NPR 2008-08-05

Tornado¹ warnings were issued in downtown Chicago yesterday because of the severe storm that forced baseball fans out of the stands at Wrigley Field. Cubs²' fan Jerry Goldman was among those who found themselves looking for a safe place to wait out the storm. "I was determining where is the safest place at Wrigley Field if there was a tornado or is a tornado. I would find myself huddled³ with about 30 people, everybody holding each other for their lives down this ramp⁴ over here. " Hundreds of flights had to be cancelled at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. The storm caused widespread power outages in two counties but no reported injuries.

Presidential hopeful John McCain is taking aim at rival Barack Obama's energy policy. Yesterday McCain toured a labeling plant in the Philadelphia suburbs. From member station WHYY, Susan Philips has more.

John McCain attacked Barack Obama's opposition⁵ to offshore⁶ drilling and nuclear energy. "We need to offshore drill for oil and natural gas, we need to drill here and we need to drill now. And anybody, who says that we can achieve energy independence without using and increasing these existing energy resources, either doesn't have the experience to understand the challenge we face or isn't giving the American people some straight talk. " McCain made a brief unpublicized stop at a factory owned by a Republican donor⁷. He says it's companies like these that are suffering from high energy costs. McCain also challenged Obama to stop campaigning, and return to Congress to come up with a bipartisan solution to the energy crisis. For NPR News, I'm Susan Philips in Philadelphia.

Speaking in Lansing, Michigan, Barack Obama said his energy plan includes a possibility of limited new offshore drilling, tapping the strategic petroleum⁸ reserve. Both are ideas which he once opposed. Obama also wants long-term work on hybrid⁹ cars and renewable energy resources.

A new report by the UN's World Food Programme says hundreds of thousands of people in the Himalayan country of Nepal are facing food shortages. Strikes, high fuel prices and severe weather have hampered¹⁰ efforts to get food to those most in need. The BBC's Charles Haviland has this report from western Nepal.

Here and in much of western Nepal, many people are destitute¹¹. Food prices at the nearest market, a morning's walk away, have jumped up, the price of rice by up to 50% in a year, that of cooking oil by 30% in six months. The WFP and the government are feeding many, but some places are several days' walk from the nearest road, while vehicles are hampered by a severe fuel shortage nationwide. Many families can only cope by eating less, selling their meager¹² possessions or sending their menfolk to India to find work. The BBC's Charles Haviland in Nepal.

This is NPR News.

The family of the man suspected in the 2001 anthrax killings¹³ is bracing¹⁴ for some unpleasant revelations, according to one source who's been briefed on the investigations¹⁶. NPR's Laura Sullivan has more.

Dr. Bruce Ivins was having trouble. A therapist took out a restraining order against him, saying he threatened to kill her and his colleagues. His security clearance¹⁷ had been revoked¹⁸ just weeks before he committed suicide. But one source says the case against him will make him seem even more troubled. Ivins had split from some family members and he kept a post office box under an assumed name, though the source says it had nothing to do with the anthrax investigation¹⁵. Some of Ivins' friends and colleagues say they could never believe the friendly bookish man who loved to juggle¹⁹ could be responsible for the deaths of five people. But FBI officials have built a case, basing it largely on circumstantial evidence that Ivins had access to the anthrax, spent hours alone in the lab at suspect times, and had the ability to use it. Laura Sullivan, NPR News, Washington.

A military jury at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, resumes testimony²⁰ today in the trial of Salim Hamdan, a former driver for Osama Bin²¹ Laden²². The panel met for about 45 minutes yesterday. Prosecutors²³ claimed that Hamdan helped Bin Laden execute the 9/11 attacks as well as other terrorist plots. The defense²⁴ insisted their client was just a member of Bin Laden's motor pool, but played no role in planning attacks. Hamdan who's already been held as an enemy combatant could face up to life in prison if convicted of conspiracy²⁵ and supporting terrorism.

1 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

2 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

4 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

5 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。

6 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

7 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

8 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

9 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

10 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

11 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

12 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

13 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

14 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

15 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。

16 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

17 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

18 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

19 juggle   

v.变戏法，纂改，欺骗，同时做；n.玩杂耍，纂改，花招

参考例句：

• If you juggle with your accounts,you'll get into trouble.你要是在帐目上做手脚，你可要遇到麻烦了。
• She had to juggle her job and her children.她得同时兼顾工作和孩子。

20 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

21 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

22 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

23 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

24 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。

25 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。