NPR 2008-11-28

It has been more than 24 hours since yesterday's attacks in the Indian financial center of Mumbai, and Indian commandos are still fighting for control of the city. The BBC's Chris Moyles reports that some of the attackers remain uncaptured.

In one of these leading hotels and possibly in the other, there're still people being held and there're still gunmen at large. All day, we've had Indian commandos going through these hotels literally¹ room for room. There've been explosions; there's been the sound of gunfire. Both hotels at one stage or other have had large fires breaking out, so it's been quite dramatic and quite alarming I think for the people who live here. At the end of this day, the second day, they really wanted to get this whole thing finished, but it isn't finished yet. And they believe there are between 10 and 12 gunmen possibly still at large. The BBC's Chris Moyles reporting.

The State Department says it knows of no American citizens who died in the terrorist attacks in India, but at least three were injured. The U. S. is urging Americans not to travel to Mumbai for the next few days, and has issued a travel alert for all of India through the end of the year.

Arab Foreign Ministers meeting in Cairo today renewed their call for dialogue among Palestinian factions², and called for an end to the Israeli blockade at the Gaza Strip. Islamist Hamas Movement, which controls Gaza, calls results inadequate³. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Cairo.

The Arab foreign ministers were meeting in the wake of an aborted⁴ Palestinian dialogue that was canceled when Hamas boycotted⁵ the talks. Without condemning⁷ Hamas, the ministers said they were deeply disturbed that the reconciliation⁸ talks between Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement did not take place. The ministers did condemn⁶ the Israeli land and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip, where humanitarian⁹ groups have been warning of a crisis due to shortages of food, power and fuel. In Damascus, Hamas spokesman criticized the foreign ministers' suggestion that Abbas remain in office until both presidential and parliamentary elections can be staged next year. Fatah says parliamentary balloting¹⁰ may take place in April. But Hamas says Abbas' term should end in January. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.

Iraq's parliament has approved a security agreement with the U. S. that calls for a gradual withdrawal¹¹ of U. S. troops. It now goes to the Presidential Council, and a referendum is supposed to be held next summer.

Hundreds of soldiers in Afghanistan celebrated¹² Thanksgiving today. (Here we go, that's it, alright, have a nice Thanksgiving) They lined up for a traditional meal even as other soldiers kept a watchful¹³ eye out for Taliban insurgents¹⁴. President-elect Obama says that it is important to remember members of the military and their families on Thanksgiving. "We honor and give thanks for their sacrifice, and stand by the families who endure their absence, with such dignity and resolve. " Mr. Obama was speaking in his weekly radio address today, he spent the holiday at home in Chicago.

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While the U. S. stock market was closed for Thanksgiving, stocks were higher on the global markets. Larry Miller¹⁵ reports from London.

London gained 1. 8%. Frankfort rose 2. 3% and Paris ended 2. 5% higher. Banks and oil-related stocks were strong. Asian markets were also up after China said it's cutting interest rates by the biggest margin¹⁶ in 11 years. China also warned its economic downturn could threaten civil stability. Meanwhile, lower demand led the world's biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal to announce 9, 000 more job cuts. General Motor Europe says it hopes to weather the fall in car sales without laying off staff by reducing hours and cutting pay. And economic sentiment in the 15 countries that use the Euro currency hit a 15-year low. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

Thailand's prime minister has declared a state of emergency at Bangkok's two airports. The emergency authorizes¹⁷ police to take back the airports which have been closed down by protestors who've spent months trying to unseat the government. Meanwhile, rumors¹⁸ are sweeping¹⁹ through Bangkok that the army will stage a coup²⁰. Rumors were intensified²¹ after the powerful army commander called for new elections, an idea rejected by the prime minister.

Russia's president has arrived in Cuba on the last leg of a four-nation Latin American tour. Moscow insists the Cuba stop is not meant to provoke the US, but ties have been strained over Russia's war with Georgia and U. S. plans for missile defense²² in Eastern Europe. Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Havana today after a meeting with President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

3 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

4 aborted   

adj.流产的，失败的v.（使）流产( abort的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）（某事物）中止；（因故障等而）（使）（飞机、宇宙飞船、导弹等）中断飞行；（使）（飞行任务等）中途失败

参考例句：

• The rocket flight had to be aborted because of difficulties with computer. 因电脑出故障，这次火箭飞行只好中辍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They aborted the space flight finally. 他们最后中止了这次宇航飞行。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

6 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

7 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

9 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

10 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

11 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

12 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

13 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

14 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

15 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

16 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

17 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。

18 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

20 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

21 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 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。