NPR 2009-11-29

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Craig Windham.

Russian officials are calling the bomb that caused a deadly train derailment last night the worst terrorist attack in that country in years. The blast forced a luxury high-speed train heading from Moscow to St. Petersburg to jump the tracks, killing¹ at least 26 people and injuring scores of others. The BBC’s Richard Galpin has more.

The head of the Federal Security Service or FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, said it was a home-made bomb containing the equivalence of 7 kilograms of high explosive. Earlier investigators² at the scene of the crash were reported to have found parts of a bomb and a crater³ by the tracks. Almost 24 hours after the incident, officials still say 18 people are missing. Many of the injured are in a serious condition and have been taken to hospitals in the capital or St. Petersburg.

The BBC’s Richard Galpin reporting. Investigators say a second less powerful blast went off beside the tracks while crews were clearing the debris⁴ from the first explosion. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

A major international conference on Afghanistan will be held in London at the end of January. The goal is to set conditions for a gradual transfer of security responsibilities to the Afghan government, opening the way for the withdrawal⁵ of NATO troops. Larry Miller⁶ has more from London.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says President Karzai will be told to supply 50, 000 troops for training over the next year, boost the police force and recruit regional and district governors who are not corrupt⁷ and can deliver vital services to the Afghan people. He wants milestone⁸ set and met. Brown said the UN Secretary General would be at the conference, along with representatives of the 43 nations connected to the NATO-led force. Brown also said he wants the conference to agree a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops. The Afghan war is becoming increasingly unpopular in Britain and Brown faces reelection early next year. The prime minister has said Afghanistan’s government is corrupt and he would not continue to risk British lives unless it reforms. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

A blitz of bargains in predawn store openings were apparently⁹ only modestly successful in coaxing¹⁰ consumers to spend more on the day after Thanksgiving. Preliminary sales data from the national research firm ShopperTrak finds that sales are up only 0.5% compared to the same day last year. But ShopperTrak’s Bill Martin says it’s a good start compared to last year’s dismal¹¹ results. “I think if the consumers continue to watch for the special, then lots of things that are available by the retailers¹² is then, were, actually aimed at about 1. 6% gain for the year holiday season.” Other research showed much stronger sales online yesterday. Coremetrics, a firm that analyzes¹³ online sales, said the average online shopper on Black Friday spent 35% more than the same day last year.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Architects, painters, filmmakers and other artists have been hard-hit by the nation’s economic recession. Findings of a new survey provide a glimpse of just how hard and how they’re adapting. NPR’s Elizabeth Blair has the story.

The study pretty much confirms some well-known attributes of creative careers. Artists don’t make a lot of money. Most of them need to hold down other jobs to make ends meet. And they don’t have adequate health insurance. But they are very resourceful. Among the findings, 18% of the respondents said their incomes had dropped by half or more and 37% said grants they received are smaller. The survey was commissioned by a non-profit called Leveraging¹⁴ Investments in Creativity. It was funded in part by the Ford¹⁵ Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. More than 5, 300 artists responded to the survey, which was conducted for two months last summer. The survey found that morale¹⁶ is still strong. Seventy-five percent said this is an inspiring time to be an artist. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.

A school district near Cincinnati is suing a plastics plant, accusing it of releasing chemicals into the air that exceed government pollution standards. The school district shut down an elementary school across the street from the facility four years ago and says it has been unable to sell the building.

Florida Highway Patrol officers went to golfer Tiger Woods’ home today to question him about the circumstances surrounding his car crash early yesterday. Woods hit a fire hydrant and a tree after backing out of his driveway. The highway patrol plans to release tapes of the 911 call reporting the accident tomorrow.

I’m Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

4 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

7 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

8 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

9 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

10 coaxing   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应

参考例句：

• No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。
• It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句

11 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

12 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

13 analyzes   

v.分析( analyze的第三人称单数 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• This approach analyzes management by studying experience usually through cases. 这个学派通常从实例获得经验，用以分析管理。 来自辞典例句
• The econometrician analyzes statistical data. 经济计量学者要分析统计材料。 来自辞典例句

14 leveraging   

促使…改变( leverage的现在分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• De-leveraging is a painful process: it has barely begun. 去杠杆化是个痛苦的过程：它才刚刚开始。
• Archimedes said, saying: Give me a fulcrum, I can leveraging the Earth. 阿基米德说过一句话：给我一个支点，我可以撬动地球。

15 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

16 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。