NPR 2009-09-24

Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly in New York today, President Obama said the world's leaders who have criticized the US for acting¹ on its own need to join him in tackling global problems. At his first address as president to UN attendees, Mr. Obama called for a new era of engagement.

“Nothing is easier than blaming others for our troubles, and absolving² ourselves of responsibility for our choices and our actions. Anybody can do that. Responsibility and leadership in the 21st century demand more.”

Among the areas of cooperation, the president outlined getting rid of nuclear weapons, increasing security from terrorism and pushing for Mid-East peace. President’s remarks preceded a lengthy³ address from Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi who was speaking through an interpreter called for a change in the world body while criticizing the UN for not preventing dozens of wars and treating some nations unequally.  

At least one person has died in Honduras in clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted⁴ President Manuel Zelaya whose surprise return has plunged⁵ the small Central American nation into political crisis. South American leaders called for Zelaya's reinstatement at the UN Assembly in New York. Michael O'Boyle reports from Mexico City.

Honduran soldiers and police blocked off the area surrounding the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa where Manuel Zelaya took refuge after his dramatic return to Honduras this week. Supporters of Zelaya have vowed⁶ to continue with street protests until he’s restored to power. Reuters reported that at least one person was shot dead Tuesday night during a clash between police and demonstrators. Zelaya, a leftist ally of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, snuck back into Honduras on Monday after three months of exile. Today, Chavez as well as the presidents from Brazil and Bolivia called for Zelaya’s return to power during a UN General Assembly in New York. The United States and the European Union have also backed Zelaya's reinstatement. For NPR News, I'm Michael O'Boyle in Mexico City.

Wind-whipped wildfires continued to cause problems in southern California. Hettie Lynne Hurtes of member Station KPCC has more. 

The newest fire is in the hills above Ventura County north of Los Angeles. It’s consumed more than 9,000 acres and is threatening about a thousand homes. Moorpark College has been closed as the fire burns in the hills above campus. Some areas are under evacuation orders and Governor Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for the county. Another fire in Riverside County to the east has burned 160 acres but it’s about 60 percent contained and no homes are in danger there. Meanwhile firefighters are still struggling to complete containment⁷ of the 250-square-mile station fire in the Angeles National Forest, an arson⁸ fire set a month ago. With winds gusting⁹ to 40 miles an hour, firefighters are concerned about flare-ups and spreading embers. For NPR News, I'm Hettie Lynne Hurtes in Los Angeles.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industry Average closed down 81 points today.

This is NPR.

A second day of debate on a proposed health care overhaul¹⁰ in the Senate Finance Committee got off to something of a slow start. Republicans and Democrats¹¹ have been arguing over whether the bill as proposed would harm seniors. With Republicans claiming that 500 billion dollars of proposed cuts to Medicare providers over a decade would lead to a reduction in patient benefits, while Democrats maintain that would not be the case. GOP lawmakers have been pushing a number of amendments¹² designed to block the medicare changes. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus who's been trying to craft the compromise has argued the underlying¹³ bill will reduce health care cost. 

The Vatican is defending itself against accusations¹⁴ the Holy See was well aware of an ultra-conservative bishop¹⁵ was a holocaust¹⁶ denier before Pope Benedict XVI lifted his excommunication last January. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome.

The website of Stockholm’s Diocese says its bishop and the Vatican ambassador to Sweden had informed Vatican officials in November that bishop Richard Williamson had denied the holocaust in an interview with Swedish TV. In that interview, broadcast two days before the pope lifted his excommunication, Williamson had said there were no Nazi¹⁷ gas chambers¹⁸ and not more than 300,000 Jews were killed by the Nazis¹⁹. Jews and Catholics worldwide were outraged²⁰, but the Vatican always denied it had prior knowledge. Benedict later condemned²¹ Williamson’s remarks and spoke²² out against holocaust denial. The Vatican said affirming or insinuating²³ the Pope was informed beforehand is absolutely groundless. A Swedish TV program broadcast Wednesday claims the Pope’s inner circle was informed about Williamson's views. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

Crude oil futures²⁴ fell $2.79 a barrel to close at $68.97 a barrel.

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 absolving   

宣告…无罪，赦免…的罪行，宽恕…的罪行( absolve的现在分词 )； 不受责难，免除责任 [义务] ,开脱（罪责）

参考例句：

• I'm not absolving myself from blame just because I was not playing. 我不是只是因为我没有参加比赛就把自己从责任中开脱出去。
• The method of culturing treepeony containerized seedlings and absolving epicotyl dormancy of treepeony seeds. 笔者探索了牡丹容器育苗的方法和解除牡丹种子上胚轴休眠的方法。

3 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

4 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。

5 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

6 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

7 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

8 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

9 gusting   

（风）猛刮（gust的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Then the treacherous North Atlantic struck, with hail, rain, lightning and gusting wind. 这时，气候变幻莫测的北大西洋出现了冰雹、大雨、闪电和狂风。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
• Jeff: Sometimes, the partiality and miscarriage of justice are dis-gusting too. 杰夫： 有时，裁判的不公平和误判也真是令人讨厌的一件事情。

10 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

11 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》

12 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

13 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

14 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

15 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

16 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

17 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

18 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

19 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

21 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

22 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

23 insinuating   

adj.曲意巴结的，暗示的v.暗示( insinuate的现在分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入

参考例句：

• Are you insinuating that I' m telling a lie ? 你这是意味着我是在说谎吗？ 来自辞典例句
• He is extremely insinuating, but it's a vulgar nature. 他好奉承拍马，那是种庸俗的品格。 来自辞典例句

24 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。