NPR 2008-06-18

A car bomb attack has killed at least fifty-one people and wounded dozens more in a neighborhood of northwest Baghdad. The bombing hit shoppers at a market during the evening rush hour. NPR's Corey Flintoff reports from Baghdad.

Police say the bomb was planted in a parked car in the Huriya neighborhood just before six p.m. as people shopped for their evening meal. The attack took place during a heavy dust storm that has reduced visibility on many city streets. Huriya is a mainly Shiite neighborhood that was formerly¹ mixed with large numbers of Sunni Arabs who were forced from their homes by Shiite militias². The attack was the deadliest car bombing in recent weeks. Baghdad has been relatively³ quiet, largely because of a strongly increased Iraqi army and police presence on the streets. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Baghdad.

The rising Mississippi River busted⁴ through at least one levee today with fears that in the days and hours ahead, more levees could be threatened. Authorities were able to rescue about half a dozen people by helicopter, boat and four-wheel drive as the waters moved south into Illinois and Missouri after the levee broke near Gulfport. Ron Fournier is with the Army Corps⁵ of Engineers. He says levees further south are the real worry now. “Down the river towards St. Louis, the crest⁶ is gonna slowly make its way down there in the river. Those high river levels are gonna be approaching those levee systems all during this week until the weekend.” Preliminary estimates are that flooding over the past several days has cost upwards⁷ of one and a half billion dollars in damage in the State of Iowa alone. Thousands of people in Midwest have been evacuated⁸ due to flooding. President Bush will visit the region on Thursday.

Barack Obama told community college students in Michigan he will give them a 4000-dollar tax break to help pay for college. NPR's Larry Abramson has more.

Obama spoke⁹ to students at Wayne State Community College in Taylor, Michigan and invited them to tell stories about the financial struggles they face. Obama's education plan calls for an American Opportunity Tax Credit, which would completely cover the first four thousand dollars in college tuition. “We can't let the doors of opportunity close, because we couldn't come together to lower the cost of college, or extend the promise of our community colleges. It's time to put the American dream within reach for all Americans.” Obama also said he would push an initiative to help community colleges study what sorts of skills are needed to work in local industries. On the campaign trail, Obama has been highlighting his modest beginnings, and said that he and his wife spent years paying off the debt they piled up as they got law degrees from Harvard. Larry Abramson, NPR News.

Inflation at the wholesale¹⁰ level took a bump up last month. The government reports its Producer Price Index, the cost of goods before they head down the pipeline¹¹ to consumers, rose by a larger-than-expected 1.4% in May. Much of that was due to the continued run-up in energy prices.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 108 points to close at 12,160. The NASDAQ lost 17 points. This is NPR.

Northwest has become the latest airline to announce further cutbacks as the carrier feels the squeeze from soaring jet fuel prices. The Minneapolis-based airline announcing today it may cut capacity by three to four percent. Northwest says it plans to also reduce the size of its workforce¹². The airline says it expects the cuts to take effect in the fourth quarter of this year. Other airlines, including American and Delta¹³, have also said they would cut capacity and eliminate jobs.

The nation's home builders were a lot less busy last month. The Commerce Department reported today construction of new single family homes and apartments in May fell 3.3% as builders continued to roll back amid the ongoing¹⁴ slump¹⁵ in housing.

It's the start of the annual Royal Ascot horse-racing season. And as Larry Miller¹⁶ reports from London, this year, the fashion police will be out in force.

The Queen and other British royals arrived in horse-drawn carriages, joining thousands of aristocrats¹⁷ and commoners for the five-day Royal Ascot meeting. In recent years, the fashion for many Ascot-going fashionistas has been marked by bare backs, mini-skirts, halter tops, plunging¹⁸ necklines and the general lowering of the tone. So this year, with the approval of the Queen, a new dress code is in effect, and any woman exposing too much flesh will be banned. They must wear formal day dresses with a hat or plume¹⁹. The sartorial²⁰ outlook for man: black or grey morning suits with a vest and top hat. It's not all about betting and fashion, of course. Last year, 170,000 bottles of champagne²¹ washed down 10,000 lobsters²², 5,000 oysters²³ and 18,000 cartons of strawberries. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

Crude oil prices fell sixty cents a barrel today to end the session at just over $134 a barrel in New York.

1 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

2 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

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

5 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。

6 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。

7 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

8 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。

9 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。

10 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

11 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

12 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

13 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

14 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

15 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

16 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

17 aristocrats   

n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many aristocrats were killed in the French Revolution. 许多贵族在法国大革命中被处死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To the Guillotine all aristocrats! 把全部贵族都送上断头台！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

18 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

20 sartorial   

adj.裁缝的

参考例句：

• John has never been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰从来没有因为衣着讲究而出名。
• Jeans a powerful egalitarian message,but are far more likely to a sartorial deathtrap for politicians.政客们穿上牛仔裤是传递亲民的讯息，但也更容易犯穿衣禁忌。

21 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

22 lobsters   

龙虾( lobster的名词复数 )； 龙虾肉

参考例句：

• I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
• She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。

23 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。