NPR 2011-08-15

 Congresswoman Michele Bachmann says her narrow win in the Iowa Straw Poll is the first step in a very long race. Bachmann made the rounds of the network news talk shows today, heralding¹ her victory in the test vote. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.

 

Representative Bachmann's 4,823 votes were 152 more than second-place finisher Texas Congressman² Ron Paul. On the CBS show Face the Nation, Bachmann says her recent opposition³ to raising the debt ceiling resonated with people she met traveling around Iowa before the straw poll.

 

"There hasn't been one time where someone has said to me: Michele, I want my taxes increased, and I want to make sure the government can keep spending more money that we don't have. That's never happened."

 

The straw poll results are non-binding, but they're considered to boost Bachmann's campaign. Conversely, the results have ended the presidential hopes of former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. He finished a distant third and has dropped out. Tom Goldman, NPR News.

 

Rebels in Libya are fighting for control of the key city of Zawiya. They may have taken the city center but are still battling snipers and taking heavy shelling from Muammar Gaddafi's forces. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro is in Bengazi. She says if the rebels hold on to Zawiya, they would control the important coastal⁴ highway, the main link between Tripoli and the outside world.

 

At this point, Tripoli is effectively cut off from the lifeline border with Tunisia. Zawiya lies on the road that leads there, and the rebels now control part of it. 

 

NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reporting from Bengazi.

 

Militants⁵ in Afghanistan stormed the provincial⁶ governor's compound north of Kabul today. NPR's Ahmad Shafi reports at least 22 people were killed. 

 

The attack began at around 11:30 a.m. local time. A suicide car bomb exploded at the southern gates of the governor's compound in Charikar, the capital of Parwan province north of Kabul, soon after five men wearing suicide vests attacked the governor's compound. According to Afghanistan's Ministry⁷ of Interior, two of the suicide bombers⁸ managed to blow themselves up, while the other three were killed by the police. Local officials say most of the dead are government employees. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack. An Afghan government spokeswoman says a meeting of security chiefs was under way at the time with local police and intelligence chiefs present along with advisers⁹ from NATO. But no foreign casualties have been reported so far. Ahmad Shafi, NPR News, Kabul.

 

A bomb exploded in a hotel in southwestern Pakistan today. Police officials say it killed at least 11 people and reduced the two-story hotel to rubble¹⁰. They warn that the death toll¹¹ could rise as rescue workers surge to the debris¹². No group has claimed responsibility. The attack took place in the province of Baluchistan near Afghanistan and believed to be home to many Taliban militants.

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has made her first political trip outside the country's main city after more than seven years of house arrest. NPR's Frank Langfitt reports.

 

Suu Kyi spent the day visiting supporters in two towns outside Rangoon. The events were peaceful. People reported plainclothes security agents recorded the proceedings¹³ and kept watch. Such trips have not always turned out well. The last time Suu Kyi ventured out for a political trip was 2003. Her convoy¹⁴ was ambushed¹⁵. Several people died, and she ended up in detention¹⁶ for years. Analysts¹⁷ see the current trip as a further sign of the thaw¹⁸ between Suu Kyi and the government of Myanmar, also known as Burma. The regime holds some 2,000 political prisoners and is seen as one of the world's most ruthless. Frank Langfitt, NPR News.

 

Indiana State Police now say five people died after a stage collapsed¹⁹ last night. Forty-five people were injured. They were at the Indiana State Fair, waiting for the country band Sugarland to perform when strong winds toppled the stage scaffolding. Powerful storms brought down trees and power lines in northern and central Kentucky last night. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses lost power. Strong winds in Ohio caused a blimp to slip its moorings early this morning. It drifted from an airport in Columbus. It was later found in a backyard about two miles away. The 94-year-old owner said she heard a bang but hadn't noticed the blimp in her yard until the police knocked on her door.

 

Police in Los Angeles are looking for a stolen Rembrandt. It was lifted from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey while the curator was distracted by a guest. The judgment²⁰ is valued at 250,000 dollars.

 

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

1 heralding   

v.预示( herald的现在分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• It is the heralding of a new age of responsibilities. 那预示着一个充满责任的新时期的开始。 来自互联网
• Streaks of faint light were rising, heralding a new day. 几道淡淡的晨曦正在升起，预示新的一天的来临。 来自互联网

2 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

3 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。

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 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。

6 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

10 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

11 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

12 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

13 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

14 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

15 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

17 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。

18 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

19 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

20 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。