NPR 2010-10-28

A Virginia man's charged with plotting to bomb the Washington D.C. subway system. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports, the FBI had been tracking Farooque Ahmed, who allegedly had been scoping out potential targets since spring.

Ahmed is alleged¹ to have actually gone to a number of different metro² stations and either diagram them or videotape them and try to look for places where he thought would be good places to plant bombs. This was someone who had dreamed up a scheme and the FBI sort of provided a way of his, allowing it to come to a little more fruition.

NPR's Dina Temple-Raston.

A new audio tape reported to be from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin³ Laden⁴ has surfaced on the Arabic Al Jazeera website. On the tape which could not be independently verified, the speaker threatens French citizens over their country's involvement in the US-led war in Afghanistan.

A federal judge in New Orleans has created the security zone around the Deepwater Horizon wreckage⁶ site. The security area will extend about 750 feet from the wreck⁵ and includes debris⁷ from the sunken oil rig. More on this from NPR's Carrie Johnson.

The US Justice Department asked the court to protect the search area and to make sure that any evidence is preserved as part of its massive investigation⁸ into the cause of the gusher⁹. The Justice Department is conducting civil and criminal probes, and it recently informed companies involved in the wreck to stay away from the site. Authorities already have moved a critical piece of evidence, the blowout preventer, to a NASA site where it rests under guard. The US government may enforce the judge's order which extends until October, 2011. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington

It's a somber¹⁰ day in Argentina where people are mourning the death of one of their most prominent leaders, former President Nestor Kirchner, husband to Argentina President Cristina Fernandez. Kirchner died today of an apparent heart attack, though he was known for having a history of heart problems. Political observers say many were still stunned¹¹ to hear of the 60-year-old's sudden death. Reporter Anny Morphy gives us a brief glimpse to Kirchner's controversial political life.

When Nestor Kirchner took office in 2003, Argentina was still reeling from the 2001 economic crisis. Under Kirchner's leadership, the country recovered political and economic stability. Originally from the Patagonia province of Santa Cruz, Kirchner started out as a lawyer. He later became a mayor, then governor, working his way up to the presidency¹². As head of state, he was known for speaking out against the IMF and private companies. He also supported justice reforms that brought about trials to address human rights violations¹³ during the country's dictatorship. He was expected to run for president again in 2011. For NPR News, this is Anny Morphy.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down 44 points at 11,126.

This is NPR.

The storm system that brought hurricane-force winds, driving rain and snow to parts of the mid-western US, is now threatening more, the same in the southeast. A tornado¹⁴ may have touched down in Vale, North Carolina. Three homes were damaged, 11 people were hurt.

The World Series starts tonight between two opponents without much championship pedigree. The San Francisco Giants host The Texas Rangers¹⁵. The Giants haven't won the World Series since the team started playing in San Francisco in 1958. The Rangers have never even played in the World Series. From San Francisco, NPR's Tom Goldman has this preview.

Let's make this simple. Tonight’s game, one of the World Series, comes down to this - can The Giants do what no other team has done, beat Cliff Lee in the postseason. The Rangers’ left- handed starting pitcher¹⁶ never has lost in the playoffs. The Giants believe they can do it based on very recent history. They beat Philadelphia's Roy Halliday in game one of the National League Championship Series. Halliday coming off a no-hitter was considered invincible¹⁷. Giants center fielder Cody Ross who slammed two home runs against Halliday in that win says the approach will be the same tonight.

“You’ve got to be aggressive. They make a mistake; you can't miss it, because you probably are not gonna get another one.”

Texas's batters¹⁸ won't have it easy. They'll be facing Giants' starter Tim Lincecum. He's won pitching Cy Young Award twice. Tom Goldman, NPR News, San Francisco

Big ticket items have gone up again. The Commerce Department says orders for durable¹⁹ goods rose 3.3% last month, which was the best showing since January because of more demand for commercial aircraft, but disappointing results are among businesses which spent less on computers and other machinery²⁰.
 

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

3 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。

4 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。

5 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

6 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

7 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

8 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。

9 gusher   

n.喷油井

参考例句：

• We endeavour to avoid the old,romantic idea of a gusher.我们力图避免那种有关喷油井的陈旧的、不切实际的计划。
• The oil rushes up the tube and spouts up as a gusher.石油会沿着钢管上涌，如同自喷井那样喷射出来。

10 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

11 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

13 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

14 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

15 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

16 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

17 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

18 batters   

n.面糊（煎料）( batter的名词复数 )；面糊（用于做糕饼）；（ 棒球） 正在击球的球员；击球员v.连续猛击( batter的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pitcher has beaned as many as three batters in this game. 在这？热？投手投球竟打中了三个击手的头。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• A storm batters the ship. 一场风暴袭击了这条船。 来自辞典例句

19 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

20 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。