NPR 2011-08-23

 Even though much of the Libyan capital appears to be under rebel control now, there are still pockets of resistance from people fighting to protect leader Muammar Gaddafi. Other areas are said to be relatively¹ quiet. But people across the city are applauding the rebels' latest big push toward toppling the regime, and that sentiment's echoed abroad. Anti-Gaddafi protesters outside the Libyan embassy in Turkey chanting as they burned the post of the embattled Libyan leader. Now President Obama says the Gaddafi regime is coming to an end. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports the president issued a statement from Martha's Vineyard today defending his decision to intervene in Libya last spring.

 

President Obama noted² that this moment was reached without a single American troop being hurt on the ground. He said NATO countries have spent months setting the stage for the transition that it is now unfolding in Libya. 

 

"Over the last several days, the situation in Libya has reached a tipping point as the opposition³ increased its coordination⁴ from east to west, took town after town, and the people of Tripoli rose up to claim their freedom."

 

He says this is not over yet. Fighting continues in some parts of the country, and the president called on Muammar Gaddafi to explicitly⁵ relinquish⁶ power and call off his troops. He says the UN is working to ensure that Libya transitions peacefully to democracy once the fighting is over. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

 

And President Obama has said the Libyans' revolution is their own, offering US aid, but not US troops.

 

Syria is the topic today at an emergency session of the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports the US wants to see the council open a formal inquiry⁷ into potential war crimes.

 

UN High Commissioner⁸ for Human Rights Navi Pillay opened a special session on Syria by accusing the Syrian military of excessive force to quell⁹ peaceful demonstrations¹⁰ in the country. She says the death toll¹¹ is rising.

 

"As of today, over 2,200 people have been killed since mass protests began in mid-March, with more than 350 people reportedly killed across Syria since the beginning of Ramadan."

 

Syria's ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council accuses Pillay of spreading lies. But US diplomats¹² see a growing consensus¹³ in the Geneva-based council to condemn¹⁴ Syrian action, including among Arab members. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington. 

 

The public got its first look today at the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. The 30-foot-tall sculpture of the civil rights leader sits on the National Mall between memorials honoring Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 37 points at 10,855.

 

This is NPR.

 

The National Hurricane Center is warning residents in the southeastern US to prepare for a possible major hurricane making landfall by the end of the week. NPR's Greg Allen reports from Miami the latest forecast showed Hurricane Irene strengthening into a Category 3 hurricane.

 

A Category 3 hurricane would bring winds up to 130 mph with potential to cause devastating¹⁵ damage to roofs and older buildings. Irene knocked out power to a million people in flooded areas in Puerto Rico when it passed that island early today. Dennis Feltgen of the National Hurricane Center says latest information shows the storm tracking north of the Dominican Republic, skirting the north coasts of Haiti and Cuba before hitting warm waters in the Bahamas.

 

"It's moving into one environment of very warm water, very low wind shear¹⁶, an ideal environment for strengthening to occur, and that's going to allow it to become a major hurricane here in a couple of days."

 

Current projections¹⁷ show Irene making landfall somewhere on the Southeastern US coast early Saturday. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

 

Casey Anthony is reported to be back in Florida, where she was acquitted¹⁸ last month of murdering her two-year-old daughter Caylee. Anthony was ordered to return to  Orlando to serve a year of probation¹⁹ for check fraud. She had been out of public sight partly for security reasons after her controversial acquittal.

 

The number of people at risk of foreclosure is still growing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The group says that during the second quarter, 8.4% of homeowners they tracked had missed at least one mortgage payment.

 

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 37 points at 10,855.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 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。

4 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

5 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

10 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

11 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

12 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》

13 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

14 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

15 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

16 shear   

n.修剪，剪下的东西，羊的一岁；vt.剪掉，割，剥夺；vi.修剪，切割，剥夺，穿越

参考例句：

• Every spring they shear off the sheep's wool and sell it.每年春天他们都要剪下羊毛去卖。
• In the Hebrides they shear their sheep later than anywhere else.在赫伯里兹，剪羊毛的时间比其他任何地方都要晚。

17 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

18 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

19 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。