NPR 2008-05-28

Two more powerful earthquakes or aftershocks from earthquakes hit Sichuan province, China this afternoon, and the confirmed death toll¹ from the May 12th quake has now grown to more than 67, 000. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports from Chengdu.

 Those aftershocks were both above 5. 0 in magnitude according to the US Geological Survey. Chinese media reported that the tremors² caused several hundred thousand additional homes to collapse³ in the already devastated⁴ Qingchuan County. Meanwhile, further south, another 80, 000 people were being evacuated⁵ from areas downstream of the new Tangjiashan Lake. That lake was formed when landslides⁶ set off by the earthquake blocked a river. Water levels are rising every day. Chinese troops at the lake have plans to detonate explosives in order to drain some of the water. Heavy machinery⁷ was also being used to open a channel for diverting water, although the channel is not expected to be completed until next week. Andrea Hsu, NPR News, Chengdu, China.

 Republican presidential hopeful John McCain was campaigning in Colorado today, where he said both Republicans and Democrats⁸ have been lacking in their efforts to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The apparent Republican presidential nominee⁹ said he is in favor of an approach that does not rely heavily on either direct talks or military force. McCain made his remarks today at the University of Denver in an address interrupted several times by anti-war demonstrators. McCain said neither party can, in his words, take much satisfaction in efforts to control the spread of nuclear weapons.

The federal grand jury investigating the deadly September 16th shooting in Baghdad by Blackwater contractors¹⁰ met with a group of Iraqis this week to hear their side of the story. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports.

 Sources close to the investigation¹¹ said three Iraqis were brought to Washington to testify before a grand jury trying to determine whether to indict¹² a handful of Blackwater security guards for firing into a crowded Baghdad intersection¹³ last fall. Seventeen Iraqis died in the attack, and Blackwater said their guards were only defending themselves. Critics say the security contractors fired without provocation¹⁴. Sources close to the investigation say that the Iraqis brought before the grand jury were witnesses to what happened that day and are giving their version of events. The sources told NPR that among the group is an Iraqi traffic cop, who was there when the shooting started. He's maintained that the Blackwater guard were not fired upon that day, and even shot at him when he waved to them to stop firing into the crowd. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.

 More indications the weak economy and high gas prices are hurting the major automakers. Giant General Motors announced today it plans production cuts at its Flint, Michigan pickup¹⁵ truck plant that's been closed due to a strike by a parts supplier. GM says in July it will eliminate the third shift at the plant that built Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pick-up trucks.

 On Wall Street, the Dow rose 68 points today. The S&P gained 9 points.

This is NPR.

 A violent attack in Afghanistan's Kandahar province by Taliban insurgents¹⁶ has claimed two dozen lives, including around a dozen police officers. According to provincial¹⁷ police chief, the attacks came in several waves with five officers killed at a police checkpoint; four more officers were subsequently killed in a roadside bombing while another roadside bomb, south of Kabul, claimed the lives of four more police officers. Several militants¹⁸ were also reported to have been killed in the fighting, according to officials with US-led coalition¹⁹ there.

 The Justice Department announced today it has settled an anti-trust case with National Association of Realtors. The trade group will have to share its database of home listings with online brokers²⁰, and the Justice Department said the results could mean lower fees for consumers. Yuki Noguchi reports.

 The Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, is a powerful tool in home sales. It's where most realtors locate and list all the houses for sale in their local areas. But the Realtors Association's rules deny their Internet rivals full access to that database. These rules prompted a 2005 suit from the Justice Department. If approved by the court, the settlement will put online realtors on equal footing with traditional ones. Justice Department officials also said more competition could lower the commissions consumers pay, because Internet realtors' fees are often lower than the competition. The National Association of Realtors also declared victory: it didn't have to pay any fines or admit wrongdoing. The Justice Department's case had been scheduled to go to trial in July. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

 Crude oil futures²¹ ended the session sharply lower today. The near-month contract for benchmark grade crude oil was down $3. 34 a barrel to end the session at $128. 85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1 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。

2 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

3 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。

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

6 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

7 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 indict   

v.起诉，控告，指控

参考例句：

• You can't indict whole people for the crudeness of a few.您不能因少数人的粗暴行为就控诉整个民族。
• I can indict you for abducting high school student.我可以告你诱拐中学生。

13 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

14 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

15 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

16 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

17 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

18 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。

19 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

20 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

21 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。