NPR 2008-03-27

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack¹ Speer.

 

Iraq is facing its starkest² security challenge this year as Shiite militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr battled Iraqi government forces in Basra, Baghdad and several other Iraqi cities. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports from Baghdad.

 

Iraqi security forces swarmed³ Basra on Monday saying it would rid the southern city of rogue⁴ militiamen linked to Sadr's Mehdi Army. Iraqi led offensive set off intense fighting which eventually migrated north to Baghdad. Fighting in the capital has been concentrated in eastern Baghdad and on the Green Zone where mortars⁵ and rockets have been fired over the past three days. Technically⁶ there's still a seven-month-old ceasefire between the Mehdi Army and Iraqi and US forces. Sadr has said that hasn't changed. Instead, he's called for his followers⁷ to observe a nationwide strike until the crackdown on the Mehdi Army members in Basra is stopped. Prime Minister Nuri Kamel al-Maliki for his part has given the militias⁸ 72 hours to lay down their arms. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News, Baghdad.

 

Republican presidential candidate John McCain was in Los Angeles today, delivering what was termed "a major foreign policy address". The presumed GOP nominee⁹ called on the US to work more cooperatively with allies, saying despite the nation's great power, that does not entitle it to do whatever it wants. McCain also said he believes pulling all US forces out of Iraq would be the wrong move. "It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people. " In the speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, McCain criticized his Democratic rivals, accusing them of seeking a path he said that would eventually draw the US into a wider and more difficult war. McCain's comments follow a recent fact-finding trip to the Middle East.

 

President Bush met with the Joint¹⁰ Chiefs of Staff today at the Pentagon to talk about Iraq. They raised concerns about an overstretched military. The president's meeting with the chiefs comes two weeks before the American ground commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, is scheduled to brief Congress. NPR's Tom Bowman has more.

 

The last time Petraeus gave an update on Iraq was six months ago. The defense¹¹ officials say the chiefs would like to see more frequent assessments¹² from Petraeus about the conditions on the ground, perhaps every month or so, and whether more troops can come home. The chiefs are behind Petraeus's usual request for a so-called pause in troop reductions after the summer to make sure the security improvements are lasting¹³. By July the number of US troops is expected to drop to 140, 000 from the current 156, 000. But the chiefs also sent these messages to the president: concerns about other global problems like Afghanistan, the strain of long deployments on soldiers and their families. Tom Bowman NPR News, the Pentagon.

 

On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 109 points to close at 12, 422. The NASDAQ was down 16 points. The S&P fell 11.

 

This is NPR.

 

Giant Citigroup said today it's reached a deal to pay out more than 1. 5 billion dollars to creditors¹⁴ of failed energy trading company Enron who lost money when the company collapsed¹⁶ in 2001. Citigroup is the last of a number of defendants¹⁷ named in what was dubbed¹⁸ a "Mega Claims" lawsuit¹⁹ filed against 11 banks and brokerages in connection with the collapse¹⁵ of the Houston-based company. The suit alleged²⁰ that Enron, with the help of banks like Citigroup, kept creditors in the dark about the company's true financial condition. Before filing for bankruptcy²¹, Enron was the 7th largest energy trading company in the US.

 

About 10, 000 current and former African-American employees of the Walgreen drug-store chain will split a multimillion dollar settlement in two race discrimination suits. From member station KWMU in Saint Louis, Matt Sepic reports.

 

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claimed Walgreen assigned many of its black managers and pharmacists to low-performing stores and to those in predominantly black neighborhoods. The consent decree approved by a federal judge in east Saint Louis yesterday resolves both the EEOC lawsuit filed last year, as well as a class action suit from 2005. The workers will share 20 million dollars. The plaintiffs whose names are in the lawsuit will get about 300, 000 dollars each. In the agreement the company does not admit to any wrongdoing. A spokeswoman says Walgreen began implementing²² the consent decree in July when the judge gave his initial approval. For NPR News, I'm Matt Sepic in Saint Louis.

Nation's manufacturing sector²³ showed more signs of strain last month. The government says orders for durable²⁴ goods, costly²⁵ items like automobiles²⁶ and air conditioners fell for a second straight month in February, dropping by 1. 7%.

 

I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.

 

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 starkest   

（指区别）明显的( stark的最高级 )； 完全的； 了无修饰的； 僵硬的

参考例句：

• Among the starkest-and the most worrying-have been measures of world trade. 而最典型也是最让人担心的是世界贸易的方式。
• Climate change and the depleted ozone layer are among the starkest examples. 气候变化和臭氧层耗减就是其中最明显的例子。

3 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

4 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

5 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

6 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

7 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

8 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

9 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 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。

12 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

13 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

14 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。

16 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

17 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

18 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

20 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

21 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

22 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

23 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

24 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

25 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

26 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》