NPR 2009-09-07

The White House says the resignation of President Obama's special adviser¹ on green jobs, Van Jones, came because Jones had decided² the agenda of the president is bigger than any one individual. Jones stepped down from his position with the White House Council on Environmental Quality amid rising calls for his resignation by Republican leaders who criticized his past statements and links to certain groups. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

The President and the CEQ accepted his resignation because Van Jones, as he says in his statement, understood that he was going to get in the way of the President, and ultimately this country, moving forward on something as important as creating jobs in a clean energy economy.

Gibbs was on ABC's "This Week". Jones had previously³ issued apologies for a derogatory statement about Republicans and for signing a petition in 2004 suggesting former President Bush might have knowingly allowed the 9/11 attacks.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is edging closer to the 50% mark in the vote count from that country's recent elections. But officials have thrown out results from 447 polling stations because of allegations of fraud. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson has more from Kabul.

Disqualifying results from less than 500 polling stations across the country is unlikely to appease⁴ angry candidates and voters who allege⁵ mass voting fraud, especially when comparing the number of disqualified stations to the nearly 19,000 polling stations whose votes the commissioners⁶ have declared valid⁷. The latest results, representing ballots⁸ from 74% of polling stations, have Karzai inching ahead with 48.6% of the vote. His top rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, has 30.7% of the votes. Karzai doesn't have enough votes to be declared the winner outright⁹ and the race appears to be headed for a runoff next month. But a runoff cannot be scheduled until all ongoing¹⁰ fraud investigations¹¹ are completed. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Kabul.

The weekend closure of one of the nation's busiest bridges is likely to have to be extended. Inspectors¹² have discovered some damage to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge that could delay its reopening. Bob Hensley of Capital Public Radio has details.

The bridge that connects San Francisco and Oakland was closed Thursday night for a planned seismic¹³ upgrade project. While inspecting the structure which partially¹⁴ collapsed¹⁵ during an earthquake 20 years ago, a crack was found in a chain-like steel link that helps support a section of the bridge. Officials say that flaw alone is enough to shut down the ten-lane toll¹⁶ bridge that's crossed daily by hundreds of thousands of vehicles. The 73-year-old bridge was last inspected in 2007. So officials reason the crack materialized over the past two years. The structure was scheduled to reopen Tuesday morning following the holiday weekend. But now officials say they are not sure when the bridge would reopen. To accommodate detour¹⁷ vehicles, commuter¹⁸ train and ferry services have been expanded. For NPR News, I'm Bob Hensley in Modesto, California.

This is NPR News.

The administration officials are not saying if President Obama will insist on a government health insurance option as part of any overhaul¹⁹ of the nation's healthcare system. But Mr. Obama's political adviser David Axelrod says the President is not walking away from a public option. "He believes the public option is a good tool now. It shouldn't define the whole health care debate, however." Axelrod was on NBC's "Meet the Press". The President speaks to Congress about the health care issue on Wednesday evening.

The former ruling party in Mexico, the PRI, has suspended campaigning for a state congressional seat after their candidate and his family were murdered. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

Jose Francisco Fuentes Esperon had announced on Friday that he was running for a congressional post in the southern state of Tabasco. He was found shot to death the next day. The gunmen who burst into his house in Villahermosa also killed his wife and two young sons. Local officials said they had no suspects or potential motives²⁰ for the murders, but said the act was carried out with viciousness and cruelty. As Mexico's drug war grinds on, more than 13,000 people have been killed nationwide since December of 2006. Increasingly, government officials including politicians, police officers and prosecutors²¹ are being targeted. Last month, the head of the state congress in Guerrero was assassinated²² outside his home. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Mexico City.

The huge wildfire in the mountains north of Los Angeles is now 51% contained and is no longer threatening homes. Fire crews are building protective lines to keep the blaze from spreading eastward²³ across a mountain highway in the San Gabriel Wilderness²⁴. Authorities are working to determine who set the fire. At least a dozen investigators²⁵ are working on the case.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

5 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

6 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

7 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

8 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》

9 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

12 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

14 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

15 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

16 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。

17 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

18 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

19 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。

20 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

21 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。

22 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

23 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

24 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

25 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》