NPR 2011-05-02

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Nancy Lyons.

NATO is denying it was trying to kill the Gaddafi family after reports that some members died in an air strike. Teri Schultz reports in the politically charged incident.

NATO issued an unusual early morning statement on reports that 29-year-old Saif al-Arab Gaddafi and three of his children were killed when the alliance bombed what it says was a military installation in Tripoli. The Libyan government says President Muammar Gaddafi and his wife were at the same location but unharmed. While not confirming the deaths, Lieutenant¹ General Charles Bouchard reiterated² that NATO does not target individuals. He said the alliance regrets all loss of life, but noted³ that it's innocent civilians⁴ in particular who were being harmed by the conflict. Bouchard also maintained that any targets have been determined⁵ to be military in nature and directly linked to the regime's attacks on the Libyan population. He urged civilians to stay away from such sites, which are likely to be hit. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.

Investigators⁶ say they've located and recovered part of a flight data recorder from an Air France crash that killed 228 people back in 2009. Officials say a submarine found the missing unit nearly 13,000 feet below the ocean surface this morning. The plane went down in the mid-Atlantic while on a flight between Rio de Janeiro and Paris. Judging from photos, the recorder appears to be in good condition.

Authorities in Cairo, Illinois are waiting to see if a swollen⁷ levee will hold as the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers continue to rise. Mandatory⁸ evacuations have been ordered for the town of 2,800 in southern Illinois. Marty Nicholson is the region's emergency management coordinator⁹.

"We're talking lots of homes in Alexander County that are flooded, and they're still in the Olive Branch area. They are still sandbagging out there at this time, and it's just the water, just keeps coming up and moving in."

The rivers are not expected to crest¹⁰ until Tuesday.

Relief efforts continue in the hard-hit South, where residents are recovering from a series of deadly tornadoes¹¹ last week. Alabama Public Radio's Pat Duggins reports volunteers are pitching in alongside state and local disaster officials.

Teams of University of Alabama students are hiking through damaged neighborhoods, offering bottled water and food to anyone who needs it. Other groups with chainsaws are helping¹² to clear tree limbs from roads and driveways in Tuscaloosa. Local churches and organizations like the Boy Scouts¹³ are setting up support stations, where the homeless can get sleeping bags, diapers, clothing and other essentials. Officials from FEMA are visiting emergency shelters to hand out forms to apply for federal help. Others can get tips by just looking up. Small airplanes are towing banners with phone numbers for disaster relief or how to file an insurance claim. For NPR News, I'm Pat Duggins in Tuscaloosa.

Sony executives are apologizing for the massive security breach¹⁴ of its PlayStation video game online network. In their first public statement, the executives today bowed in a traditional apology and vowed¹⁵ parts of the service will be back this week.

This is NPR News.

Pope John Paul II is now Blessed as he was beatified today by Pope Benedict at the Vatican. This puts him one step away from sainthood. The BBC's David Willey reports the elaborate ceremony drew tens of thousands to St. Peter's Square this morning.

Rome hasn't seen crowds this size since the funeral of Pope John Paul six years ago. Pope Benedict, who worked closely with John Paul at the Vatican before being elected to succeed him, praised the new Blessed for having helped turn what appeared to be the "irreversible" tide of communism. He also praised John Paul for having encouraged believers throughout the world not to be afraid to be called Christian¹⁶. The huge turnout for the ceremony is a morale¹⁷ booster for the Catholic Church after the priest pedophile scandals which have scarred the church in many countries.

The BBC's David Willey reporting from Rome.

NASA says technicians need to replace a switch box in the engine compartment¹⁸ of the shuttle Endeavour so the launch is on hold. Friday, a faulty heater system forced to propose the postponement¹⁹. Mike Moses is the launch integration²⁰ manager.

"So unfortunately, we're not gonna be able to make a launch attempt in the next few days. I'm here to disappoint everybody by saying I'm not gonna tell you what the new launch date is because I have no idea. We have a lot more to evaluate."

Moses says it will be at least a week before they can consider a launch.

Tomorrow could prove to be a critical day in the NFL football impasse²¹. A St. Louis appeals court could determine whether the league deserves a permanent stay of an injunction blocking the lockout that was granted to the players by a Minnesota judge. The two sides are at odds²² over how to split revenues.

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 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。

6 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》

7 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

8 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

9 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

10 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

11 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

14 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

15 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

16 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

17 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

18 compartment   

n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间

参考例句：

• We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴，整个客车隔间由我们独享。
• The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。

19 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。

20 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

21 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

22 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？