NPR 2009-01-18

President-elect Barack Obama is calling on Americans to rely on the same perseverance¹ and idealism that the country's founders² showed, as the nation faces the daunting³ challenges that lie ahead. "We are here today not simply to pay tribute to those patriots⁴ who founded our nation in Philadelphia, or defended it in Baltimore, but to take up the cause for which they gave so much."  Mr. Obama speaking to a crowd of tens of thousands of people in Baltimore, a last stop on a daylong whistle stop trip as he retraces⁵ Abraham Lincoln's pre-inaugural train route to the nation's capital. Vice⁶ President-elect Joe Biden joined the trip at a stop in Wilmington, Delaware. "President-elect Obama and I will meet more than your prayers and your good wishes. We'll need your hard work to help us. If ours is to be a successful journey, it must be, it must be a shared journey." The train trip kicks off four days of inauguration⁷ events in the nation's capital.

Israel has announced a unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza Strip beginning in two hours. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Israeli troops will remain in Gaza, however, and will respond to any attacks by Hamas militants⁸. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem.

In a late night news conference, Olmert said that after three weeks of fighting in Gaza, Israel will halt all military operations. He said that if Hamas ends its rocket fire on Israel, Israeli troops will leave Gaza. The prime minister said Israel had struck a decisive blow against Hamas, which he said does not know how hard it has been hit. Olmert also directly addressed Palestinians in Gaza, saying Israel does not hate them and was not trying to harm them. In a statement, Hamas said that resistance will continue and fired several rockets during Olmert's news conference. Palestinian medical officials say more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the three weeks of fighting, many of them civilians⁹. For NPR News, I'm Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem.

The Food and Drug Administration has extended a warning on peanut butter to include products such as crackers¹⁰ containing peanut butter. The warning does not cover jars of peanut butter sold in supermarkets. NPR's Joanne Silberner has more.

After salmonella bacteria were found in a five-pound container of peanut butter at a long-term care facility in Minnesota, manufacturer Peanut Corporation of America recalled 21 lots of its products all sold to institutions, such as schools, hospitals and other food manufacturers. And two manufacturers of peanut butter crackers Keebler and Austin, recalled some of their products that were made with PCA's peanut butter. Now the FDA is suggesting that consumers should postpone¹¹ eating any products containing peanut butters, such as cookies, ice-cream and crackers until further investigation¹² is done. Joanne Silberner reporting.

This is NPR News from Washington.

A court in Madrid has reopened an investigation into one of cycling's biggest doping scandals. Reports say a number of prominent sports physicians in Spain could face trial. Jerome Socolovsky has more from Madrid.

In 2006, Spanish police raided suspected doping labs and confiscated¹³ hundreds of bags of frozen blood and transfusion¹⁴ equipment. Several suspects were arrested including Madrid's sports doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who had treated some top cyclists. A police list named more than 50 competitors in connection with the investigation. They included former winners of the Tour de France and the biggest cycling races in Spain and Italy. The investigation had been stopped several times, mainly because Spain's anti-doping law wasn't in effect at the time of the raids. But now, the court says there is evidence that an offence against public health was committed. And it says the investigation is proceeding¹⁵ under public health laws. Reports say some physicians that know cyclists are expected to face trial. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Socolovsky in Madrid.

President Bush is praising the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama as a moment of hope for the nation. And Mr. Bush is also defending the decisions he made during his two terms in office. "I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions." Mr. Bush speaking in his weekly radio address today, the last radio address of his presidency¹⁶. Mr. Bush said the nation still faces a serious threat from terrorists, and he urged the Americans not to become complacent¹⁷.

1 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

2 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

3 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

4 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

5 retraces   

v.折回( retrace的第三人称单数 )；回忆；回顾；追溯

参考例句：

• He often retraces the happy time during his young age. 他经常回忆起年轻时代的幸福时光。 来自互联网
• The museum retraces the history of the relationship between the United States and Morocco. 此博物馆在探源美国与摩洛哥的关系之历史。 来自互联网

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

8 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。

9 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。

10 crackers   

adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘

参考例句：

• That noise is driving me crackers. 那噪声闹得我简直要疯了。
• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser. 我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

14 transfusion   

n.输血，输液

参考例句：

• She soon came to her senses after a blood transfusion.输血后不久她就苏醒了。
• The doctor kept him alive by a blood transfusion.医生靠输血使他仍然活着。

15 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

16 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

17 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。