NPR 2009-08-17

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is indicating that the administration may have backed away from its insistence¹ on a government insurance entity² to help cover the tens of millions of Americans who do not currently have health insurance. Sebelius said the government insurer is not an essential element of an overhaul³ of the health care system and that non-profit insurance cooperatives may suffice instead. "I think there will be a competitor to private insurers. That's really the essential part, is you don't turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing. We need some choices,we need some competitions." Sebelius was interviewed on CNN's "State of the Union".

An American man who had been sentenced to prison in Myanmar was allowed to leave that country today along with visiting Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. Webb had met with the leader of the country's ruling junta⁴. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from Bangkok.

Senator Webb’s rare meeting with Senior General Than Shwe yielded two immediate⁵ results: the release of John Yettaw on humanitarian⁶ grounds and an hour-long meeting with detained opposition⁷ leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Webb told reporters today he was grateful for these gestures of goodwill⁸ by the military and hoped they were something to build on in an effort to improve relations between the US and Myanmar. Sanctions against the regime aren't working, he said, it is important to find ways to end the isolation⁹ of the Burmese people and improve their daily lives. Webb told reporters he’d also asked Myanmar's military rulers to release Aung San Suu Kyi before elections scheduled for next year. The generals, he said, haven't responded. John Yettaw meanwhile is in a Bangkok hospital to deal with medical issues exacerbated¹⁰ by nearly four months in detention¹¹. Michael Sullivan, NPR News, Bangkok.

Bomb attacks in Baghdad today killed at least six people and wounded dozens of others in a commercial area. Civilians¹² and minority groups have become targets after the US military handed over security responsibility to Iraqi forces earlier this summer. NPR's Deborah Amos reports from Baghdad.

The deadly bombings have become a daily fact of life in Baghdad--after dark at places where people hang out at the end of the day, in the early morning where people gathered to look for work. Often the death toll¹³ is low, but there is a higher cost in public confidence especially with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. He has been unable to deliver on public services such as more electricity, but he has built his reputation on convincing war-weary Iraqis he could keep them safe. The steady casualty count has taken another toll. The Iraqi government announced that plans for a nationwide census¹⁴ has been put on indefinite hold. Counting Iraqis, documenting the actual number of Iraq's diverse religious and ethnic¹⁵ communities was considered too divisive at this time. Deborah Amos, NPR News, Baghdad.

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Hot, dry winds are fanning the flames of nearly a dozen wildfires in California, including a blaze in the Santa Cruz Mountains that has spread over ten square miles. That fire is now about 50% contained. But CalFire spokesman John Buchanan says fire crews still face some difficult challenges. "There's some really steep terrain¹⁶ here. In some places, it is almost like 200 feet straight down from the road. So,just hiking down and getting hand crews and stuff down there is just treacherous¹⁷." Buchanan says more than 2,000 firefighters are battling the blaze.

The State of California has reached a settlement with the makers¹⁸ of Astro Turf that will nearly eliminate potentially dangerous lead from the company's artificial grass. Bob Hensley of Capital Public Radio has the story.

California filed a lawsuit¹⁹ last year against Astro Turf and two other companies after tests showed excessive lead levels in their products. Manufacturers use lead to keep the colors in artificial turf from fading. Environmental organization charged that children could ingest unsafe amounts of lead by playing on Astro Turf carpets. Charles Margulis is with the Center for Environmental Health. "This is a chemical that's stunningly²⁰ toxic²¹ to children. This can cause lifelong behavior problems, learning problems." Under terms of the settlement, Astro Turf will also pay a hefty civil penalty and attorney's fees. For NPR News, I'm Bob Hensley in Modesto, California.

Tropical storm Claudette is bearing down on the Florida Panhandle and could become the first tropical storm to hit the mainland this year. The storm has winds of at least 50 miles an hour. Forecasters are keeping an eye on two other storms farther out in the Atlantic Ocean that have potential of strengthening over the next week.

I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.

1 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

2 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

3 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

4 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

9 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

10 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

12 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。

13 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

14 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

15 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

16 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

17 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

18 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

20 stunningly   

ad.令人目瞪口呆地；惊人地

参考例句：

• The cooks, seamstresses and other small investors are stunningly vulnerable to reversals. 那些厨师、裁缝及其他的小投资者非常容易受到股市逆转的影响。
• The production cost of this huge passenger liner is stunningly high. 这艘船城造价之高令人惊叹。

21 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。