NPR 2009-01-04

Israel began a ground incursion inside Gaza today with a significant number of troops backed by tanks and helicopters. The operation is designed to seize areas of northern Gaza used by Hamas militants¹ to fire rockets into southern Israel. Israeli Major Avital Leibovich was asked on CNN how the Israeli forces will avoid civilian² casualties. "We are trying to be as humane³ as possible, namely, trying to call up before targeting the house, the residents of the house, trying to give leaflets and through those leaflets our messaging: The civilians⁴ are not our target, we are looking only after militants, Hamas militants. " Israeli Defense⁵ Minister Ehud Barak said in a live television broadcast that he does not expect the incursion to be short or easy. More than 460 Palestinians and four Israelis have died since last Saturday when Israel began its air offensive into Gaza.

The BBC's Rushdi Abou Alouf describes what he's been hearing inside Gaza tonight.

We could hear from here, not far from the north fighting, they go on go Israeli, the artillery⁶ fire and Israeli Apache are flying over our heads and sending rockets between time to time to cover their troops on the ground. A Hamas source so far is talking about blowing up Israeli tanks in the north and killing⁷ and injuring a number of Israeli soldiers. So far we have no independent source who can tell us the truth in the north, because it's very dangerous area. And we keep hearing the news from Hamas sources and from the Israeli army. The BBC's Rushdi Abou Alouf reporting from Gaza.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter today appointed the superintendent⁸ of the Denver school system to fill the state's open Senate seat. Michael Bennett will replace current Senator Ken⁹ Salazar if Salazar is confirmed as Secretary of the Interior. Colorado Public Radio's Megan Verlee has more.

Picking an unelected local education official for a high-profile elected office may sound like a bit of stretch, but Michael Bennett has specialized¹⁰ in unconventional career moves. Three years ago, after a career in business and in Stanton city politics, he took over as head of Denver public schools where he has earned praise and criticism for reform efforts. On Saturday, Bennett said he would apply what he's learned in his past professions to his new position. "As your next United States senator, I will bring the same values of hard work and a very solid curiosity with me to Washington." Bennett has hard work ahead of him in Colorado as well. The Senate seat he's filling comes up for election in two years, and right now he is virtually unknown to citizens outside of Denver. For NPR News, I m Megan Verlee in Denver.

Indonesian officials say they have been unable to get any information on casualties from a chain of strong earthquakes that hit eastern Indonesia today. Some buildings were damaged.

This is NPR News.

Kenya has a new media law that gives the government power to muzzle¹¹ radio and television news broadcasts. NPR's Gwen Thompkins has more.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said the law will help ensure national security, but news agencies in Kenya and the international community tell a different story. Kenyan authorities have twice moved against news broadcasts here in recent memory, and in both instances they did so only after broadcasts that were unflattering to the government. During the worst of the post-election violence that killed more than a thousand Kenyans last year, and displaced hundreds of thousands, Kibaki's government disallowed¹² live television news broadcasts. The new law now allows the minister for internal security to raid news agencies and to seize and destroy equipment. In the weeks leading up to Kibaki signing the bill into law, the US ambassador and other western diplomats¹³ warned the Kenyan president against curtailing¹⁴ the media. But in a published statement, Kibaki said the law is good for Kenya's continued economic growth. Gwen Thompkins, NPR News, Nairobi.

In the latest turn of events, some of the US senators showdown involving Rod Blagojevich, the embattled Illinois governor, accused Senate Majority Leader Harry¹⁵ Reid of a conflict of interest, noting a telephone call between Reid and the governor in early December, in which the two discussed the empty seat vacated by President-elect Obama. Blagojevich's spokesman says he doesn't know which candidates were discussed, but says he knows Reid's picks did not include Roland Burris whom Blagojevich chose to fill Mr. Obama's seat. Senate Democrats¹⁶ say they will seat no one selected by Blagojevich who was arrested on federal corruption¹⁷ charges. Reid's spokesman calls the claim that Reid had a conflict of interest regarding Burris absolutely ridiculous.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 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。

6 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

7 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。

8 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

9 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

10 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

11 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

12 disallowed   

v.不承认（某事物）有效( disallow的过去式和过去分词 )；不接受；不准；驳回

参考例句：

• The judge disallowed that evidence. 法官驳回那项证据。 来自辞典例句
• Her claim was disallowed on the ground(s) that she had not paid her premium. 她要求赔款遭到拒绝，原因是她事先没有交纳保险费。 来自辞典例句

13 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

15 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

16 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。