NPR 2011-09-11

 The Flight 93 National Memorial was dedicated¹ today near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the United 93 plane crashed on September 11th, 2001. It’s believed the men who hijacked² the plane planned to crash in Washington, but they were stopped by some of the passengers and crew. At today’s ceremony, former President Bill Clinton said those who interfered³ were ordinary people given no time at all to decide and they did the right thing.

 

“They saved the Capitol from attack, they saved God knows how many lives, they saved the terrorists from claiming the symbolic⁴ victory of smashing the center of American government.”’

 

Former President George W. Bush also spoke⁵. He said those aboard Flight 93 performed one of the most courageous⁶ acts in US history.

 

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Arlington National Cemetery⁷ today to pay tribute to the military personnel killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. NPR’s David Schaper reports the First Family then helped prepare meals for the homeless in Washington DC to commemorate⁸ the September 11th, a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

 

Mr. Obama and the first lady walked hand in hand through section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery. It’s where members of the military killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. Those two conflicts have killed more than 6,200 American military personnel. The Obamas stopped to talk with members of a couple of families who appeared to be visiting grave sites. They chatted a few minutes, posed for pictures and shook hands and hugged. The Obamas and their daughters later went to DC Central Kitchen to help prepare meals that are delivered to homeless shelters, halfway⁹ houses and senior citizen centers. While scooping¹⁰ chicken sausage gumbo into serving pans, the president said outstanding programs like this and the volunteers are part of the spirit of what remembering 9/11 is all about - the country being unified¹¹ and people looking out for one another. David Schaper, NPR News.

 

The swollen¹² Susquehanna River is falling today after flooding low-lying areas of Pennsylvania’s capital Harrisburg. Craig Layne from member station WITF has more on how people are cleaning up.

 

People who live in and work in some of the city’s riverfront neighborhoods have been able to start pumping water out of their homes and businesses. Chris Fantons, a partner with a financial advisory¹³ firm that saw its building almost surrounded by river water.

 

“Fortunately, we didn’t get any water on the first floor, but the basement was filled to the ceiling. So we’re pumping out now, about 1,000 gallons a minute coming out of it, and they could add it for a couple hours now.”

 

The Susquehanna crested¹⁴ early yesterday morning at more than eight feet above flood stage. A state of emergency and nighttime curfew are expected to remain in effect through tomorrow. For NPR News, I’m Craig Layne in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is committed to peace with Egypt despite violent protests outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo. A riot involving hundreds of Egyptians began last night and continued into this morning. 

 

This is NPR News.

 

A ship sank off the coast of Tanzania early this morning. Officials say at least 192 people were killed; about 570 people were rescued. Witnesses say several survivors¹⁵ clung to a single life jacket for hours before being picked up. It’s not clear how many were aboard, but officials believe there were hundreds more than the ship was allowed to have. The ship sank in deep water between mainland Tanzania and Pemba Island, a popular tourist destination.

 

NASA is monitoring a 20-year-old research satellite that will fall back to Earth sometime in the next few weeks. NPR’s Nell Greenfieldboyce reports pieces of the old satellite are expected to survive a fire reentry.

 

The big satellite weighs around six tons. Nick Johnson is a space junk expert at NASA.

 

“This is the largest NASA satellite to come back and control for quite a while.”

 

He expects about two dozen pieces of the satellite to plummet¹⁶ to the ground. The biggest will weigh around 300 pounds, but he says it is very unlikely the debris¹⁷ will hit anyone or damage property. NASA will be able to provide better information on the timing¹⁸ of the reentry as it gets closer. Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR News.

 

Two US space probes are on their way to the moon. NASA launched a Delta¹⁹ II rocket carrying the probes from Cape²⁰ Canaveral, Florida this morning.

 

“3, 2, 1, 0. And lift off, of the Delta II with GRAIL, journey to the center of the moon.”

 

It will take nearly four months for the unmanned spacecraft to reach its destination. It won’t land, but it will orbit the moon about 35 miles above the surface to conduct research.

 

I’m Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

1 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

2 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

3 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

5 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。

6 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

7 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

8 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

9 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

10 scooping   

n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• Heated ice cream scoop is used for scooping really cold ice cream. 加热的冰淇淋勺是用来舀非常凉的冰淇淋的。 来自互联网
• The scoop-up was the key phase during a scooping cycle. 3个区间中，铲取区间是整个作业循环的关键。 来自互联网

11 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

12 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。

13 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

14 crested   

adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• a great crested grebe 凤头䴙䴘
• The stately mansion crested the hill. 庄严的大厦位于山顶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

16 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

17 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。

18 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

19 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

20 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。