suspend many orders in May for vehicles made in Japan and destined¹⁴ for US dealers¹⁵. Typically, car dealers put their orders in at least six weeks in advance. The company says it will resume production by the middle of week. It has already stopped some production in ships around the world, and pickup¹⁶ truck production in the United States has been suspended for a brief period of time. The company expects to deal with the shortage of parts.

This is NPR News in Washington.

Thirty-two teams who left in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament have play today. NPR's Mike Pasca reports that the matchups include a few surprises.

Almost every year, the basketball kind of sent a note: A 12th seeded team upsets a 5th seed in the tournament. But this year, it was the 6th seed that was especially vulnerable. Two biggest teams St. John's and Georgetown failed to underdogs Gonzaga and VCU respectively, but another biggest team Marquette pulled the upset as an 11th seed, beating Xavier. A 12th seed did again win this year as Richmond defeated Vanderbilt, and Louisville, a 4th seed, fell to Morehead State. Syracuse and Washington both advanced in last night's late games. Pittsburgh is the only No.1 seed in play today. They face last year's finalist Butler. Mike Pasca, NPR News, Washington.

President Obama begins a five-day tour of South America today. The president's first stop is in Brazil. The White House is focusing on the economic value of strengthening ties with countries in the region. The president is scheduled to make other stops in Chile and El Salvador.

The owner of a Taxes day care, where four children died in a fire last month, has reportedly turned herself into authorities in Nigeria. Jessica Tata's brother says the woman went to the US consulate¹⁷ in Nigeria, but the Associated Press says there's no independent confirmation¹⁸ of the story from officials there. Tata fled following the fire on February 24th.

Tensions along the Israel-Gaza border are increasing as militants¹⁹ fired more than 15 mortar²⁰ rounds into an Israeli border community. Israel reportedly retaliated²¹ with an air strike in Gaza. This is the largest number of rounds fired into Israel in two years.

And reporting our top story: The US has fired a cruise missile at Libyan air defenses in Libya this afternoon.

I'm Jim Howard, NPR News, Washington.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

3 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

8 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。

9 iodine   

n.碘，碘酒

参考例句：

• The doctor painted iodine on the cut.医生在伤口上涂点碘酒。
• Iodine tends to localize in the thyroid.碘容易集于甲状腺。

10 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

11 gland   

n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖

参考例句：

• This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。
• Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。

12 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

13 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

14 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

15 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

16 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

17 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。

18 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

19 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。

20 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

21 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句