NPR 2010-01-31

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Carol Van Dam.

A winter storm is covering much of the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states today with a thick blanket of snow. 15-year-old Harrison Wall is shoveling his driveway in Bowie, Maryland. "It's pretty light snow right now, not very difficult, it's very powdery." Nearly a foot of snow has fallen in Western North Carolina. About ten inches of snow has already fallen in parts of Tennessee. Several slick stretches of highway prompted authorities to shut down some roadways in the Carolinas. Hundreds of thousands are without power. Virginia is among the states battling the snowstorm today. Beverly Amsler of member station WVTF in Roanoke says winter storm warnings are in effect for several Virginia counties and the District of Colombia.

The plows¹ are out, airports are closed and people are staying inside. Some Virginia localities which are now under several inches of snow were flooded just a few days ago. Snow totals range from 10 inches in parts of Western Virginia to 16 inches near the North Carolina border. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency before the storm hit to help towns and cities deal with the weather. About 200 National Guard members were also put on alert. Unlike last month's snowstorm, there aren't any major accidents and people aren't stranded² on interstates. But driving is hazardous³ as some areas are reporting blowing and drifting snow. In addition to the snow are the frigid⁴ temperatures with wind chills in the single digits⁵ for the next couple of days. For NPR News, I'm Beverly Amsler in Roanoke, Virginia.

China says it will impose sanctions on US military firms that sell arms to Taiwan and will suspend military exchanges with the US. The announcement comes after the US sold more than six billion dollars in arms to Taiwan. The BBC's Damian Grammaticas says Beijing is demanding that Washington cancel the deal or face more repercussions⁶.

 

The deal to supply billions of dollars worth of US Patriot⁷ missile defense⁸ systems, helicopters, minesweeping ships and communications equipment to Taiwan has long been in the pipeline⁹. But the trigger for China's flurry of angry responses was the notification sent to Congress on Friday that the sale is to go ahead. Many in the US military are seriously concerned about China's military build-up, saying it threatens a military balance in East Asia. And Taiwan's president today welcomed the arms sale, saying it will make his island feel more confident and secure in its interactions with China. The BBC's Damian Grammaticas’ reporting from Beijing.

The US is no longer flying Haiti's earthquake victims to the states for medical care because hospitals say they have run out of money to care for the patients. Captain Kevin Aandahl with the US Transportation Command says he understands, as he understands it, some states are unwilling¹⁰ to approve transportation for follow-up care adding the US military cannot fly anyone without a hospital accepting patients on the other end. Yesterday Florida Governor Charlie Crist asked Washington to help pay for care. And this is NPR.

Four Afghan soldiers were killed in a friendly fire incident this morning in Wardak province southwest of Kabul. A joint¹¹ US-Afghan force called in an air strike on suspected militants¹² only to learn later that it was another Afghan unit. The incident has stoked anger among villagers. A joint investigation¹³ is under way. Yesterday an Afghan interpreter killed two U.S. service members. A US military official says the attacker appeared to be a disgruntled employee.

Nigeria remains¹⁵ in political limbo¹⁶ with an absentee president still on prolonged sick leave abroad. There are mounting calls for an interim¹⁷ leader to be appointed until he's back home. We get more from NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton.

A high court dismissed a legal challenge by the Nigerian Bar Association calling on President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to step down and hand over power to his deputy. Upholding a similar ruling in a previous case, the judge said Vice¹⁴ President Goodluck Jonathan could continue to act on the president's behalf without formally being appointed president. The lawsuit¹⁸ was one of a number seeking to end the perceived political vacuum in Nigeria. Critics cite pressing national priorities requiring urgent attention including the case of a young Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a US passenger airliner¹⁹, a deadly outbreak of religious clashes and now rebels threatening renewed violence in Nigeria's turbulent oil exporting region. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Accra.

President Obama is spending his afternoon watching basketball in the company of hundreds of college students. He's watching seventh-ranked Georgetown take on No. 8 Duke University at Washington's Verizon Center. The president's personal assistant, Reggie Love, played for Duke.

I'm Carol Van Dam, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 plows   

n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• Alex and Tony were turning awkward hands to plows and hoe handles. 亚历克斯和托尼在犁耙等农活方面都几乎变成新手了。
• Plows are still pulled by oxen in some countries. 在一些国家犁头仍由牛拖拉。

2 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

3 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

4 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

5 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

8 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。

9 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

10 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 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。

15 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。

16 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

17 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

18 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

19 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。