NPR 2008-04-29

The Senate's No. 2 Democrat¹ today called on the Bush administration to increase funding for World Hunger Relief. That's being included in a new emergency spending bill mainly for the war in Iraq. More from NPR's David Welna.

 In addition to more than a hundred billion dollars for the war, the White House requested 350 million dollars for the World Food Program. But Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durban says that's not enough. He wants to add another 200 million dollars for food assistance. Durban says he's spoken twice with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who, he says, agrees more food aid is needed. "I urged her to reach out to the White House and make sure that any supplemental appropriation³ request includes adequate funds to deal with this global food crisis. The instability which this can create in countries around the world can be just as damaging as instability created by violence and terrorism." But Durban has also said he won't vote for more Iraq war funding. He said it would be a dilemma⁴ if extra food aid is indeed part of the war funding bill. David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.

 Israel's defense⁵ minister today said Hamas is responsible for the death of Gaza residents. His comments came hours after a Palestinian mother and her four children were killed under disputed circumstances. NPR's Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem.

 Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Hamas is responsible for everything that happens in Gaza including civilian⁶ deaths because Hamas uses civilians⁷ as shields for attacks against Israel. He also said the army is acting⁸ and will continue to act against Hamas in Gaza. Barak spoke² after Palestinian officials blamed Israel for the deaths of seven Palestinians including a mother and her four young children. Residents said an Israeli tank shell crashed through the ceiling of their home as they were eating breakfast. But an Israeli army spokesman said Israel wasn't responsible for the explosion that killed the civilians. He said troops had targeted two Palestinian gunmen in the area and the gunmen were carrying large bags that contained ammunition⁹. He said the mother and her children were killed when the ammunition exploded. Linda Gradstein, NPR News, Jerusalem.

Barack Obama's former minister, the Rev¹⁰. Jeremiah Wright, appeared today before the Washington Press Corps¹¹ where he rejected those who have labeled him "unpatriotic". Speaking at the National Press Club with an audience of supportive black church members also in attendance, Wright blamed, what he termed, the "dominant¹² culture" in the US for some of the attacks. "It is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright. It is an attack on the black church. " Wright said much of the criticism levelled against him comes from those who have heard only "excerpts¹³" of his sermons.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 20 points to close at 12,871. The NASDAQ was up a point at 2, 424. The S & P 500 lost a point today.

This is NPR.

 Flood warnings are in effect for the upper Mississippi River which is rising after a snowy winter and a lot of rain this spring. From member station WVIK in Rock Island, Illinois, Michelle O’Neill reports.

City workers in Davenport, Iowa had to scramble¹⁴ when the forecast abruptly¹⁵ changed late last week from a crest¹⁶ at one foot over flood stage to more than four feet. Still, that's not even close to the big floods in 1993 and 2001 when the river rose to more than seven feet over. Public Works director Dean Bramer says there's no comparison. "We've taken more than a hundred parcels for a hundred homes out of harm’s way and that makes our job just a lot easier. While we have people down in the Garden Addition, they are watching the pumps. We don't have to worry about evacuation plans. " This time around,  Davenport's top priority is protecting businesses along the Mississippi River with temporary dirt and sandbag flood walls. For NPR News, I'm Michelle O'Neill in Rock Island, Illinois.

 Bank of America, which is in the process of acquiring mortgage lender Countrywide, announced today it will expand its efforts to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. The Charlotte-based bank made the announcement as the Federal Reserve Board holds public hearings on the proposed deal this week. The head of Bank of America’s small business and global consumer banking¹⁷ business said today the bank will modify at least 40 billion dollars in problem loans for 150, 000 borrowers over the next two years.

 American Airlines has joined the ranks of carriers that will soon be charging customers an extra 25 dollars for checking a second bag. The Fort Worth-based airline says the move to impose a fee for additional bags would apply to travelers who buy domestic economy-class tickets on and after May 12th.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 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。

3 appropriation   

n.拨款，批准支出

参考例句：

• Our government made an appropriation for the project.我们的政府为那个工程拨出一笔款项。
• The council could note an annual appropriation for this service.议会可以为这项服务表决给他一笔常年经费。

4 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

5 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。

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 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。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

10 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

11 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

13 excerpts   

n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段

参考例句：

• Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句

14 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

15 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

16 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

17 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。