NPR 2010-02-22

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

 

NATO is confirming the death of another soldier in Afghanistan, bringing the number of fatalities¹ to 13 since an anti-Taliban offensive was launched in Marjah, Afghanistan over a week ago. General David Petraeus, Commander of US Central Command, tells NBC meanwhile that the current campaign to secure Marjah is only the beginning.

 

"I don’t use words like optimist² or pessimist³. I use realist and the reality is that it's hard, but we’re there for a very, very important reason and we can’t forget that."

 

Petraeus on NBC’s "Meet the Press".

 

Someone threw a home-made bomb at a synagogue in Cairo today. No one was hurt. As NPR’s Peter Kenyon reports, Egypt’s Interior Ministry⁴ is hunting down the suspect.

 

Police reports to the incident say an unidentified man entered a hotel located on the fourth floor of the building across from the synagogue and threw a suitcase out the window. The bomb was described by police as four containers of gasoline and a vial of sulfuric acid meant to detonate the device. The case caught fire but failed to explode. The Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue, a late 19th-century building that once dominated the broad boulevard it sits on, is the largest in Egypt and still conducts limited services for the country’s small, elderly Jewish population. Despite the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, relations between the neighboring states have never been warm. In Egyptian political circles, being known as a normalizer or supporter of normal relations with Israel is considered an insult. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.

 

Israel is touting⁵ a major resource in its defense⁶. A Heron TP drone, unmanned aircraft designed for surveillance, but with the ability to jam enemy communications. Today, the Israeli military unveiled a fleet of these drones at a time when Israel faces threats from Iran which has called for the Jewish state’s destruction.

 

In Vancouver, surprise finished the men’s 1,500-meter speed skating event. Mark Tuitert of the Netherlands won over the favorite American Shani Davis yesterday. Coming up today, American skier⁷ Bode⁸ Miller⁹ races again. He already has the most career medals of any American downhill skier and has two more shots at gold. From Whistler, north of Vancouver, NPR’s Dianna Douglas has a preview.

 

Bode Miller will race in the giant slalom today, speeding around gates on the extremely steep Whistler Creekside course. He took bronze in the downhill race on Monday and then two days ago took the silver in the super-G. Despite having won multiple world championships, Bode Miller still hasn’t earned him an Olympic gold medal. The US Ski Team has dominated the medal stand at these Winter Games. They’ve earned seven medals in five races, the most ever for the US with five races still to come. Norway and Austria are the only other countries with multiple medals in downhill skiing so far with two each. Dianna Douglas, NPR News, Whistler.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Ukraine may finally have a new president this week. Viktor Yanukovich is set to be inaugurated on Thursday. His opponent in the February 7th presidential election, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, has ended her court battle challenging the results of that vote.

 

In the US, a new congressional report finds that drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline knew about ties between a diabetes¹⁰ drug and heart attacks years before it was disclosed to the public. Glaxo's now under mounting pressure to pull Avandia from the market.

 

The Obama administration has a plan to rescue the Great Lakes, a source of drinking water to some 30 million people. Environmental Protection Agency’s chief Lisa Jackson has announced a five-year blueprint¹¹ to head off environmental threats to the lakes, as NPR’s Carol Van Dam reports.

 

The 2.2-billion-dollar Environmental Protection Agency plan provides relief for communities surrounding the Great Lakes worried about the invasion of Asian carp, another foreign species that have already overrun parts of the Mississippi River System and they're on the verge¹² of entering Lake Michigan. Along with the zero-tolerance policy toward more invasive species, the government will clean up the region’s five most heavily polluted sites and restore wetlands. The Great Lakes contain 20% of the world’s fresh water, but contaminated water caused by run-off from city pollution and farms has led to algae¹³ blooms so thick that beaches have been closed. The plan also strives to save species like the lake sturgeon, prehistoric¹⁴ endangered fish that can grow as long as eight feet. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle calls the plan "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make huge progress". Carol Van Dam, NPR News, Washington.

 

I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 optimist   

n.乐观的人，乐观主义者

参考例句：

• We are optimist and realist.我们是乐观主义者，又是现实主义者。
• Peter,ever the optimist,said things were bound to improve.一向乐观的皮特说，事情必定是会好转的。

3 pessimist   

n.悲观者；悲观主义者；厌世

参考例句：

• An optimist laughs to forget.A pessimist forgets to laugh.乐观者笑着忘却，悲观者忘记怎样笑。
• The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.悲观者在每个机会中都看到困难，乐观者在每个困难中都看到机会。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 skier   

n.滑雪运动员

参考例句：

• She is a skier who is unafraid of danger.她是一名敢于冒险的滑雪者。
• The skier skimmed across the snow.滑雪者飞快地滑过雪地。

8 bode   

v.预示

参考例句：

• These figures do not bode well for the company's future.这些数字显示出公司的前景不妙。
• His careful habits bode well for his future.他那认真的习惯预示著他会有好的前途。

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

11 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

12 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

13 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

14 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。