NPR 2010-04-25

A massive weather system sweeping¹ across the Deep South is spawning³ tornadoes⁵. Suzette Berry lives just outside Yazoo City, Mississippi where she says a twister tore through Highway 49 and flattened⁶ just about everything in its path.

"Trees downed, I mean, half a mile, not trees in two. Hillcrest Church is gone on 49, There's a funeral home there demolished⁷."

Brett Tannehill of Alabama Public Radio recaps the first reports of tornadoes affecting several states.

A tornado⁴ curved a path three quarter of a mile wide as it roared through Madison and Yazoo City, Mississippi, flattening⁸ homes and buildings and causing multiple injuries. As the twister moved through Yazoo City, it picked up so much debris⁹, it was visible on radar¹⁰. The storm continues to spawn² touchdowns as it moved across Mississippi and toward Alabama. Earlier in the day, it also caused damage in Louisiana and struck a chemical plant, trapping some people under debris. For NPR News, I'm Brett Tannehill in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Meteorologists such as Greg Carbin with US Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma are expecting the storm system to intensify¹¹ in the coming hours.

"We already had thunderstorms associated with this intensification¹². A lot of warm moist air flowing north throughout of the Gulf¹³ of Mexico is fueling as thunderstorm development and that a very strong jet stream coming across the Ark-La-Tex region."

No official word yet on casualties, but as we've been told there have been reports of widespread damage to homes and buildings.

Europe is back to being a full-fly zone now that the ash cloud from an erupting Icelandic volcano was no longer a threat. But as Larry Miller¹⁴ reports from London, some airlines are still tackling a heavy backlog¹⁵ of stranded¹⁶ passengers.

By Sunday, 100,000 British passengers stranded around the world would have been repatriated¹⁷, according to the UK's Air Travel Association. But that still leaves more than 50,000 unable to get home. While the airlines say it could be at least another week before the backlog's been cleared, according to the Guardian¹⁸ Newspaper, passengers stuck in India, China and the US say the earliest flights they've been offered depart in over two weeks. British Airways¹⁹ is asking customers booked on long-haul flights to volunteer to give up their seats for the stranded. Virgin²⁰ Atlantic reports it's been contacted by many such volunteers. British Airways has been criticized for offering seats at significantly overpriced fares on its Web site, but it explains that's to discourage new bookings so it can clear the backlog. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

A South Korean crew has recovered the front half of a warship²¹ that exploded and sank a month ago near disputed sea border with North Korea. They've also found the body of another sailor who was among 46 killed or missing in the incident. South Korea says it has not found evidence that its northern rival played a role.

This is NPR News.

Negotiations²² to end a month-long political standoff in Thailand are at an impasse²³. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is rejecting an anti-government group's latest demand to dissolve Parliament within a month. A protest leader says now his group is pulling out of those talks. For weeks, thousands of demonstrators have been occupying an upscale commercial district of Bangkok, severely²⁴ affecting business in the capital. The unrest has led to more than two dozen deaths.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the day the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit. NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce takes a look back at the fragile beginnings of one of astronomy's greatest tools.

Mario Livio is an astrophysicist with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. He remembers the launch of Hubble on space shuttle Discovery back in 1990 and the sickening realization²⁵ that the telescope's main mirror had a flaw.

"Oh, I cannot tell you, I mean, I thought that this was a disaster to be honest."

But in 1993, astronauts installed equipment that solved the problem. Since then, Hubble has gazed out into space with its view unobstructed by the Earth's atmosphere. And a fix-up mission to the orbiting telescope last year left it more powerful than ever before.

"And through its longevity²⁶, you know, we are celebrating our 20 years. It has really revolutionized the astronomy."

But no more repairs are planned for Hubble. NASA hopes the aging telescope will keep going until at least 2014. Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR News.

Recapping our top story, there are reports of tornadoes across parts of the southern US that have caused severe damage in some areas.
 

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

3 spawning   

产卵

参考例句：

• Encounter sites have a small chance of spawning a "Commander" NPC. 遭遇战地区有很小的几率遇到NPC指挥官。
• Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, 9 minute cooldown. 立即在出生地复活你的英雄，冷却时间9分钟。

4 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。

5 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

6 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

7 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

8 flattening   

n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词

参考例句：

• Flattening of the right atrial border is also seen in constrictive pericarditis. 右心房缘变平亦见于缩窄性心包炎。
• He busied his fingers with flattening the leaves of the book. 他手指忙着抚平书页。

9 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。

10 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

11 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

12 intensification   

n.激烈化，增强明暗度；加厚

参考例句：

• The intensification of the immunological response represents the body's natural defense. 增强免疫反应代表身体的自然保卫。 来自辞典例句
• Agriculture in the developing nations is not irreversibly committed, to a particular pattern of intensification. 发展中国家的农业并没有完全为某种集约化形式所束缚。 来自辞典例句

13 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

14 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。

15 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

16 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

17 repatriated   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The refugees were forcibly repatriated. 难民被强制遣送回国。
• Ancient artworks were repatriated from the US to Greece. 古代艺术品从美国遣送回希腊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

19 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

20 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

21 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

22 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。

23 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

24 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

25 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

26 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。