NPR 2008-11-01

With the presidential campaign now coming down to a matter of days, the candidates are getting in some last-minute stumping¹. Republican John McCain has been barnstorming the state of Ohio. At  appearance in Columbus, he was joined by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said Ohio and the nation can not have a Democrat² in the White House. "We are in a tough time right now, Ohio can not afford, America can not afford the economic proposals of Senator Obama.” Earlier in the day, McCain told a crowd in Steubenville that Ohio is a battleground state and that its voters would decide the election. McCain began the day appearing on the ABC program "Good Morning America" where he said Obama's economic policy is from the far left of American politics.

 Several new state polls in Arizona, North Dakota and Georgia are showing a tossup race between Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican contender John McCain. As Georgia Public Broadcasting John Sepulvado reports, Obama is now making a push for those states to combine 20 electoral votes in the final days of the campaign.

 The Obama campaign will run TV commercials focusing on the economy in Georgia and North Dakota. The Democratic candidate will air it by a graphical ad in Arizona, McCain's home state. Obama yanked his commercials out of Georgia and North Dakota earlier this year after polling showed him trailing McCain by double digits³. Berry College Political Science Chair Michael Bailey says the expansion into traditionally Republican states is a testament⁴ to Obama's record-breaking fundraising. "Basically they have this money. They have an outside chance given the amount of extra money they have, I think the idea is what do we have to lose at this point. " McCain campaign officials say Obama is wasting his money because they say McCain will carry those states. For NPR News, I'm John Sepulvado, in Rome, Georgia.

 General David Petraeus took command of the U.S. Central Command today, a position responsible for both the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. NPR's JJ Sutherland reports.

 On MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa under a row of flags, the official change of command ceremony took place in bright sunshine. General David Petraeus has been lauded⁵ by many as the architect of what security gains have been made in Iraq over the past few years and now many pin their hopes for Afghanistan on him as well, certainly Secretary of Defense⁶ Robert Gates does. "History will regard him as one of our nation's great battle captains. He is the preeminent⁷ soldier, scholar, statesman of his generation, and precisely⁸ the man we need at this command at this time.'' General Petraeus has already ordered a review of U. S. strategy in Afghanistan and travels to the Central Command Area of Responsibility on Saturday. JJ Sutherland, NPR News.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 144 points to close at 9, 325. The NASDAQ gained 22 points today. This is NPR.

 Libya has paid 1.5 billion dollars into a fund set up to compensate⁹ the families of American victims of Libyan-linked attacks in the 1980s, including the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in the skies over Lockerbie, Scotland. The payment clears a final hurdle¹⁰ towards normalization¹¹ of relations between Washington and Tripoli. Under terms of the agreement worked out earlier, President Bush today signed an executive order, restoring the Libyan government's immunity¹² from terror-related lawsuits¹³. It may well go into a nearly two-billion-dollar fund to pay claims over not just the Pan Am bombing but also a 1986 bombing of a German nightclub.

 Follow up the Phillies fans turned out for a World Series parade through town today. The team won the championship Wednesday. For the first time in 25 years, Philadelphians are enjoying a major sports title. From member station WHYY in Philadelphia, Elizabeth Fiedler reports.

 Phillies fans crowded along the parade route, cheering wildly. North Philadelphia resident Terrill Hall says it has been too long since the city celebrated¹⁴ the sports championship. "I know what's gonna happen, because we're the greatest fans in the world. The last time we won in 1983 was one of the six we won the championship. I was twelve years old, and I didn't go to the parade, because I had to go on my sixth grade graduation trip. You know, everybody’s just having fun. Even if you are not from Phillies, you support the Phillies, you are champion in the day. " One fan held the sign supporting the Phillies manager for president. For NPR News, I'm Elizabeth Fiedler in Philadelphia.

 Chicago author Studs Terkel has died. Terkel, a legendary¹⁵ oral historian, also authored a number of books including "Working", "Hard Times", and his Pulitzer Prize winner "The Good War". Terkel was born on May 16th, 1912. He died today in Chicago. Studs Terkel was 96 years old.

1 stumping   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• She's tired of stumping up for school fees, books and uniform. 她讨厌为学费、课本和校服掏腰包。
• But Democrats and Republicans are still dumping stumping for the young. 但是民主党和共和党依然向年轻人发表演说以争取他们的支持。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

5 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 preeminent   

adj.卓越的，杰出的

参考例句：

• Washington was recognized as the preeminent spokesman of American Negroes by 1895. 到1895年,华盛顿被公认为美国黑人的卓越代言人。
• He is preeminent because his articles are well written. 他的文章写得很漂亮,卓尔不群。

8 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

9 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

10 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

11 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

12 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

13 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

14 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

15 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。