NPR 2010-09-05

Palestinian Authorities continued a crackdown on militants² in the West Bank today following the shooting attacks on Israeli settlers this week. NPR's Deborah Amos reports from Jerusalem.

As many as 600 Palestinians have been arrested in the largest crackdown ever in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authorities. The militant¹ group Hamas killed four Israeli settlers, wounded two others, and this week in a news conference in Gaza announced that a new wave of attacks would follow. The killings³ came as Palestinian and Israeli leaders met in Washington to open direct talks for the first time in years. While the Israeli Defence Forces controlled the area where the attacks took place, renewed violence could derail negotiations⁴, and the Palestinians are under pressure to demonstrate they can enforce security in areas under their control in the West Bank, but Palestinian human rights groups have condemned⁵ the mass arrests, many without warrants. Deborah Amos, NPR News, Jerusalem.

In the Gulf⁶ of Mexico, BP crews are having to wait to hoist⁷ the failed blowout preventer to the surface. The 300-ton piece of equipment has been raised to 500 feet below the surface, but it has combustible⁸ ice-like crystals on it, so crews are waiting until they melt. Federal investigators⁹ consider the blowout preventer a key piece of evidence. Meanwhile, a new blowout preventer has been installed atop BP’s busted¹⁰ well.

A federal appeals court in Denver is throwing out a 900-million-dollar award to thousands of Colorado homeowners, who sued a nearby nuclear weapons plant. NPR's David Schaper reports the homeowners claimed plutonium from the plant contaminated their property.

Some 12,000 property owners downwind from the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plants northwestern Denver sued the Department of Energy, Dow Chemical and the former Rockwell International in the early 1990s, claiming plutonium particles emitted from the facility contaminated their homes and yards. In 2006 after a lengthy¹¹ legal battle in trail, a jury awarded the homeowners $926 million in damages, but a three-judge panel on the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the jury reached its decision on faulty instructions that incorrectly stated the law. The judges say the presence of plutonium shows only a risk and not actual damages to residents’ health and properties. And the appeals court ruled that decreased property values cannot be counted as damages. David Schaper, NPR News.

The adult section of Craigslist is shut down for today at least. The classified ad website has made no announcement, but the section is marked as "censored¹²". The move comes after 17 state attorneys generals said Craigslist does not adequately block ads that promote prostitution and child trafficking.

A state of emergency and curfew are in effect in Christchurch, New Zealand after a powerful earthquake early Saturday local time. It registerd a magnitude 7.1 and did massive damage.

This is NPR.

Thousands of Muslims in Indonesia are protesting plans by a Florida church to burn copies of the Koran. The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida plans to mark the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks by burning Islam's holy book.

Britain's former Prime Minister Tony Blair tells the BBC radical¹³ Islam is the world's biggest threat and calls it "regressive, wicked and backward-looking". The former British leader's on a book tour for his memoir¹⁴, which is already a best seller after being released this week, but that popularity didn't extend to a Dublin bookstore. When Blair arrived this morning for a book signing, four protesters were arrested. Larry Miller¹⁵ has more.

Despite a heavy police presence outside Eason's bookstore in downtown Dublin, around 200 antiwar protesters hurled¹⁶ shoes and eggs at Blair. They chanted slogans including "Blair, Blair, Bush’s man, blood on their hands". The demonstrators were held back when they tried to push through a security barrier. There were scuffles with police, who were expecting a confrontation¹⁷ and closed off streets to traffic. The demonstrators were, however, outnumbered by 300 customers, waiting to buy signed coppies of the book. They had to leave their bags and cellphones behind, and photographs were banned. Blair canceled a book tour of the UK to avoid similar protests. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

Tropical Storm Earl has made landfall in Canada's Nova Scotia, leaving behind little of the damage that was feared along the US East Coast. Earl lost power last night as it passed through the waters of New England. Cape¹⁸ Cod¹⁹, which forecasters thought was in Earl's path when it was still a hurricane, saw heavy rain but suffered no major damage.
 

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 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。

6 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。

7 hoist   

n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起

参考例句：

• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。
• Hoist the Chinese flag on the flagpole,please!请在旗杆上升起中国国旗！

8 combustible   

a. 易燃的,可燃的; n. 易燃物,可燃物

参考例句：

• Don't smoke near combustible materials. 别在易燃的材料附近吸烟。
• We mustn't take combustible goods aboard. 我们不可带易燃品上车。

9 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》

10 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

11 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

12 censored   

受审查的，被删剪的

参考例句：

• The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
• The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。

13 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

14 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

15 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

16 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

19 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。