NPR 2008-03-04

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Carl Kasell.

 Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are campaigning today ahead of tomorrow's primaries in Ohio and Texas. Amanda Rabinowitz with member station WKSU has more on the Clinton campaign in Ohio. 

 During a stop in Akron Sunday, Hillary Clinton touched on everything from restructuring NAFTA(North American Free Trade Agreement) to providing universal health care. Clinton told the more than 2,000 cheering supporters in a high school gym that she will carry out her campaign promises. "Ohio's heard a lot of speeches. You've seen a lot of people running for offices especially for president who come every four years and say 'Oh, here is what I'm gonna do.' And then somehow, it never happens. You know, I've laid out very specific plans for what I will do because I want you to hold me accountable." Clinton also focused on her plans to bring manufacturing jobs back to Ohio by ending outsourcing and investing in clean energy. For NPR News, I'm Amanda Rabinowitz in Kent, Ohio.

 Obama is hoping to keep his winning streak¹ going. He's come out ahead of Clinton in the last eleven contests. While campaigning in Ohio yesterday, Obama defended his foreign policy credentials² while pointing to Clinton's vote to authorize³ going to war against Iraq. "When it came to making the most important foreign policy decision of our generation, the decision to invade Iraq, Senator Clinton got it wrong." Obama heads to Texas today where the biggest prize is up for grabs. The race is tight there as well as in Ohio. Contests also are being held in Rhode Island and Vermont.

 Despite an Israeli offensive over the weekend claiming the lives of more than a hundred Palestinians in the Gaza strip, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is going ahead today with a previously⁴ planned trip to the region. Her aim is to revive peace talks that the Palestinians suspended yesterday. More from NPR's David Welna.

 Secretary Rice's trip to the Middle East comes right after some of the most deadly attacks by Israelis on Palestinians in the past decade. Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip intensified⁵ after Hamas militants⁶ there fired rockets into southern Israel last week. The peace talks were put on hold yesterday by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas whose government called the Israeli offensive both a "holocaust⁷ and genocide". Slovenia, the current European Union president said Israel's attacks violated international law while United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon chided Israel for what he called "an excessive use of force". White House spokesman Gorden Johndroe meanwhile said the violence there needs to stop and the talks need to resume. President Bush wants those talks to result in Palestinian statehood before he leaves office. David Welna, NPR News Washington.

 Asian financial markets took a beating today. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei Average fell 4.5 percent.

 This is NPR News.

 Western election observers have criticized yesterday's presidential vote in Russia. Vladimir Putin's chosen successor won a major landslide⁸ in a ballot⁹ opposition¹⁰ leaders say was rigged. NPR's Gregory Feifer has report from Moscow.

 Europe's main election monitoring group boycotted¹¹ the election saying the authority's severe restrictions¹² wouldn't have allowed it to properly observe the ballot. But a tiny 22-member group from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe did observe the election across this vast country which spans eleven time zones. The group's head Andreas Gross said democracy had been discredited¹³ in Russia. "The results of the presidential elections are a reflection of the will, of an electorate¹⁴ whose democratic potential was unfortunately not tapped." But speaking during a contentious¹⁵ news conference, Gross declined to comment on many specific reports of electoral violations¹⁶, saying the vote had given President Dmitry Medvedev a broad mandate¹⁷. Gregory Feifer, NPR News, Moscow.

 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered tanks and thousands of troops to the border with Colombia. The Venezuelan leader has accused Colombia of pushing South America to the brink¹⁸ of war by killing¹⁹ a top rebel leader in a cross-border raid into Ecuador. Chavez says that Venezuela will respond militarily if Colombia violates its border. He also ordered that the Venezuelan embassy in Bogotá be closed. In Texas where President Bush's staying in his ranch²⁰, National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe reacted to the action by saying that Chaves's actions are perplexing.

 I'm Carl kasell, NPR News, in Washington.

1 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

2 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

3 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

8 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

9 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

10 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。

11 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

12 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

13 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

14 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

15 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

16 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

17 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

18 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

19 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

20 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。