NPR 2008-05-02

There’s been an explosion near an American military patrol in Baghdad today. Eight Iraqis have been killed. American officials have not confirmed an Iraqi government report that one US soldier was killed.

 Islamist rebels in Somalia say a US air strike has apparently¹ killed a rebel thought to be the top al-Qaeda leader in Somalia. Witnesses say at least eight other people were also killed in the attack. The BBC’s Adam Mynott reports from Nairobi, Kenya.

 The bombing raid happened in the middle of the night. It’s reported that four loud explosions ripped apart the home of Aden Hashi Ayro in the town of Dusamareeb in central Somalia, killing² him and eight other people including another militia³ commander. Aden Ayro commanded al-Shabab, the military wing of a group of Islamic Courts, which has been carrying out a sustained campaign of attacks on Ethiopian forces, which are in the country to back up the weak interim⁴ Somali government. Earlier this year, the US government declared al-Shabab “a terrorist organization” and the killing of Aden Ayro is one of a number of attacks they’ve launched against targets in Somalia in the past 16 months. That’s the BBC’s Adam Mynott in Nairobi, Kanya.

 Rivers around Fort Kent, Maine are over their banks and officials say the community near the Canadian border may suffer its worst flooding in many decades. Robey Ploder is a Fort Kent police dispatcher. “The Fish River actually came over on its peak level, and now we have (completely) the East Main Street completely covered with water.” Rain and melting snow have brought the St. John River up to about five feet above flood stage. An emergency management official said early this morning he thinks the waters have crested⁵.

 Wall Street’s stock futures⁶ are up this morning, but stocks fell yesterday after the Federal Reserve lowered the benchmark federal funds interest rate and indications that it may be the last cut for a while. Many analysts⁷ believe the Federal Reserve will take a break from cuts at its next meeting. NPR’s John Ydstie has this report.

 After balancing concerns about a recession against worries about inflation, Fed policy makers⁸ decided⁹ to cut their key rate by a quarter of a percentage point. It was the seventh rate cut in the fight to boost an economy damaged by the bursting of the housing bubble. Former Federal Reserve Governor Lyle Gramley says policy makers do have concerns that the rate cuts might spark broader inflation. “But there is even more concern about the possibility that economy could stay weak longer than they would like, so they bought an insurance policy.” In their statement, though, Fed officials said the substantial easing of monetary¹⁰ policy today should promote growth, that was missing from their previous statement. Gramley says it’s a sign this may be the final Fed rate cut of this cycle. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

 Oil has been trading at around $114 per barrel in Asia today. This is NPR News.

 Another super delegate is reported ready to switch his support from Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton to rival Barack Obama who’s been steadily¹¹ narrowing Clinton’s super delegate lead. Joe Andrew is to hold a news conference in his home town of Indianapolis today. President Bill Clinton appointed Andrew chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1999. But the Associated Press says that Andrew told the news agency he’s now convinced the continuing fight for the Democratic nomination¹² has become a liability for the party. Andrew says that it’s doing Republican rival John McCain’s work for him.

 Barack Obama says the tone of his campaign has, at times, been more combative¹³ than it would have liked. He acknowledged that while campaigning in Indiana yesterday. From member station WFIU in Bloomington, Indiana, Adam Ragusea reports.

 In his speech, Obama only briefly¹⁴ alluded¹⁵ to the aggressive tone the Democratic contest has acquired in recent weeks. The senator said he set out to run a campaign that would transcend¹⁶ the political tit for tat. And he admitted that he has occasionally fallen short of that goal. “Sometimes we slipped. You know, over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed, you know, we, we keep, kept on getting whacked¹⁷, and sometimes we started whacking¹⁸ back and...” Obama didn’t mention his opponent Senator Hillary Clinton at all in his speech except by oblique¹⁹ reference. He said voters should consider his consistent opposition²⁰ to the Iraq war as they determine whom they want answering the phone in the White House at 3 a.m. For NPR News, I’m Adam Ragusea in Bloomington, Indiana.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 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。

3 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。

4 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

5 crested   

adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• a great crested grebe 凤头䴙䴘
• The stately mansion crested the hill. 庄严的大厦位于山顶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

7 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。

8 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

11 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

12 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。

13 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

14 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

15 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

16 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

17 whacked   

a.精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• She whacked him with her handbag. 她用手提包狠狠地打他。
• He whacked me on the back and I held both his arms. 他用力拍拍我的背，我抱住他的双臂。

18 whacking   

adj.（用于强调）巨大的v.重击，使劲打( whack的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a whacking great hole in the roof 房顶上一个巨大的窟窿
• His father found him a cushy job in the office, with almost nothing to do and a whacking great salary. 他父亲给他在事务所找到了一份轻松舒适的工作，几乎什么都不用做，工资还极高。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 oblique   

adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的

参考例句：

• He made oblique references to her lack of experience.他拐弯抹角地说她缺乏经验。
• She gave an oblique look to one side.她向旁边斜看了一眼。

20 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。