NPR 2009-11-16

President Obama is on a 3-day tour to China, where he’s scheduled to meet with President Hu Jintao in Beijing. Energy, trade, climate change and regional security are expected to top the leaders' agenda. Before the meeting, President Obama is scheduled to hold a town hall style discussion with young people in Shanghai.

 

Earlier today President Obama joined Southeast Asian leaders gathered in Singapore to press the military government of Myanmar to adopt democratic reforms. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports.

 

President Obama became the first American leader in decades to sit in the same room with Myanmar’s military ruler. He attended a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a group the US has long boycotted¹ because of Myanmar’s presence. Deputy national security advisor² Ben Rhodes says the president took the opportunity to call for a political reform in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

 

“So privately³ he said the exact same thing he said publicly in enumerating⁴ the steps that the government of Burma must take—freeing all political prisoners, freeing Aung San Suu Kyi, ending violence against minority groups, and moving into a dialogue with democratic movements there.”

 

A statement from other ASEAN leaders also called for free and fair elections in Myanmar next year, but stopped short of demanding the release of political prisoners. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Singapore.

 

Iran condemned⁵ the latest US action to seize the assets of Muslim non-profit organizations suspected of funneling⁶ money to Iran. Iran’s parliament speaker called the moves disgraceful. NPR’s Peter Kenyon has more from Yemen.

 

In a speech broadcast on Iranian radio and covered by Iran’s official news agency, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said the Obama administration’s moves to extend sanctions and seize Iranian assets abroad showed that the new US president was no better than his predecessor⁷. Thursday, US prosecutors⁸ sought the forfeiture⁹ of more than a half billion dollars in assets from the Alavi and Assa Foundations. Prosecutors alleged¹⁰ that the foundations which own several mosques¹¹ and a 36-storey high-rise on New York City’s Fifth Avenue were sending money to Bank Melli. The US Treasury¹² listed the bank owned by the Iranian government as a weapons proliferator¹³. Traveling in Asia, President Obama said time was running out for diplomacy¹⁴ regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Larijani called the recent US actions irrational¹⁵. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Yemen.

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Obama administration wants the Afghan government to do a better job of combating corruption¹⁶ in its ranks before it gets more US aid for civilians¹⁸.

 

“I’ve made it clear that we’re not gonna be providing any civilian¹⁷ aid to Afghanistan unless we have a certification that if it goes into the Afghan government in any form, that we’re gonna have ministries¹⁹ that we can hold accountable.”

 

Secretary of State Clinton speaking on ABC’s This Week.

 

This is NPR.

 

NASA is preparing for the launch of space shuttle Atlantis tomorrow afternoon. The six astronauts will deliver tens of thousands of pounds of spare parts to the International Space Station. From member station WMFE, Judith Smelser reports.

 

Atlantis will carry more than 27,000 pounds of replacement²⁰ parts that the station may need to keep its power on or to keep it from overheating or tumbling into space. The space shuttle is the only craft capable of carrying such a heavy load and the shuttle fleet is due to be retired²¹ next fall. So Atlantis is the first of several flights that will be packed with spares. NASA’s Scott Higginbotham says getting so much equipment ready to fly was harder than expected.

 

“This processing campaign has been a very difficult, challenging race for our team. But we’re smiling today because we crossed the finish line and we survived.”

 

Atlantis is scheduled to be in space for 11 days. Three spacewalks are planned during the mission. For NPR News, I’m Judith Smelser in Orlando.

 

The American Civil Liberties Union says it will keep trying to get controversial photos of foreign detainees released to the public. The group is criticizing Defense²² Secretary Robert Gates’s decision to block the images from public view. At issue are nearly two dozen photos showing prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress gave Gates new power to keep the photos private after the government’s arguments were rejected by federal courts.

 

The Serbian Orthodox leader who guided the church through the Balkan wars in the 1990s has died. Patriarch Pavle passed away this morning after he was hospitalized with heart and lung problems. He was 95 years old.

 

I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 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。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

4 enumerating   

v.列举，枚举，数( enumerate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There is no enumerating the evils of dishonesty here. 欺诈的罪恶在这里难以（无法）一一列举。 来自互联网
• What she used to be most adept at was enumerating. 从前，她最拿手的是数落。 来自互联网

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

6 funneling   

[医]成漏斗形：描述膀胱底及膀胱尿道交接区

参考例句：

7 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

8 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

9 forfeiture   

n.（名誉等）丧失

参考例句：

• Both face maximum forfeitures of about $1.2 million.双方都面临最高120万美元左右的罚金。
• If he should break his day,what should I gain by the exaction of the forfeiture?如果他到期不还我从这罚金中又能得到什么好处？

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

12 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

13 proliferator   

[医]增殖子

参考例句：

• Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) are a family of at least 3 nuclear receptors (a, 8, andy). 其中PPARγ在心脏中表达丰富，胰岛素增敏剂噻唑烷二酮类药物是PPARγ的合成配体。
• Rosiglitazone belongs to a class of drugs known as peroxisome proliferator-actiated receptor (PPAR) agonists. 罗格列酮属于称为过氧化物酶体活化受体(PPAR)促效剂一类药物。

14 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

15 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

16 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

17 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

18 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。

19 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

20 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

21 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

22 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。