NPR 2008-06-16

Iowa's Governor Chet Culver says the flood damage in his state will run into the billions of dollars. Gloria Kelsey of Des Moines says her home remains¹ completely underwater. “We don't know if  they’re gonna be able to rebuild and more on social security. So, we don't know what we are gonna be able to do.”

 National Guard troops are assisting in sandbagging operations along the Mississippi River. And the Iowa River in Iowa City is still rising, threatening the University of Iowa campus there. One official in that town said, in his words, "this is our version of Katrina". A top federal emergency official said some of the hard lessons learned from the hurricane are helping² efforts to assist people who have been flooded out of their homes in the Midwest. NPR's Allison Keyes reports.

 David Paulison, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, just got back from touring the damage in Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin. He told CNN's “Late Edition” that it's some of the worst flooding he's seen since Katrina, but authorities are working in tandem³ this time. "I was extremely pleased with the cooperation I saw from the city, the county and the state and into the federal government. It is truly a partnership⁴ we’re developing there. And that's the way it should operate which we did not see in Katrina. " Paulison says this flooding was different than what happened with the hurricane, and people were warned that the flooding was coming. "People moved very quickly to get out of the homes, most everybody did. The water didn't rise as fast as it did. We didn't have a tidal surge, so to speak. So, a little bit different scenario⁵, but the aftermath is similar. " There are still people displaced by Hurricane Katrina, who have not been able to return to their homes. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

 Firefighters in California have gained the upper hand in battling a major wildfire north of Sacramento. Residents of the City of Paradise have begun returning to their homes to assess the damage. Bob Hensley of member station KXJZ reports.

 The blaze ravaged⁶ Paradise. As of Sunday morning, 23,000 acres in and around the community had been scorched⁷. At least 74 homes were destroyed, another 21 damaged. Dozens of motor vehicles are charred⁸. There was one fire-related death. At one point, as many as nine emergency shelters were open to accommodate the thousands of residents who had to flee. Cal Fire spokeswoman Mary Anne Aldrich says even with the evacuation order lifted, ample resources remain in Paradise. “We have 521 engines. We’re flying eight air tankers⁹ for solving the incident, ten helicopters. We've also got 3, 800 firefighting personnel.” Officials hope to have the fire completely contained by Monday evening. The total amount of property damage is expected to be in the tens of millions of dollars. For NPR News, I'm Bob Hensley, in Modesto, California.

 Saudi Arabia's oil minister says the kingdom will boost oil production by 200, 000 barrels a day next month on top of a 300,000-barrel rise that took effect last month. That earlier increase had little impact on the oil market. Word of the new increase came from a spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who is in Saudi Arabia today.

 This is NPR News.

 Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is threatening to send Afghan troops into Pakistan to strike at Taliban militants¹⁰ there if they keep staging cross-border attacks into Afghanistan. "We will get them and we will defeat them. And we will avenge¹¹ all that they have done to Afghanistan for the past so many years. " Karzai's warning came days after a coordinated¹² Taliban assault on a prison in Kandahar that freed more than 850 inmates¹³. US, NATO and Afghan troops are searching for the escapees.

Canada's military chief says the prison breakout will not alter the mission in Afghanistan, though. Dan Karpenchuk has that story.

 Canadian soldiers along with US and Afghan forces are taking part in the house-to-house searches in Kandahar for escapees. Canadian engineers and police have also visited the prison in Kandahar to assess the damage and to get it functioning again. As many as 400 of the escapees are Taliban fighters, many of them prisoners the Canadians had already captured during operations in the Kandahar region. In Canada, the Chief of Defense¹⁴ Staff, General Rick Hillier is playing down the prison break. Hillier describes it as “a setback”, one that demonstrates no mission will always run smoothly¹⁵. “How you handle the surprises”, he adds, “will be the mark of the mission.” But some military analysts¹⁶ say it also shows the Taliban are organized and veteran fighters. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

 In London, police in riot gear kept hundreds of protesters away from President Bush's motorcade as he arrived at No. 10 Downing Street this evening for dinner with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The menu included Scottish salmon¹⁷ and Yorkshire pudding. Talks tomorrow between the two leaders are expected to center on the situations in Iran and Iraq. Earlier today, the president and Mrs. Bush had tea with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

6 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

7 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

8 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

10 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。

11 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

12 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？