NPR 2010-12-07

The embattled founder¹ of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, is suffering another setback². Switzerland has frozen the bank account of his whistle-blowing website. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports the bank reportedly acted because Assange allegedly had provided false information when he opened the account.

The Swiss post office bank, PostFinance, is blocking Julian Assange's account which includes a defense³ fund and personal assets worth 31,000 euros or more than 41,000 dollars. PostFinance says it is taking this action because the Wikileaks founder lied when he opened the account. He provided false information regarding his place of residence, claiming he lived in Geneva, which the bank says is untrue. This is the latest in a series of blows to hit Assange since he published hundreds of cables on his website, angering the US government. Several companies, including PayPal and Amazon, had ended their services. For NPR News, I'm Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

The Israeli government is mourning the death today of a national hero. The country's leading policewoman died from burns sustained in last week's unprecedented⁴ forest fire. She was the 42nd person killed as a result of the blaze which is now being blamed on a 14-year-old boy. Israeli authorities arrested him today, saying he admitted to smoking a water pipe and throwing burning coals in an open area.

Continental⁵ Airlines and one of its mechanics have been found criminally responsible for the Concorde crash that killed 113 people. Anita Elash reports Continental could eventually be forced to pay more than 100 million dollars in compensation.

The judge found Continental Airlines and mechanic John Taylor guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Continental was fined nearly 270,000 dollars. Taylor was given a 15-month suspended sentence and a 2,600-dollar fine. Legal experts say there could be more costs in store for Continental if Air France goes ahead with a suit to try to recover 150 million dollars that it paid to the victims' families. The Concorde jet burst into flames and crashed less than a minute after it took off from Charles de Gaulle airport in July of 2000. An earlier investigation⁶ found the Concorde's engine caught on fire after the plane hit a piece of titanium that had fallen from a Continental DC-10 airliner⁷. For NPR News, I'm Anita Elash in Paris.

The Associated Press reports the remains⁸ of two American balloonists have been pulled from the Adriatic Sea two months after the pair disappeared. An Italian fishing boat reportedly recovered the balloon from the waters today.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average up five points at 11,387, with the NASDAQ up five as well at 2,596.

This is NPR News.

Rescue workers at the scene of a landslide⁹ in Bello, Colombia today. Some are using their bare hands, searching for victims in the Medellin suburb. At least 20 bodies have been recovered. More than 100 people are still missing.

The latest phase of negotiations¹⁰ between six world powers and Iran are done for the day. Delegates involved in the first such meeting in more than a year will return to the table tomorrow in an attempt to iron out a compromise on Iran's long disputed nuclear program. The major powers include the US, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France.

"Tangled¹¹" weaved a spell of its own to dethrone boy wizard "Harry¹² Potter" from the top of the chart. NPR's Trina Williams tells us the animated¹³ feature rose to the top after debuting¹⁴ in second last weekend.

"I've waited my whole life for this day."

"Maybe we should get your home, call it a day."

"Nope."

Disney's "Rapunzel" fairy tale came close to overtaking "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" when it opened in theaters Thanksgiving weekend. Both movies saw ticket sales drop considerably¹⁵ this weekend, but "Tangled" was the stronger. It rules the chart with estimated earnings¹⁶ of 21.5 million dollars. "Burlesque¹⁷" and "Unstoppable" are neck in neck for third place. "Love & Other Drugs" moved up a notch¹⁸ to fifth. The weekend's new wide release "The Warrior's Way" didn't have many followers¹⁹. It debuted²⁰ at No.9. Trina Williams, NPR News.

We're seeing a slight up a bit on Dow. It's up about four points at 11,386 and a slight rise in NASDAQ. It's up five at 2,596.

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

3 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。

4 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

5 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

10 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。

11 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

12 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

13 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

14 debuting   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• New debuting analog thermostat welding machine, easy to operate. 新登场模拟式调温电焊台，操作简单。
• With the new tablet device that is debuting next week, Apple Inc. 苹果公司的新型平板电脑将于下周发布。

15 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

16 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

17 burlesque   

v.嘲弄，戏仿；n.嘲弄，取笑，滑稽模仿

参考例句：

• Our comic play was a burlesque of a Shakespearean tragedy.我们的喜剧是对莎士比亚一出悲剧的讽刺性模仿。
• He shouldn't burlesque the elder.他不应模仿那长者。

18 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

19 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

20 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。