NPR 2010-11-28

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone.
A Somali-born teenager is accused of plotting mass murder at a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon. As NPR's John Burnett reports, an undercover agent has provided phony explosives to the young man.
Federal agents say the suspect tried to detonate a dummy¹ bomb, six drums full of inert² explosives provided by an FBI undercover agent. Nineteen-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud was arrested Friday at 5:40 p.m. at a Portland train station after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would detonate the bomb. He reportedly yelled "God is great!" in Arabic and resisted arrest as he was taken into custody³. An FBI agent said the threat was very real, but the public was never in danger. An FBI affidavit⁴ says he planned the attack since June, when a federal agent learned that Mohamud had been e-mailing an "unindicted associate" in Pakistan. If convicted of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, Mohamud could get life in prison. John Burnett, NPR News.
Anger and sadness in South Korea as citizens there grieved those lost in a North Korean attack earlier this week. And as NPR's Doualy Xaykaothao reports, there are calls for tougher action against the North.
They wore their military fatigues⁵ and put white cloths around their heads, shouting "Let's go. Let's go." The naval⁶ activists⁷ are upset that South Korea's military did not respond faster and stronger in retaliation⁸ for North Korea's shelling at Yeonpyeong Island. Meanwhile, another protest took place, a more peaceful one denouncing North Korea's attack. Earlier in the morning, a funeral for two South Korean marines was televised. Some 600 mourners attended the service. A marine⁹ commander during a speech to the audience said his forces would retaliate¹⁰ 1,000 fold for the North's attack. Pyongyang issued new warnings today, saying its military will turn the South into a 'sea of fire' if the joint¹¹ military exercises between the US and South Korea violate the North's border. For NPR News, I'm Doualy Xaykaothao in Incheon.
Retailers¹² are a bit more optimistic this holiday shopping season after online spending spiked¹³ to 16 percent on Black Friday, according to a web research group called Coremetrics. It's called Black Friday because the holiday shopping surge could move retailers into profitability or the black. Overall, analysts¹⁴ expect this to be the strongest buying season in three years.
In Dublin, early snow and slush didn't discourage protests against anticipated austerity measures. Spending cuts and tax hikes are required to meet the terms of a bailout for Ireland's feeble economy. Officials there say Ireland's 2010 deficit¹⁵ is running at 32 percent of GDP. That is the highest in Europe since World War II.
From Washington, you're listening to NPR News.
South African President Jacob Zuma calls his trip to Zimbabwe to try to smooth over tensions in the country's ruling coalition¹⁶ very successful. As Vicky O'Hara reports, Zuma has been playing the role of mediator¹⁷ between Zimbabwe's president and its prime minister.
The ANC has dominated South African politics since the end of apartheid. Much of its power stems from its strong alliance with the Labor¹⁸ Federation¹⁹ and Communist Party. That alliance has fractured in recent months. The Communist Party and unions say Zuma and his allies have feathered their nests while ignoring the poor. Some of Zuma's most vocal²⁰ critics are members of the ANC's militant²¹ Youth League. Its leader Julius Malema challenges the government to take a more radical²² economic approach. Malema has called for nationalizing the lucrative²³ mining industry. As Zuma opened the party conference in Durban, he called for unity²⁴ within the alliance. He also attacked those within the ANC, whom he described as putting their own interests ahead of the party. For NPR News, I'm Vicky O'Hara, Johannesburg.
American troops are still on track to leave Iraq by the end of next year, that according to Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who's forming Iraq's next government. The Iraqi official is telling reporters today that forces there are capable of assuming full responsibility for the country's security. Right now, there are roughly 50,000 US troops in Iraq.
The Taliban claiming responsibility for a deadly suicide attack near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. Several officers were killed.

1 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

2 inert   

adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• Inert gas studies are providing valuable information about other planets,too.对惰性气体的研究，也提供了有关其它行星的有价值的资料。
• Elemental nitrogen is a very unreactive and inert material.元素氮是一个十分不活跃的惰性物质。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 affidavit   

n.宣誓书

参考例句：

• I gave an affidavit to the judge about the accident I witnessed.我向法官提交了一份关于我目击的事故的证词。
• The affidavit was formally read to the court.书面证词正式向出席法庭的人宣读了。

5 fatigues   

n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服

参考例句：

• The patient fatigues easily. 病人容易疲劳。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Instead of training the men were put on fatigues/fatigue duty. 那些士兵没有接受训练，而是派去做杂务。 来自辞典例句

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

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 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

13 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

16 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。

17 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

18 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

19 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

20 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

21 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

22 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

23 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

24 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。