NPR 2010-02-23

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Craig Windham.

 

An Afghan immigrant is slated¹ to appear in a federal courtroom in New York within the hour and Najibullah Zazi is expected to plead guilty to terrorism charges. He’s accused of plotting a bomb attack on New York’s transportation system. Zazi was arrested last fall in Denver where he was working as an airport shuttle driver.

 

Senate Democrats³ are facing a key test today of their ability to garner⁴ enough GOP support to avert⁵ a filibuster⁶. NPR’s David Welna reports a procedural vote on a jobs bill will mark the Democrats' first effort to push forward a piece of legislation since losing their filibuster-proof majority.

 

Democrats will need at least two Senate Republicans to join them to get the 60 votes needed to move the jobs bill forward. The ruling party’s new 59-seat majority has temporarily been reduced to 58 since New Jersey⁷ Democrat² Frank Lautenberg will be absent due to treatment for stomach cancer. Republicans have not made any commitments to vote for the jobs measure, though their leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday they may well give it their support. The bill’s price tag is $15 billion, far less than an 85-billion-dollar bipartisan measure drafted last week. It includes a tax break for firms that hire workers who’ve been jobless for more than two months. And it also releases $20 billion for road building, but it does not renew other tax breaks Republicans sought, nor does it extend unemployment insurance that expires at the end of the month. David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.

 

The top US general in Iraq says he may consider slowing the withdrawal⁸ of US combat forces if Iraq’s political picture seems chaotic⁹ after upcoming parliamentary elections. But for now, General Ray Odierno says he does not think that will be necessary. “I don’t think it's so much about Iranian interference that would delay our withdrawal, but it’s about the overall situation in Iraq, and if Iran and any other country would cause some significant change in the conditions in Iraq, we certainly have to consider our timeline.” The US currently has about 96,000 troops in Iraq. All American combat forces are slated to leave that country by the end of August, but about 50,000 troops will remain to help train Iraqi security forces.

 

Palestinians are reacting angrily to the possible addition of two West Bank sites to Israel’s national heritage list. Sheera Frenkel reports Israeli troops fired tear gas and stun¹⁰ grenades at rioting Israeli young people today.

 

More than 100 youths clashed with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Hebron today following an announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he hoped to add the city's Tomb of the Patriarchs to Israel's list of national heritage sites. Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem was another historic site slated for the 100-million-dollar project that, Israel says, will restore and renovate¹¹ the area. Palestinians say it is an attempt to assert Jewish control over sites that are important to Christianity, Islam and Judaism, particularly in West Bank areas inhabited by Jewish settlers. For NPR News, I’m Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem.

 

Stock prices have been mainly mixed today as investors¹² react to cautious economic signals from two major consumer firms. The Dow was down three points.

 

This is NPR News.

 

At least six people are dead in Pakistan after a suicide bomber¹³ attacked a security convoy¹⁴. NPR’s Julie McCarthy reports the attack occurred as the convoy traveled through the largest city in the Swat Valley.

 

Eyewitnesses¹⁵ said the blast occurred as two vehicles carrying Pakistani security forces passed through a busy intersection¹⁶. Television broadcasts from the scene showed a fire engulfing¹⁷ shops and cars that had been destroyed in the blast. Residents including children could be heard screaming over the devastation¹⁸. Mingora is the capital of Swat Valley, once a prime tourist destination. But the mountainous region near the tribal¹⁹ areas along the Afghan border had been infiltrated²⁰ by Taliban militants²¹. Pakistani military forces fought a major offensive last summer to dislodge them. Today’s bombing was a reminder²² that while the Swat offensive may be over, the fight against the militancy²³ there is not finished. Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission meanwhile said it was gravely concerned over the detention²⁴ of family members of suspected militants. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

 

Democrats in Congress are cautiously welcoming the compromised health care overhaul²⁵ plan unveiled today by the White House. The proposal does not include a so-called government option for uninsured Americans, but Republican lawmakers are already rejecting the plan. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the proposal is designed to be a starting point for a bipartisan summit on health care later this week. “A series of ideas that relate to cost, that relate to insurance reforms, and that relate to coverage²⁶ that the president would like to discuss on Thursday.” The president has invited key lawmakers from both parties to the summit which will be held at Blair House across the street from the White House Thursday.

 

I’m Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

5 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

6 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

9 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

10 stun   

vt.打昏，使昏迷，使震惊，使惊叹

参考例句：

• When they told me she had gone missing I was totally stunned.他们告诉我她不见了时，我当时完全惊呆了。
• Sam stood his ground and got a blow that stunned him.萨姆站在原地，被一下打昏了。

11 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

12 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

13 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

14 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

15 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

16 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

17 engulfing   

adj.吞噬的v.吞没，包住( engulf的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house darkness. 一位摄影师把电灯的保险丝烧断了，使整栋房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A professional photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house in darkness. 一位职业摄影师把保险丝烧断了使整所房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自辞典例句

18 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

20 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

21 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。

22 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

23 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

24 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

25 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

26 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。