NPR 2010-06-08

It has been an especially bloody¹ day for American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Five American soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan, at least two other Americans died in a separate attack today. The alliance is suffering a loss of three other troops from other countries in what may have been the deadliest day this year for international forces so far.

 

Eleven thousand barrels of oil - that's how much BP says it captured from the runaway² well on Sunday, but there is still lots of oil spewing into the Gulf³ of Mexico. We have more on this from NPR's Richard Harris.

 

The oil collection system installed last week improved a little bit between Saturday and Sunday, though it doesn't seem to have the capacity to collect as much oil as is spewing from the broken well. The ship that's processing the oil and gas at the surface can handle 15,000 barrels a day, and BP is now preparing to put in place a second ship that can handle another 5,000 barrels. Still experts say that the amount of oil spewing into the Gulf could easily exceed 20,000 barrels a day, so the government says BP is now starting to move a rig from the North Sea over to the Gulf of Mexico in order to handle the flow of oil from the broken well. Admiral Thad Allen says it could take a couple of weeks to get that in position. Richard Harris, NPR News.

 

Eurasian and Middle East leaders have been attending a security summit in Turkey while Israel was represented by a lower rank diplomat⁴. Israel is facing more diplomatic fire for its confrontation⁵ with a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last week in which nine people were killed.

 

Veteran White House journalist Helen Thomas is retiring and has apologized after a firestorm of criticism over recent remarks about Israel. NPR's David Folkenflik reports on Thomas's controversial departure following a trailblazing career.

 

Helen Thomas is just shy of her 90th birthday, and she has covered every American president since John F. Kennedy. The increasingly acerbic⁶ reporter became an opinion columnist⁷ for Hearst Newspapers when she left the atrophying⁸ United Press International wire service in 2000. At a recent Jewish heritage celebration at the White House, Thomas, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, told an interviewer that Israeli should "get the hell out of Palestine."

 

"Where is their home?"

 

"Poland, Germany."

 

So the Jews, you think Jews should go back to Poland and Germany.

 

The vast majority of Polish and German Jews were killed in the Holocaust⁹, and an outrage¹⁰ at video of her remarks led her speaking agent to drop her in widespread criticism. On Monday, both White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and the White House Correspondents' Association condemned¹¹ her too. By midday, Hearst announced Thomas's retirement¹². David Folkenflik, NPR News.

 

World stock markets rattled¹³ again today by the ongoing¹⁴ European debt crisis, and it's certainly affecting US stocks. At last check, Dow was down more than 100 at 9,816.

 

This is NPR.

 

In a few days, a nurses strike could turn into the largest of its kind in the US. More than 24,000 nurses in Minnesota and California are preparing to hold a one-day walkout this Thursday after contract talks broke down.

 

A new study measures the severity of mental disorders¹⁶ such as PTSD and depression among soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's published in the Archives of General Psychiatry¹⁷. NPR's Alix Spiegel reports.

 

According to the study, between 8% and 14% of service members who have been to Iraq and Afghanistan returned seriously disabled by mental health problems like posttraumatic stress disorder¹⁵ and depression. Between 23% and 31% returned with some impairment, that is, they are struggling but essentially¹⁸ still able to function. To do the study, psychiatrists¹⁹ from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research collected over 18,000 anonymous²⁰ surveys from service members. The surveys were taken at both three months and 12 months after they returned from service abroad. Alix Spiegel, NPR News, Washington.

 

New diplomatic tension looms²¹ over Poland's investigation²² into April's plane crash in which the Polish president and 95 other people were killed in Russia. Authorities in Warsaw say credit cards belonging to a member of the Polish delegation²³ were stolen from the crash site and that Russia was questioning four soldiers. However, Moscow denies there was a theft or that service members were in custody²⁴.

 

Again investors²⁵ are increasingly worried that Europe's debt crisis could be reaching Hungary, and that together with a new four-year-low for the euro has really hit stock markets. Last check, the Dow was down 116 points.
 

1 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

2 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

5 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

6 acerbic   

adj.酸的，刻薄的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• He sent back an acerbic letter.他回复了一封尖刻的信。

7 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

8 atrophying   

v.（使）萎缩，（使）虚脱，（使）衰退( atrophy的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• An element of frivolity keeps a soul from atrophying. 轻浮的一个元素可以防止精神萎缩。 来自互联网
• An element of frivolity keeps a soul atrophying. 轻浮的一个元素就是让灵魂永葆青春。 来自互联网

9 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

10 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

11 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。

12 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

13 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

14 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。

15 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

16 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

18 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

19 psychiatrists   

n.精神病专家，精神病医生( psychiatrist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are psychiatrists in good standing. 他们是合格的精神病医生。 来自辞典例句
• Some psychiatrists have patients who grow almost alarmed at how congenial they suddenly feel. 有些精神分析学家发现，他们的某些病人在突然感到惬意的时候几乎会兴奋起来。 来自名作英译部分

20 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

21 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

23 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

24 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

25 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会