NPR 2009-11-30

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country will build ten new facilities to enrich uranium. His statement to Iran’s state news agency came just days after the governing board of the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency censured¹ Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. Analysts² say Iran has a history of announcing such plans and not starting or completing them. But White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said if true, Iran’s plans will be another serious violation³ of UN Security Council resolutions.

A gunman barged into a coffee shop in Washington State this morning and began firing at four police officers there. All of them, three men and one woman were killed. Paula Whistle of member station KPLU has details.

We do know that these officers work for the Lakewood Police Department. That’s a small police department south of Tacoma. Right now, there is a massive, (a) manhunt for the suspect who left on foot, but is believed to have got into a vehicle. And police say they are looking at a number of vehicles, residences and possible people. Other departments, including the FBI and the state police are helping⁴ in that manhunt.
Paula Whistle reporting from Tacoma, Washington.

Voters in Honduras have been casting ballots⁵ in a presidential election today. The winner will need to guide the country out of the political crisis that resulted when President Manuel Zelaya was ousted⁶ in June. NPR s Jason Beaubien has more.

Nationwide, there are polls for the president as well as for members of Congress and for local mayors. This is an attempt to put behind it the coup⁷ that really has paralyzed Honduras for the last five months. At this point, all international flights into the capital have been canceled. Nicaragua and El Salvador also closed their borders, some of their border crossings into the country yesterday and today. In general, people are saying that things seem to be pretty quiet. Basically at this point, the election is taking place; things are moving forward and it seems going well and smoothly⁸. There has been no report at this point of major protests or major problems. NPR s Jason Beaubien reporting from Honduras.

A runoff was held today in Uruguay’s presidential election. Jose Mujica, a socialist⁹ candidate who once led an armed revolutionary movement there was favored to win. Mujica, who’s known in the country as Pepe , narrowly missed garnering¹⁰ a majority of the votes in the first round of the election.

For a third straight day, golfer Tiger Woods declined to meet with investigators¹¹ from the Florida Highway Patrol today. They want to ask him about the events surrounding Woods early morning car crash on Friday. Woods disposed a statement on his website today, saying the accident was solely¹² his fault and has become an embarrassment¹³. He added that he is human and not perfect. He also praised his wife for helping him when she saw that he was hurt after ramming¹⁴ his SUV into a fire hydrant and a tree. Woods says he considers the matter private.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Investigators in Russia are looking for witnesses and any other information that could lead them to those responsible for the homemade bomb that caused a deadly train derailment. At least 25 people were killed when several cars of the luxury express train jumped the tracks northwest of Moscow. NPR s Anne Garrels has more.

Investigators say they want to talk to a group of people seen close to the bomb site shortly before the train was derailed late Friday night. Officials are calling the explosion the worst terrorist incident in Russia in years though they say there have been no credible¹⁵ claims of responsibility. Officials had recently warned there could be a new wave of terrorism in and around the capital as anti-government violence once again picked up steam in Russia’s predominantly southern Muslim regions, including Chechnya, but some analysts say the bombing could also be the work of ultra-nationalists. Moments of silence were observed before soccer matches and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church urged the nation not to give in to fear. Anne Garrels, NPR News, Moscow.

Tens of millions of Americans are headed home from their Thanksgiving Holiday travel today. So far, there have been no major hang-ups. Johanna Romero who flew from Toronto to New York’s LaGuardia Airport today said she was surprised by the lack of delays and hassles. “I thought there’s gonna be a little bit more hectic¹⁶, because a lot of people are flying back and forth¹⁷ for visiting their families. But it is actually pretty cool.”

The AAA estimated that 38 million Americans would be travelling away from home this weekend. That’s slightly more than last year, but 20 million fewer than in 2005 when the economy was healthier.

I m Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.

1 censured   

v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的过去式 )

参考例句：

• They were censured as traitors. 他们被指责为叛徒。 来自辞典例句
• The judge censured the driver but didn't fine him. 法官责备了司机但没罚他款。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 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。

5 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

7 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

8 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。

9 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

10 garnering   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• And at the forefront was Bryant, garnering nothing but praise from his coaches and teammates. 而站在最前沿的就是科比，他也因此获得了教练和队友的赞美。 来自互联网

11 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》

12 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

13 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

14 ramming   

n.打结炉底v.夯实（土等）( ram的现在分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• They are ramming earth down. 他们在夯实泥土。 来自辞典例句
• Father keeps ramming it down my throat that I should become a doctor. 父亲一直逼我当医生。 来自辞典例句

15 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

16 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

17 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。