NPR 2010-01-25

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

The death toll¹ is rising in Haiti. As NPR's Corey Flintoff reports from Port-au-Prince, the Haitian government confirms at least 150,000 people have died since the earthquake struck nearly two weeks ago.

That grim assessment² came from Haiti's communications director who said it's based on reports from around the capital city. Haitian officials say they believe there are thousands more dead under the rubble³ of fallen buildings and in surrounding communities. Aid is beginning to reach some of the more than two million people left homeless by the quake, though many survivors⁵ complain that supplies of water and food are reaching them much too slowly. The World Food Program estimates that at least two-thirds of the survivor⁴ camps have received at least some aid. And volunteer doctors at hospitals around the city say they are still receiving patients with bone fractures and serious infections 12 days after the earthquake struck. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Port-au-Prince.

Meanwhile, donations are still being counted from Friday's star-studded telethon for earthquake victims. Organizers say that so far they have raised at least 57 million dollars.

A new tape purported⁶ to be from Osama bin⁷ Laden⁸ is out. On it, the speaker takes credit for the attempted bombing of a US airliner⁹ on Christmas Day. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports.

The recording¹⁰ said to be Osama bin Laden but which cannot be independently confirmed, praises the Nigerian suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as a heroic warrior¹¹. The tape warned of more attacks against the United States. Twenty-three-year-old Abdulmutallab stands accused of trying to blow up Northwest Flight 253 as it approached Detroit from Amsterdam on December 25th. Abdulmutallab told federal agents who questioned him shortly after the explosives he wore in his underwear failed to detonate that he was trained and instructed by al-Qaeda in Yemen. The Arabic al-Jazeera News Channel aired the recording. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Abuja.

Afghanistan's parliamentary election is being pushed back from May to September. Officials say they still don't have enough international funding to pay for the vote. They are also citing security concerns. The Obama administration is urging Afghan President Hamid Karzai to take advantage of the delay in parliamentary elections to reform the electoral process and to win back the confidence of Afghan voters. Karzai's reelection last year was marred¹² by fraud which cost him political supporters abroad.

The White House says it is confident Ben Bernanke will be voted into a second term as head of the Federal Reserve. But there is growing concern in Congress about the Fed Chair’s handling of the economy.

Former Commerce Secretary and Houston Oil multimillionaire Robert Mosbacher has died after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 82.

This is NPR.

A group of nations led by China is upping the pressure on wealthy countries to immediately hand over the first ten billion dollars they've pledged to help the world's poorest nations fight climate change. Ministers from China, Brazil, South Africa and India, some of the worst polluters, wrapped up their meeting in Delhi today also pledging to make good on their own commitments. The last major climate change conference was last month in Copenhagen. Mexico is slated¹³ to hold the next round of negotiations¹⁴ this December.

The first game in the final round of the NFL Playoff is underway. The AFC and NFC Championships determine which teams face each other in the Super Bowl. NPR's Mike Pesca has this preview.

The NFC Game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints pits the NFL's top two rated quarterbacks against each other. Drew Brees of the Saints uses precision and field vision to pick apart defenses. Minnesota's Brett Favre is always described as a gunslinger. But this year, the 41-year-old has thrown fewer interceptions than he ever has in his career. The Vikings come into the game with a more highly regarded defense¹⁵ but New Orleans' home field advantage may come into play as Minnesota has struggled on the road. Another great quarterback Peyton Manning will play in the AFC Title Game as his Indianapolis Colts host the New York Jets. After barely qualifying for the Playoffs, the Jets’ defense has been impressive, which means the cerebro-Manning will have his hands and brain full of Jets' blitzes all afternoon. Mike Pesca, NPR News.

A 16-year-old California girl is on a quest to become the youngest to sail solo around the world. She left state yesterday.

This is NPR.
 

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

4 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。

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

9 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

11 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

12 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

13 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

14 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

15 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。