NPR 2008-11-30

Officials in India say they believe just ten gunmen managed to carry out the siege of Mumbai, a city of 18 million people, a showdown that left nearly 200 people dead including at least five Americans. Investigators¹ are trying to determine how that was possible. At the huge Taj Mahal Hotel, site of the final clash between the gunmen and security forces, workers've been boarding up windows and troops are going through the building to make sure it’s safe. The BBC's Adam Mynott reports families have also begun burying the dead.

"As is the custom here, there've been a number of funerals today including funerals of the senior officers who were killed during the early hours of the battle. Em, this has taken an enormous death toll² here, particularly of Indians. It's mainly Indians who have been killed and there're a number of foreigners also died. So as they say, there's a palpable sense of shock through the city and indeed the whole of India. The BBC's Adam Mynott reporting from Mumbai.

The deadly attacks there have raised the level of tension between India and Pakistan, despite the Pakistani government's denial of any involvement with the militants³. Alistair Millar of the Center on Global Counterterrorism says the Bush administration is hoping to defuse that tension. "It is a very rapidly unfolding story. It is impossible to point a finger at either. And I think that's why President Bush has been very cautious by just supporting India and not in fact pointing any blame at any one." A team of FBI agents is en route to India to assist the investigation⁴ of the attacks.

In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a United Nations’ special envoy⁵ met with President Joseph Kabila and a rebel leader who wants direct talks with Kabila. Rebel fighting in the region is fueling a humanitarian⁶ crisis. NPR's Gwen Tompkins reports.

Look who’s not talking. For the second time in a month, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has come to Congo and met separately with the Congolese president and the rebel leader Laurent Nkunda. And though Nkunda has pressed for direct talks with the government, President Joseph Kabila is not so eager. Since August, Nkunda's rebel army has widened its fierce influence in eastern Congo and the general wants a rolling government among other demands. The rebels say they're no longer attacking government forces. But in recent days, they've rallied militia⁷ groups north of Goma. All parties of the conflict are believed to have committed gross human rights abuses. More than 10,000 people have reportedly fled this latest event and they're now seeking safety in Uganda. Gwen Tompkins, NPR News, Goma.

A grenade blast has wounded at least 33 anti-government protestors who have been occupying the prime minister of Thailand's compound in Bangkok. The attack came as the occupation of the city's two airports by demonstrators entered its fifth day. Protestors accused the country's prime minister of being a puppet of his brother-in-law who was ousted⁸ in a coup⁹ two years ago.

This is NPR News from Washington.

More than 200 people have been killed in central Nigeria in clashes between Muslims and Christian¹⁰ gangs. The army has deployed¹¹ troops in the city of Jos to enforce a round-the-clock curfew. The violence began when supporters of the area's two main political parties bickered¹² after recent local elections.

Joern Utzon, one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century has died at his home in Copenhagen. He was 90 years old. Frank Browning has more.

Best known for the grand wave-like sculpt¹³ of the seaside opera house in Sydney Australia, Utzon was an austere¹⁴ and strict figure in modern architecture who always insisted on the relation of the physical site to the buildings he designed. In fact, Utzon withdrew from the finishing touches of the Sydney Opera House over esthetic¹⁵ disagreement with the builders and the city. Most of the rest of his work was smaller, elegant projects in his native Denmark or in Scandinavia where he was influenced by the sculptural designs of Finnish architect Alvar Aalto as well as the American Frank Lloyd Wright. Five years ago, he was awarded the Pritzker Prize, the so-called Nobel of Architecture for his lifelong oeuvre. From NPR News, I'm Frank Browning.

An early readout of the first day of the holiday shopping season indicates the sales were up 3% yesterday compared to the same day last year. The figures were compiled by the research firm Shopper Trak whose co-founder Bill Martin says they were better than expected. "It was beyond most economists’ expectation. It was beyond what we had anticipated as well.” Martin says shoppers responded to deep discounts as they searched for the best value for their dollars. Some analysts¹⁶ caution that one day's sales figures though, do not necessarily indicate a trend for the whole holiday season.

1 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》

2 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。

3 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。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

6 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。

7 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

8 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

9 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。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

12 bickered   

v.争吵( bicker的过去式和过去分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The afternoon sun bickered through the leaves. 午后的阳光闪烁于树叶之间。 来自辞典例句
• They bickered over [about] some unimportant thing. 他们为芝麻小事争吵。 来自辞典例句

13 sculpt   

n.雕刻，雕塑，雕刻品，雕塑品

参考例句：

• When I sculpt,my style is expressionistic.我的雕刻风格是表现主义。
• Then,sculpt the remaining fringe parting.然后雕刻剩余的边缘部分。

14 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

15 esthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的；悦目的，雅致的

参考例句：

• That armchair is comfortable but not very esthetic.那张扶手椅坐起来舒服，但不太美观。
• There are physical distance and esthetic distance between the esthetic subject and the object.审美的主客体之间有物理距离和心理距离。

16 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。