NPR 2009-07-02

Thousands of helicopter-borne US marines have launched a massive assault in southern Afghanistan's Helmand River valley, a Taliban stronghold and the main source of their cash crop poppies that produce heroin². NPR's Tom Bowman joins us now.

"Tom, what can we describe the situation there as being like?"

"Well, 4,000 marines swept in during the dawn hours to capture strategic points along the Helmand River valley. Eventually they'll set up combat outposts and remain to hold the ground. Officers I talk with say it's the biggest Marine¹ combat operation since the battle of Fallujah in Iraq five years ago. Hundreds of British and Afghan troops are also taking part in the operation. Brigade General Larry Nicholson commends the marines. He told his marines several weeks ago they would ride the Taliban forces and not let them go, either kill or capture them."

"Tom, this operation is said to involve as many as 4,000 troops from the second Marine Expeditionary Brigade?"

"That's right. And they came in by helicopters and by vehicles. And essentially³ they'll just capture key points along the Helmand River valley, and again that's a key Talibian stronghold, and then they'll just stay there for weeks and eventually set up combat outposts there. And what's different now was they have sufficient forces to actually hold the ground, that's something they haven't been able to do before."

"Did we know this operation was coming?"

"Yes, we did. It's been in the planning stages for weeks, I was out at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province a few weeks back. They were doing their combat drills getting ready to go and now it's finally happened."

"All right. Thank you very much. NPR's Tom Bowman joining us live. Once again, to recap, a marine expeditionary force has launched a major operation in Afghanistan’s lower Helmand River valley."

President Obama is again rejecting the idea of the so-called single-payer health care system, saying instead he will favor a plan that preserves private insurers while adding a government-run option. The President's comments came at a town hall meeting in Virginia today.

An industry report out on manufacturing shows that sector⁴ is still shrinking in June but at a slower pace than it was earlier this year. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

The data suggest a slow recovery is under way. The Institute for Supply Management said seven out of / 18 manufacturing categories reported growth last month. Those included petroleum⁵ and coal products, printing and wood products. The industries that are still contracting include apparel, furniture and computer and electronics. The institute's index measuring manufacturing activity overall is at its highest level since August of last year. Separate surveys around the world suggest manufacturing in China and Britain are also recovering. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 57 points to end the session at 8,504. The NASDAQ gained 10 points today closing at 1,845. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up four points today closing at 923.

This is NPR.

French officials said the 14-year-old girl who is the only known survivor⁶ of the crash of the Yemeni jetliner en route to the island nation of Comoros is now headed back home to Paris. The girl who managed to cling to a piece of wreckage⁷ from the jetliner that went down in the waters of the Indian Ocean for some 13 hours, suffered a broken collar bone and bumps and bruises⁸, but otherwise appeared in relatively⁹ good shape. The Airbus 310 was carrying 153 people when it crashed early Tuesday north of that island nation.

Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden, a familiar face in movies, television and commercials has died in Los Angeles. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates reports.

Malden's craggy face and twice-broken nose showed up in more than 50 movies. He won an Oscar for repeating his stage role as Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire. He also played a priest in On The Waterfront, the warden¹⁰ in The Birdman of Alcatraz and General Omar Bradley in Patton. Born Mladen Sekulovic in 1912, Malden didn't speak much English until his family moved from his father's Serbian neighborhood in Chicago to Gary, Indiana, when he was five.  His broken nose later made him a memorable¹¹ character actor. Malden turned to television in the early 1970s to co-star with Michael Douglas in a successful crime series The Streets of San Francisco. But he will probably be most remembered for this phrase uttered in commercials. "American Express Travelers Cheques. Don't leave home without them." Malden died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 97. Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR News.

It seems even specialty¹² companies like Crabtree & Evelyn which sells lotions¹³ and soaps are not immune from the current economic downturn. The Woodstock, Connecticut-based company today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy¹⁴ protection.

I'm Jack¹⁵ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 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。

6 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

7 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

8 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

11 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

12 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

13 lotions   

n.洗液，洗剂，护肤液( lotion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do not use lotions or oils to lubricate the skin. 不要用润肤剂或油类来润滑皮肤。 来自辞典例句
• They were experts at preserving the bodies of the dead by embalming them with special lotions. 他们具有采用特种药物洗剂防止尸体腐烂的专门知识。 来自辞典例句

14 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

15 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。