NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-04-14

 Residents of the Iraqi city of Tikrit say one neighborhood is all but destroyed after government allied¹ forces pushed out the self-named Islamic State, or ISIS. NPR’s Alice Fordham reports the first city to be retaken from the militants² has paid a heavy price. 

The center of Tikrit was retaken almost*, but there were still pockets of ISIS resistance in a large area *. There are few civilians³ there, but former residents say local police tell them dozens of houses and shops that survived a nine-month ISIS occupation are now gone. The residents believe some were rigged with bombs by ISIS, others hit during clashes. But they also think the government’s allies, Shiite militias⁴, purposely destroyed some property in the Sunni-majority area motivated by sectarian anger. Alice Fordham, NPR News, Baghdad. 

 

Pope Francis today described the mass killing⁵ of Armenians by Turkish soldiers 100 years ago the first genocide of the 20th country. His comments were welcomed by Armenians, but as NPR’s Peter Kenyon reports, Turkey has responded by summoning the Vatican ambassador and recalling its ambassador to the Vatican.

During a mass, Pope Francis spoke⁶ of the century-old killings⁷ using words of one of his predecessors⁸, Pope John Paul II, who called the killings genocide in 2001. That comment drew anger from Turkey then, and while Ankara has tried to put the Armenian controversy⁹ behind it in the recent years, Turkish leaders stubbornly refuse to accept the view of many historians, who have concluded that the deportations and mass killings do fit the international legal definition of genocide. This year the centenary of Armenian Remembrance Day takes place on April 24th, one day before the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign of World War I, an important victory for the Ottoman Turkish army. Turkey and Armenia have competed for world leaders to attend their respective ceremonies. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Istanbul.    

 

Hillary Clinton plans to visit Iowa Tuesday—her first as an official candidate for the Democratic nomination¹⁰ for president. Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus tells CBS’s Face the Nation she’s the ideal candidate for the GOP to run against. 

“If you were me, and you were chairman of the National Party, and you had someone on the ticket that would unite your party, would help you raise a lot of money, and help you recruit a ton of volunteers, you do want nothing more than Hillary Clinton to be on the other side.”

The Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar tells the same program Clinton is great at reaching out to people. 

“I saw her as a senator and one to one on those bread-and-butter issues and that’s all I hear about Minnesota. The farm bill, those guys that just announced on the Republican side, they didn’t even vote for it. She’s going to go to Iowa and say, talk about rural policy, things that matter.”

Clinton announced her run today. The former secretary of state says she will focus on the middle class. Iowa holds the first vote in the party’s presidential nominating process. 

 

Jordan Spieth has won the Masters Gulf¹¹ Tournament at the age of 21. 

 

This is NPR. 

 

Secretary of State John Kerry says Congressional opponents to the framework agreement with Iran over its nuclear program should hold off until the final agreement comes later this year. Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, Kerry says the administration should be free to negotiate until the June 30th deadline. But on Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to debate a bill that would give (Congressional) Congress (rather) say on any deal.

 

This week marks the end of an American retail¹² giant in Canada. After announcing earlier this year that it was pulling out of the Canadian market, Target’s remaining stores will close for good by the end of today. Dan Karpenchuk has more. 

It was the final drama in Target’s failed attempt to crack the Canadian market. The retailer’s 133 Canadian locations began closing shortly after the January announcement, more than 17,000 employees told their jobs would be gone. A week ago, there were only 37 stores remaining, the last closing this weekend. Business analysts¹³ have weighed in on the reasons for Target’s demise—poorly stocked shelves and inventory¹⁴ problems, discounts that didn’t fly with savvy¹⁵ Canadian consumers and even a decline in consumer traffic to malls, as well competition from growing online business took its toll¹⁶ and a misunderstanding of just how competitive Canada’s retail market had become. For NPR News, I’m Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto. 

 

Defense¹⁷ Secretary Ash Carter flies home from Hawaii today following his first Asian visit on the job. Carter consulted with Japanese and South Korean leaders, giving pep talks to American troops and stressing the U.S. military’s stabilizing¹⁸ influence in the area. 

1 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

2 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。

3 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。

4 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 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。

7 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

8 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

10 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

12 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

13 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。

14 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

15 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

16 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。

17 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

18 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句