NPR 2010-06-14

The government's point man for responding to the Gulf¹ Coast oil spill disaster says he expects BP to offer a new improved containment² plan as early as today. NPR's Neda Ulaby has more.

Admiral Thad Allen of the US Coast Guard appeared on CBS's "Face The Nation" to say the government sent two letters demanding that BP provide a more aggressive strategy for capturing gushing³ oil.

"We wanted them to give us a faster plan with greater redundancy and greater reliability⁴ to move forward, and we hope to get an answer on that later on today. In fact, we will get an answer."

An increase in the estimated flow rate has partly spurred this new urgency. The high end is now thought to be as much as 40,000 barrels of oil, polluting the water every day. That's twice as much as last week's estimate. Allen said the Coast Guard is dropping sensors⁵ in the water to take pressure readings and gather data independently from BP, but he said the exact amount will only be known once the well is completely capped, and the flow can be controlled. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

The Arab world's top diplomat⁶ is declaring support for Gaza. Arab League chief Amr Moussa's visit to the Palestinian territory is part of an international push to end the blockade Israel imposed three years ago after Hamas seized control of Gaza. Israel has been under pressure to agree to an independent international commission to investigate last month's raid on a flotilla trying to break the blockade. The raid left nine activists⁷ dead.

Thousands of ethnic⁸ Uzbeks have been fleeing their burning communities in southern Kyrgyzstan. What appears to be targeted ethnic violence in central Asia has claimed nearly 100 lives. Russia has sent paratroopers to protect its military sites in Kyrgyzstan, but as NPR's David Greene reports, the Kremlin has not yet fulfilled Kyrgyzstan's request for peacekeeping forces.

There are reports of as many as 75,000 Uzbek refugees spilling into Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan. The Uzbekistan government reported that figure to a Russian news agency; it has not been independently confirmed. Eyewitnesses⁹ on the ground in southern Kyrgyzstan described chilling scenes of Uzbek residents rushing to the border while being fired upon or beaten. They're being targeted by ethnic Kyrgyz, mostly young men roaming the streets and gangs. Some Kyrgyz residents interviewed blamed Uzbeks for starting the fighting. Whoever is responsible, the nation's fragile interim¹⁰ government has lost control of itself and is begging for Russia to send peacekeepers. Russian officials plan to meet Monday with a security alliance of former Soviet¹¹ states to consider deploying¹² a joint¹³ force. Similar ethnic fighting gripped this region in 1990, and Soviet forces were sent to calm the violence. David Greene, NPR News, Moscow.

Two musicals—one new, one a revival—are the dominant¹⁴ nominees¹⁵ at tonight's 2010 Tony Awards with 11 nominations¹⁶ apiece. Fela is the energetic Afro-beat biography of a Nigerian superstar. La Cage aux Folles is the classic Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein musical. The Tonys get underway at eight o'clock at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

This is NPR News in Washington.

Spirit Airlines is canceling all of its flights through Tuesday, stranding¹⁷ thousands more passengers as a pilot strike continues into its second day. The discount carrier announced the cancellations on its website today. The airline and its pilots have been negotiating pay, scheduling and benefits for more than three years.

In Boston tonight, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers play Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The series is tight; each team has won two games. The first to win four games secures the championship. As NPR's Tom Goldman reports, much attention tonight is focused on ailing¹⁸ Lakers center Andrew Bynum.

In this back-and-forth series, there have been few if any trends established from game to game, except this one: when LA's seven-foot center Andrew Bynum is playing, he helps his team. Conversely, in last Thursday's Game 4, Bynum aggravated¹⁹ the right knee injury he's been dealing²⁰ with and played just 12 minutes. His absence helped Boston forward Glen Davis whose scoring and rebounding²¹ fuel the Celtics' victory. After Game 4, Bynum had fluid drained from the knee and says he'll play tonight. How effectively is the question. For Boston, meanwhile, point guard Rajon Rondo has made only four of 15 free throws against LA. Coach Doc Rivers thinks in one game that inhibited²² the slashing²³, speedy guard from driving to the basket and getting fouled²⁴. Rivers says he's watching Rondo's body language to make sure the player who drives the Celtics offence stays aggressive. Tom Goldman, NPR News, Boston.

A Japanese space probe is back from a trip to an asteroid²⁵. Japanese space officials say the explorer incinerated on re-entry after traveling four billion miles in seven years, but before burning up, it released a capsule that's expected to contain the first asteroid dust ever collected.

Rebecca Sheir, NPR News, Washington.
 

1 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。

2 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

3 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

5 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

10 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

11 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

12 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

15 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

16 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

17 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

18 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

19 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

20 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

21 rebounding   

蹦跳运动

参考例句：

• The strength of negative temperature concrete is tested with supersonic-rebounding method. 本文将超声回弹综合法用于负温混凝土强度检测。
• The fundamental of basketball includes shooting, passing and catching, rebounding, etc. 篮球运动中最基本的东西包括投篮，传接球，篮板球等。

22 inhibited   

a.拘谨的，拘束的

参考例句：

• Boys are often more inhibited than girls about discussing their problems. 男孩子往往不如女孩子敢于谈论自己的问题。
• Having been laughed at for his lameness,the boy became shy and inhibited. 那男孩因跛脚被人讥笑，变得羞怯而压抑。

23 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

24 fouled   

v.使污秽( foul的过去式和过去分词 )；弄脏；击球出界；（通常用废物）弄脏

参考例句：

• Blue suit and reddish-brown socks!He had fouled up again. 蓝衣服和红褐色短袜！他又搞错了。
• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories. 整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。

25 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。