NPR美国国家公共电台 2013-05-06

　　From NPR News in Washington, I am &

 

　　Several explosions erupted the Syrian capital of Damascus today. Syrian state television is blaming the attack on the Israeli military. From Jerusalem, NPR’s && reports,

 

　　Israel is officially not commenting on the report that its air force strike targets in Damascus. This latest attack is much larger than one on Friday. Both were apparently¹ aimed at missiles in Syria that were intended to go to Hazbollah, the militant² organization in Lebanon and close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Israel has repeated said it will do whatever necessary to keep weapons that threaten Israel out of Hezballah’s control. One Israeli commentator³ said Sunday that because of the uncertain future in Syria, Hezbollah is likely to move as many weapon as possible into Lebanon. He says Israel would then likely continue to attack leading to a ritual that could spiral out of control. && NPR news,  Jerusalem.

 

　　Meanwhile, Syrian activists⁴ continue to report new clashes between Syrian government troops and rebels. The Syrian Observatory⁵ For Human Rights says government troops attack neighborhoods in && province with &&, while rebels bombarded towns in the && province. The activists say the rebels fought Syrian troops at a military airport near the city of &&.

 

　　Malaysia’s ruling coalition⁶ has won a hard-fought in general election and retained the grip on power it has held since 1957, && reports. The result follows a record 80% voter turnout. Malaysia’s election commission says the ruling national front coalition passed the t&& for a sample of majority in parliament for it needed to win. The coalition’s aim is to restore the 2/3 of majority they lost in the last election 5 years ago. Prime Minister & says he hopes the opposition⁷ would accept the result. But opposition leader and former deputy Prime Minister *earlier claimed victory before most of the votes were counted, the opposition accused the government of && fake voters into some constituencies and using purple ink which could be washed off voters’ fingers so they can vote more than once. && NPR news, Jakarta

 

　　Lawyers for one the college students charged in the case of Boston Marathon Bombing are seeking his release from jail.&& was arrested and accused of lying to federal investigators⁸ in the case. He is a friend of surviving bombing suspect &&, agents say * was not straightforward⁹ when he was questioned about visiting his friend’s dorm room after the bombings. His lawyers say he is a frightened teenager who was subject to intense questioning without an attorney present.

 

　　The spring fire burning northwest of Los Angles is now about 60% contained. Fire officials say they are getting help from cooler weather and higher humidity. They hope to fully¹⁰ encircle the flames by tomorrow although flames have scorched¹¹ 43 square miles.

 

　　You are listening to NPR news from Washington

 

　　The death toll¹² is rising again in the deadly building collapse¹³ in Bangladesh. At least 622 people are now known dead from the crumbling¹⁴ of the & plaza¹⁵ building on April 24

 

　　Several garment factories were inside the building. The AP spoke¹⁶ with an architect who says the building was never supposed to be higher than 5 stories and was not intended for factory production.

 

　　The World Jewish Congress is meeting in Budapest today despite anti-Semitic protest by a far-right Hungarian party, NPR’s *** reports from Berlin, protesters accused Jews of trying to buy out the country,

 

　　Senior figures from the opposition ** party stirred up a crowd on Saturday by claiming Israeli President &&& have praised Jews for buying property in Hungary. They also claim the World Jewish Congress is holding is gathering¹⁷ in Budapest to shame the Hungarian people. Some of those taking part in the rally wore the black uniform of are the so-called Hungary guard, which has been accused of an attack on ** communities. The Hungarian Prime Minister had ordered the rally banned, but he court ruled that the authority could not legally block it. The WJC normally hold its’ meeting in Jerusalem, but chose Hungary this year to highlight the growing anti-Semitism in Europe.&& NPR news, Berlin.

 

　　There is a volcano in Alaska that is having a continuous low-levelly eruption¹⁸. The Alaska volcano observatory says the & volcano was emitting a steady plum of ash, steam and gas. It is nearly a thousand miles southwest of && , a very sparsely¹⁹ populated area.  The official are closely watching air quality.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 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。

8 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》

9 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

12 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。

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

14 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

15 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

16 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。

17 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

18 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

19 sparsely   

adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地

参考例句：

• Relative to the size, the city is sparsely populated. 与其面积相比，这个城市的人口是稀少的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ground was sparsely covered with grass. 地面上稀疏地覆盖草丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》