NPR 2011-02-22

Opposition¹ groups declare they are in control of several more cities in Libya, among them Benghazi, the country's second largest city. Cheers ring out during a demonstration² in which men were seen climbing onto a tank outside a burned-out government building. They're demanding Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi resign, and he's coming under even more pressure to step down. More diplomats⁴ overseas are calling for Gaddafi's resignation. And at home, the justice minister has resigned in protest.

Iranian opposition leaders are condemning⁵ the German foreign minister for visiting Tehran during violent crackdowns on demonstrators. As NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Bahrain, the visit did win the release of two German journalists held in Iran.

Opposition websites and officials blasted the rare official visit by Germany's top diplomat³ Guido Westerwelle to Tehran. Westerwelle was accused of trying to appease⁶ the mullahs. Berlin defended the visit as an essential humanitarian⁷ mission to secure the release of two German journalists, who were arrested while trying to interview the family member of a woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery. Germany said Westerwelle had succeeded in bringing the two journalists home to Berlin on his plane. There was no new information on two American hikers, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who have been held for more than a year and a half. Opposition websites reported violent crackdowns by security forces against anti-government demonstrators in Tehran and other cities yesterday. Peter Kenyon, NPR News.

The fight over union rights shows no sign of slowing down in Wisconsin. Public workers have marched on Wisconsin's State Capitol, demanding Republican Governor Scott Walker abandon all attempts to take away their collective bargaining rights, but Walker isn't wavering. He says the measure's necessary to address a projected 3.6-billion-dollar budget deficit⁸. 

A budget battle is also raging in Indiana. WFYI's Marian Holland reports from Indianapolis that police estimate thousands of mostly union workers turned up at the Indiana Statehouse today, where lawmakers are taking up so-called "Right-to-Work" legislation.

There are several labor⁹ bills before the Indiana legislature including one to prohibit union membership and fees from being a condition of employment. Backers argue it would attract more business to the state. But opponents, such as Eddlem Malley, a firefighter and union president from Hammond, Indiana, who spoke¹⁰ at the committee hearing, says the proposed new laws won't help bring good jobs to the state.

"This is the first step into union-busting tactics. This is something that we have to nip in the bud, vote against this and show the rest of America that we support our brothers and sisters of blue collar and of our labor."

The committee approved the bill, and it now goes to the full Republican-controlled House for consideration. For NPR News, I'm Marian Holland in Indianapolis.

This is NPR.

A wintry mix of snow and freezing rain this Presidents' Day is snarling¹¹ ground and air travel in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern US. Flight delays are reported out of the New York area. The same system forced hundreds of flight cancellations in and out of the Upper Midwest, which was pounded yesterday. The storm generated freezing rain and snow in several states including Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The tiny Baltic country of Estonia is in mourning a day after a fire engulfed¹² an orphanage¹³. Jessica Gallaher reports at least ten people were killed.

A national day of mourning has been declared in Estonia. Flags are at half-staff as the nation remembers the victims in a fire on Sunday. Officials say the blaze tore through a home for disabled orphans¹⁴, where most of the residents were bedridden or wheelchair-bound. The fire broke out in the northwestern seaside town of Haapsalu, some 60 miles west of the capital of Tallinn. The government says it was the nation's deadliest care-home fire in a decade. Officials say the victims included eight children between the ages of 7 and 16 and two disabled adults. Officials say the victims died of smoke inhalation. The cause of the blaze has yet to be determined¹⁵. Fire officials say the building passed the safety inspection¹⁶ last month. For NPR News, I'm Jessica Gallaher in Moscow.

This hour, NASA puts its countdown clocks back to work for what engineers are hoping will be a successful blastoff for space shuttle Discovery this Thursday. They say the weather outlook is good. Discovery was scheduled to launch for the last time back in November, but it's been grounded since then after engineers discovered a hydrogen gas leak and cracks in the external fuel tank.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

3 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。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 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。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 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。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

12 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

14 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

15 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

16 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。