NPR 2009-08-31

Fire crews in California have been unable so far to slow the spread of a wildfire that's raging in the mountains north of Los Angeles. The blaze has charred¹ more than 35,000 acres, forcing evacuation orders for more than 6,500 homes. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger blames the rapid spread of the fire on tinder-dry conditions and plenty of fuel for the flames. What makes this fire also very challenging is that there’s a very thick brush. Why is it so thick and so high? 10, 20 feet tall is because for 60 years there was no fire. Schwarzenegger is urging people living in areas threatened by the blaze to heed² evacuation orders and not to stay behind as many have reportedly done. Three residents suffered serious burns when they tried in vain yesterday to save their homes.

 Voters in Japan have broken with half a century of one-party rule and given the opposition³ Democratic Party a sweeping⁴ victory in a hard-fought parliamentary election. NPR's Louisa Lim reports from Tokyo.

 The call for change was overwhelming, with a landslide⁵ vote going to the opposition Democratic Party of Japan. This untested left-center party will be in charge of steering⁶ the world's second largest economy. Prime Minister Taro⁷ Aso said he would take responsibility for a loss which he said was beyond his expectations. And he apologized for a lack of leadership. He said his party should start afresh with a new leader. Meanwhile the man who'll be Japan's next Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, pledged not to be arrogant⁸ and said he would listen to the people. On Monday, the party will hold talks with its two allies on forming a coalition⁹ government. It will have to deal with record unemployment and soaring welfare costs amid a rapidly aging society. Louisa Lim, NPR News, Tokyo.

 Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been indicted¹⁰ on several corruption¹¹ charges. He's the first current or past Prime Minister in Israel's history to face criminal charges. Linda Gradstein has the story.

 The Former Prime Minister and a senior aide were charged with accepting cash envelopes from American businessman Morris Talansky. Olmert is also suspected of illegally double-billing several charities for travel expenses and then using the money to finance personal and family trips abroad. In a third case, Olmert allegedly granted financial favors to his former law partner. The charges against Olmert include fraud, breach¹² of trust and failure to report income. The charges follow months of investigations¹³ and date back to when Olmert was Mayor of Jerusalem and trade minister in the 1990s, but surfaced when he was Prime Minister and eventually forced him to step down. The Attorney General dropped several other corruption cases against Olmert for a lack of evidence. For NPR News, I'm Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem.

 President Obama and his family will return to Washington this evening from their vacation on Martha's Vineyard. Mr. Obama will spend the Labor¹⁴ Day holiday next weekend at Camp David.

 This is NPR News from Washington.

 The astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery are dealing¹⁵ with a thruster malfunction¹⁶ that could complicate¹⁷ tonight's scheduled docking with the International Space Station. Pat Duggins of member station WMFE reports.

 The astronauts closed off the thruster after it started off leaking corrosive¹⁸ fuel. The vernier jet on Discovery's nose helps to fine-tune the vehicle's path during the final critical moments before docking. The shuttle crew has to be within three inches of a target point on the space station for the aircraft in the outpost to link up. NASA's Tony Ceccacci says the astronauts are trained on what to do to get around this kind of malfunction. The crew just has to be a little bit more careful, like just a little bit more piloting-required; but nothing that's outside of our experience. The same jet thruster failed on space shuttle Endeavor's visit to the space station last November. Once docking occurs, the Discovery crew will prepare to perform three spacewalks and deliver science experiments and supplies. For NPR News, I'm Pat Duggins in Orlando.

Former Vice¹⁹ President Dick Cheney is calling Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to name a federal prosecutor²⁰ to look into the CIA's interrogation of detainees “a political move”. Cheney added that a probe looking back at CIA practices during the Bush administration would be, in his words, “intensely partisan”. "It's a very, very devastating²¹, I think, effect that it has on morale²² inside the intelligence community." Cheney was interviewed on Fox News Sunday. Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts said he's not surprised that Cheney's upset. Kerry said that Cheney has shown through the years what Kerry called “ a disrespect for the US Constitution” and “for sharing  information with Congress”.

1 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

3 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。

4 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

5 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

6 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

7 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

8 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

11 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。

12 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

13 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。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

16 malfunction   

vi.发生功能故障，发生故障，显示机能失常

参考例句：

• There must have been a computer malfunction.一定是出了电脑故障。
• Results have been delayed owing to a malfunction in the computer.由于电脑发生故障，计算结果推迟了。

17 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

18 corrosive   

adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的

参考例句：

• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。
• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。

19 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

20 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

21 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

22 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。