NPR 2008-08-11

Russian military forces have stepped up their offensive in the former Soviet¹ Republic of Georgia today, targeting areas outside the contested region of South Ossetia. The US ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad warned Russia that its ties with the US and other nations are being strained. "Russia's relations with the United States and others in the international community will be affected² by its continued assault on Georgia and its refusal to contribute to a peaceful solution of this crisis. " Russia's UN ambassador said his country is ready to put an end to the war but he added that a ceasefire alone would not be a solution. NPR's Gregory Feifer has more.

The Georgians say they are observing a ceasefire and that they've pulled out all of their forces from the breakaway region of South Ossetia. The Russians say that their conditions to stop their military activities are that the Georgians pull out their forces from South Ossetia and sign a statement that they will never use force in South Ossetia again. Now the Russians are saying that the Georgians haven't stopped their military activities in South Ossetia and so they are not going to stop theirs. NPR's Gregory Feifer in Moscow.

Treasury³ Secretary Henry Paulson says it's too early to enact⁴ another stimulus⁵ plan to boost the sagging⁶ US economy until the effect of the first stimulus package is fully⁷ felt. "I believe what we did with the tax rebates⁸ and the business incentives⁹. We got them out very quickly and they are still, you know, they are still having an impact. " Paulson was on NBC's "Meet the Press". But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she plans to have the House vote on additional stimulus provisions when lawmakers return in September.

The US men's basketball team played its first game at the Summer Olympics today, trouncing host China by 31 points. In swimming competition, 12 world and Olympic records were broken. From Beijing, NPR's Howard Berkes has details.

Call it an auspicious¹⁰ start. American Michael Phelps swam in the very first event of the day, the 400-meter individual medley¹¹ and shattered the world record while winning his first 2008 gold medal. Records continued to fall even in preliminary heats. One of the world marks was set by the American 4 X 100 freestyle relay team. Another went to Stephanie Rice of Australia in the 400 individual medley. Records often fall in the Olympics because athletes spend four years preparing and usually peak at the Games. There is also the design of the Olympic pool. Its depth and width diminish turbulence¹²; its gutters¹³ and lane lines dissipate waves. Twelve world and Olympic marks fell and it's only day two of swimming. Howard Berkes, NPR News, Beijing.

Gasoline prices have fallen further, down nearly 15 cents a gallon over the past two weeks. The average price nationally for self-service regular is now $3. 85 a gallon.

This is NPR News.

Bolivia's President Evo Morales has apparently¹⁴ survived a recall vote according to unofficial results and exit polls. Also on the recall ballot¹⁵ were eight of the country's nine governors. Preliminary tallies¹⁶ indicate that three of those governors have been ousted¹⁷, two of them staunch political opponents of Morales. Morales was hoping for a strong showing in the referendum to bolster¹⁸ his effort to correct economic inequities in South America's poorest nation.

Oscar and Grammy winning entertainer Isaac Hayes has died at the age of 65. He was found unconscious at his home in Memphis today. The cause of death is not yet clear. NPR's Allison Keyes has more.

The iconic singer was known for his lush arrangements, his smooth buttery voice and his flamboyant¹⁹ image with a shaven head glittering gold and sunglasses. Hayes's versions of songs often ran much longer than the once standard three-minute singles. As he told NPR in 2005. "I always, always have it. I knew what I had to say could not have been said in two minutes and 30 seconds. " Besides his Oscar, Grammys in radio shows in New York and Memphis, Hayes won a new generation of fans as "chef" on the TV show "South Park". "Hello there, children." "Hey, chef." Hayes once said he stayed at the top of his game by constantly redefining himself. He was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

Authorities are working to identify the badly burnt remains²⁰ that have been recovered from the site of a helicopter crash in Northern California. Nine people were killed when the aircraft went down last week as it was transporting firefighters to a base camp.

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 rebates   

n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 )；回扣；返还（退还的部份货价）；折扣

参考例句：

• The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点，如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
• In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句

9 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 auspicious   

adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的

参考例句：

• The publication of my first book was an auspicious beginning of my career.我的第一本书的出版是我事业吉祥的开始。
• With favorable weather conditions it was an auspicious moment to set sail.风和日丽，正是扬帆出海的黄道吉日。

11 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

12 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

13 gutters   

（路边）排水沟( gutter的名词复数 )； 阴沟； （屋顶的）天沟； 贫贱的境地

参考例句：

• Gutters lead the water into the ditch. 排水沟把水排到这条水沟里。
• They were born, they grew up in the gutters. 他们生了下来，以后就在街头长大。

14 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。

15 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

16 tallies   

n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• Cash on hand tallies with the figure in the accounts. 现款跟账上的数目没有出入。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He tallies his own marks. 他把自己的得分记了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

18 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

19 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

20 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。