NPR 2009-09-28

Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates is raising the prospect² of severe additional sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program following the disclosure of a previously³ secret uranium enrichment facility. Gates says that facility is the latest example of what he called "a pattern of deception⁴ and lies” by the Iranian government.

 "It’s no wonder that world leaders think that they have ulterior motives⁵ that they have a plan to go forward with nuclear weapons, otherwise, why would they do all this in such a deceptive⁶ manner?"

 Gates was on the CNN's “State of the Union”. He said Iran must cooperate with international demands to open the new enrichment site to UN inspectors⁷ and to make full disclosures about the facility. Iran's disclosure of the new nuclear site has reignited Israel's calls for tougher action against the Iranian regime. The calls come as Iranian media announce new tests of short-range missiles. NPR's Peter Kenyon has more from Jerusalem.

On the eve of Israel's Yom Kippur holiday, officials and analysts⁸ stepped up their calls for the international community to do more to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iranian officials insist that their program, including the newly announced enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom is aimed solely⁹ at nuclear power production and has no military application. Israel's hawkish¹⁰ Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israel radio that there is now "no doubt that Iran intends to acquire nuclear weapons". And officials in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Netanyahu told US lawmakers that the time is now to block Iran's nuclear ambitions. Despite fears in the region that a military strike in Iran would sow chaos¹¹ in the Mideast, Israel remains¹² skeptical¹³ that a new round of sanctions would have much impact on Iran's leadership. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Jerusalem.

 The government of Honduras has given Brazil ten days to clarify the status of deposed¹⁴ Honduran President Manuel Zelaya who has taken refuge in the Brazilian embassy there, but Brazil's president is rejecting the demand from Honduran officials. NPR's Jason Beaubien has more.

 In a communiqué on national television, the Foreign Ministry¹⁵ of the de facto government said that deposed President Manuel Zeyala is using the Brazilian embassy to call for violence and unrest in the Central American country. The communiqué also said that all countries that broke relations with Honduras must reapply immediately to have their ambassadors reinstalled or must take down the flags at their embassies. Brazil suspended diplomatic relation with Honduras on Jun 29. This new order implies that Honduras may refuse to accept the diplomatic status of the embassies of Brazil and other countries that broke off ties. Meanwhile, from inside the Brazilian compound, Zelaya has called for his supporters all around the country to converge¹⁶ on the capital on Monday to mark the 90th day since his ouster. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Tegucigalpa.

 Pope Benedict says Europe must acknowledge its Christian¹⁷ heritage as it deals with immigrants from other religions. The pontiff was speaking in the Czech Republic today.

 This is NPR News from Washington.

 Voters in Germany have given Chancellor¹⁸ Angela Merkel a second term in office. Her center-left challenger has conceded defeat. Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Party is set to form a new governing coalition¹⁹ with the pro-business Free Democrats²⁰.

Acclaimed²¹ film director Roman Polanski has been arrested in Switzerland after 31 years as a fugitive²² from justice in the US. He was to receive an award from the Zurich Film Festival. Larry Miller²³ has more.

 Polanski was picked up on arrival at Zurich airport on an outstanding 1978 US arrest warrant. He fled California after pleading guilty to sex with a 13-year-old girl. He claimed he did not know she was underage and that she consented. Polanski avoided countries where he might be arrested and live primarily in France as a French citizen. The director is known for movies including "Chinatown", "Rosemary's Baby", and "The Pianist" for which he received the Academy Award. The Zurich Film Festival said its tribute to Polanski will go ahead. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller.

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist²⁴ and former White House speechwriter William Safire has died at the age of 79. He had suffered from pancreatic cancer. He was a speechwriter for former Vice²⁵ President Spiro Agnew and for former President Nixon, and he spoke²⁶ of those days in an interview on NPR's Morning Edition last year.

"I kind of like innovation, and when I was a speechwriter, I came up with one, because Dwight Eisenhower had used prophets of gloom and doom²⁷ to attack defeatists. And so I came up with “nattering nabobs of negativism".

 For more than 30 years, Safire wrote columns on politics and language.

1 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。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

5 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

6 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

7 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

10 hawkish   

adj. 鹰派的, 强硬派的

参考例句：

• My staff's advice that first day was amazingly hawkish. 在第一天，我的僚属们的意见是令人吃惊的鹰派意见。
• Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet. 反战团体担心巴拉克·奥巴马可以创建强硬派内阁。

11 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

14 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

16 converge   

vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近

参考例句：

• The results converge towards this truth.其结果趋近于这个真理。
• Parallel lines converge at infinity.平行线永不相交。

17 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

18 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

19 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。

20 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》

21 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

22 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

23 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

24 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

25 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。

26 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。

27 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。