NPR 2008-07-28

A man brandishing¹ a shotgun walked into a church in Knoxville,  Tennessee during a youth performance this morning and opened fire. One person was killed and eight others were wounded. All of the victims were adults. The gunman was tackled and subdued² by church members and is now in custody³. He has reportedly been charged with one count of first-degree murder. Church member Steve Drevick says the sanctuary⁴ was fairly crowded during the shooting. “We have plenty of eyewitnesses⁵. We perhaps have some, you know, camera footages since the play was going on and so forth⁶. Like I said, the suspect is in custody. So, right now, we're just praying for everyone, everyone at the hospital.” Several of the injured are in critical condition. Some church members say the man who was killed was an usher⁷ who confronted the gunman and tried to shield people from the shots.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is defending his just-ended overseas trip, saying it will help him be a more effective leader if he is elected. His GOP rival John McCain has said the trip was a slight to American voters. NPR’s Allison Keyes reports.

In his first appearance since returning from a trip that included stops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama received two standing⁸ ovations⁹ from journalists of color attending the Unity¹⁰ Convention in Chicago. He says he doesn't understand why some critics characterized the trip as audacious. “I was puzzled by this notion that somehow what we were doing was in any way different from what Senator McCain or a lot of presidential candidates have done in the past.” Obama was asked whether as president, he would offer an apology to native Americans for the way they've been treated in this country. “I have to confess that I'm more concerned about delivering a better life and creating a better relationship with the native American peoples than anything else.” McCain’s campaign declined an invitation to appear, citing scheduling conflicts. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Chicago.

Israeli troops today shot and killed a top Hamas militant¹¹ in the West Bank, prompting a pledge of revenge from Hamas in Gaza. Israel and Hamas have been observing a ceasefire in Gaza, but Israel says the truce¹² does not apply to the West Bank. Linda Gradstein has the story from Jerusalem.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said Israeli troops in the West Bank town of Hebron clashed with a group of gunmen, killing¹³ one Palestinian. Military sources said the man killed was responsible for making the explosives for a suicide bombing in February in southern Israel that killed one Israeli. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert praised the soldiers involved and called it “a successful operation”. In a statement, the Hamas Movement in Gaza said the gunmen clashed with the Israeli soldiers for 12 hours before Israel fired a shell at his house. Hamas also vowed¹⁴ to avenge¹⁵ the killing. Israeli analysts¹⁶ said the killing in Hebron could shake the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Since the ceasefire, rocket fire on southern Israel has almost completely stopped. For NPR News, I'm Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Two bombs exploded within a matter of minutes in a crowded square in Istanbul today, killing 15 people and injuring more than 100 others. The city's governor says the blasts were the work of terrorist. Police say the first explosion was not very strong and was apparently¹⁷ designed to draw curiosity-seekers to the scene.

The Olympic Village in Beijing officially opened to athletes today, but some have decided¹⁸ to wait and move into the village as close to the Games’ August, 8th start date as possible to avoid the air pollution in the Chinese capital. NPR's Anthony Kuhn has more from Beijing.

Chinese sports stars, including Houston Rockets center Yao Ming and champion hurdler Liu Xiang, joined the Communist Party officials for the village’s official opening. The village includes a library, clinics, shopping centers, restaurants and lodgings¹⁹ for 17,000 athletes. The Chinese delegation²⁰ was the first to move into the village today. Despite Beijing ordering half the cars off its roads this week, thick smog and haze²¹ hung over Beijing today and visibility was poor. Beijing environmental officials blame the muggy²² weather and say that instrument readings show the air is cleaner than it looks. They say they're confident that air quality will be acceptable by game time. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Beijing.

Carlos Sastre of Spain has won this year's Tour de France. He is the third straight cyclist from his country to capture the sport’s top prize.

Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre did not report to Packers’ training camp today, easing tensions in a standoff with the team over his apparent desire to rescind²³ his retirement²⁴ and play again in the NFL. Favre has reportedly said he would consider a trade to any team.

1 brandishing   

v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀

参考例句：

• The horseman came up to Robin Hood, brandishing his sword. 那个骑士挥舞着剑，来到罗宾汉面前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He appeared in the lounge brandishing a knife. 他挥舞着一把小刀，出现在休息室里。 来自辞典例句

2 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

5 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 ovations   

n.热烈欢迎( ovation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Everywhere they appeared there were ovations. 他们出现在哪儿，哪儿就是一片欢呼声。 来自辞典例句
• There were notable standing ovations for the Iraqi and the Palestinian teams. 而且引人注目的是，伊拉克和巴勒斯坦代表团还受到了持久的掌声欢迎。 来自互联网

10 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

11 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

12 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

13 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。

14 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

15 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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。

19 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

20 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

21 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

22 muggy   

adj.闷热的；adv.（天气）闷热而潮湿地；n.（天气）闷热而潮湿

参考例句：

• We may expect muggy weather when the rainy season begins.雨季开始时，我们预料有闷热的天气。
• It was muggy and overcast.天气闷热潮湿，而且天色阴沉。

23 rescind   

v.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan.他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。
• Trade Union leaders have demanded the government rescind the price rise.工会领导已经要求政府阻止价格上涨。

24 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。