NPR 2011-02-12

We are expecting to hear shortly from President Obama on his reaction to developments out of Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak announced he had resigned. It is a dramatic scene in Tahrir Square which erupted in cheers on news today that Mubarak was stepping down. It's what the throngs¹ of anti-government protesters were expecting to hear last night, but instead, were baffled and outraged² that Mubarak didn't seem to want to give up power. It was quite a different story and scene today in Cairo. And NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is on the scene.

The square is packed with people as it's been, but you also hear cars honking³. They removed the barricades⁴, and so people are sort of coming into the square and going out of the square, waving flags, a lot of them with little children on their shoulders just shouting. It's been like one giant war since the announcement was made some hours ago that President Mubarak would be stepping down. And it's just an incredible release that you can just feel. It's just palpable, reflected from the sound of the people, you know, again, from cars honking. And firecrackers are going off, fireworks are going off. It's like New Year's Eve in Times Square times ten.

NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson. The question many are asking is what happens in the days and weeks ahead. Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, says the role of the military will be critical in the establishment of democracy in Egypt.

"The military has to both ensure order in a certain sense, but at the same time, not act in an overbearing fashion. That will be absolutely crucial."

Egypt's military says it will not act as a substitute for a legitimate⁵ government. On state-run TV today, a spokesman for the country's Supreme⁶ Military Council said the armed forces would later share more details on measures aimed at giving the Egyptian people what they want. But with many uncertain about the next step in a post-Mubarak Egypt, Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei tells NPR that today's development is still a major step in the right direction for the country.

"Every Egyptian is a different Egyptian today. It's - we have finally hoped to catch up with the rest of the world, to turn our country where it deserves to be, a democracy, and so, made of social justice."

And reactions are coming quickly across the Middle East to the historic events in Egypt. A generation of Arabs has followed every moment of this uprising. Text messages of congratulations are filling the air in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Arab World. And again, recapping our top story: In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak said he had resigned, he was stepping down, the announcement delivered by Vice⁷ President Omar Suleiman. And within moments, we are expecting to hear reaction from President Obama.

This is NPR.

The way goes on for Wikileaks founder⁸ Julian Assange. A judge in Britain today wrapped up Assange's extradition⁹ hearing. NPR's David Greene says the judge will be back with a decision in two weeks on whether the head of Wikileaks should be handed over to Swedish authorities.

Whenever the judge decides, appeals are likely in Assange's extradition case. Swedish officials want to ask the 39-year-old about allegations from two women who say Assange had improper¹⁰ sexual relations with them in Stockholm. Assange's lawyers argued a trial in Sweden might be unfair since Swedish law allows some rape¹¹ trials to be conducted in secret. The attorneys also accused Sweden's prime minister of making the atmosphere "toxic¹²" by portraying¹³ Assange as an enemy. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has responded to criticism of his legal system launched by Assange's lawyers there's no public record of him calling the Wikileaks founder an enemy. Assange's lawyers did also argue a trip to Sweden would put their client at risk of being extradited to the US, where they say political figures have suggested executing whoever was responsible for leaking diplomatic cables to Assange's website. David Greene, NPR News, London.

The US trade deficit¹⁴ is widening. The Commerce Department said today the gap increased nearly 6% to $40.6 billion in December. Analysts¹⁵ say it grew because the 2.6% gain in imports outpaced exports, which saw an increase of under 2%, more like 1.8%. The deficit in December capped a year in which the US trade gap widened by the largest amount in ten years.

Here's the latest from Wall Street. The Dow is up 47 points at 12,276; the NASDAQ gaining 17, up more than 0.5% at 2,808.

1 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

2 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

3 honking   

v.（使）发出雁叫似的声音，鸣（喇叭），按（喇叭）( honk的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Flocks of honking geese flew past. 雁群嗷嗷地飞过。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

5 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

10 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

11 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

12 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。

13 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

14 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。