NPR 2008-08-25

A US Navy destroyer docked at a port in the former Soviet¹ Republic of Georgia today, loaded with more than 50 tons of emergency supplies for the tens of thousands of people forced to flee their homes by the fighting with Russian forces. GOP Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana was in the Georgian capital Tbilisi today. He said the aid shipment will not be the last. "It's a part, at least of trying to bring about stability and a great sense of humanity which Americans care and we are attempting to display that everyday and we will be for quite some time. " Georgia's defense² minister said with the arrival of the US relief supplies, people there will feel safer because in his words they are not alone in facing Russian aggression³.

A suicide bomber⁴ wearing a vest packed with explosives detonated a blast during a celebration in western Baghdad today. The BBC's Crispin Thorold reports the explosion killed at least 21 people and injured more than two dozen others.

The attack happened at the home of a tribal⁵ Sheikh just outside the Iraqi capital. Scores of people had gathered for a dinner organized by an anti-al-Qaeda group. The dead include women and children. The injured have been taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Fallujah where mosques⁶ are calling on people to donate blood. The militia⁷ that was targeted was from the Tribal Awakening⁸, Sunni gunmen, who are now fighting against al-Qaeda rather than alongside them. The movement's helped to reduce violence in Iraq. It is a continual target for Sunni insurgents⁹. The BBC's Crispin Thorold reporting.

On the eve of the start of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, the Convention Credentials¹⁰ Committee voted to restore full voting rights to Michigan and Florida today, putting to rest a controversy¹¹ that was once a key point of contention¹² between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. More from Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta in Denver.

The two states had their votes reduced by half as punishment for jumping ahead of other states to host January primaries. They were challenging the early influence of Iowa and New Hampshire. Party leaders say it's time to put the controversy to rest, and focus on winning in November. But US Senator Carl Levin of Michigan says he is not giving up the fight to shake up the schedule of primaries and caucuses¹³ to give states like his a bigger voice. "The system will not be changed unless there is some folks who take up the cudgels, take up the cause to change this New Hampshire-Iowa domination. " But he says that will have to wait until after the November election. The apparent Democratic nominee¹⁴ Barack Obama has called for a commission to look into how the party nominated its presidential candidates. For NPR News, I'm Rick Pluta, in Denver.

A jetliner that reported technical problems shortly after taking off from the capital of Kyrgyzstan today crashed. About 70 people were killed, nearly two dozen survived. In Guatemala, a small plane crashed, killing¹⁵ 10 people, at least half of them Americans.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Gasoline prices have dropped 15 cents a gallon over the past two weeks. The average price nationally for self-service regular is now $3.70 a gallon. Industry analyst¹⁶ Trilby Lundberg cites two reasons for the change. "The drop comes from lower gasoline demand, because of high price and from lower profit margins¹⁷, for both refiners and gasoline retailers¹⁸. " Lundberg says gas prices typically decline at this time of year as the summer driving season ends.

The Summer Olympics have ended in Beijing today. The closing day included more medals for the US team, but China finished with far more gold medals than any other country. NPR's Howard Berkes has more from Beijing.  

China had worked its athletes hard for an impressive showing at the hometown Olympics and they responded with 51 gold medals, 15 more than the United States. The US won more medals overall, and more in a non-boycott Olympics in more than a century. The American men's basketball team won gold today by beating Spain in a game that was tougher than expected. The so called "Redeem¹⁹ Team" won the first major international victory for American basketball in eight years. The American men's volleyball team beat Brazil for its first gold medal in the sport in 20 years and the first medal of any kind since 1992. And the men's water polo team wasn't expected to make the medal round, but ended up winning silver, in a loss to Hungary. Howard Berkers, NPR News, Beijing.

The White House says eight American activists²⁰ were deported²¹ from China during the closing ceremonies. They had been arrested and released for trying to stage protests concerning Tibet. The US embassy issued a statement expressing disappointment that the Olympics had not brought more openness and tolerance²² to China.

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 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。

3 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

4 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

7 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

8 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

9 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

10 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

11 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

12 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

13 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 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。

16 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

17 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

18 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

19 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。

20 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。