NPR 2010-05-23

The mothers of three young Americans in prison in Iran are back in the US, but they arrived this afternoon at New York's JFK Airport without their children who've been charged with espionage¹. Nora Shourd, the mother of one of the Americans recounts the emotional reunion this week.

"We spent about ten hours over the course of two days with Sarah, Shane and Josh, including many hours in private. We regret that because our visit was cut short, we didn't see more of them."

The Americans were arrested last July on the Iranian border with Iraq.

A frantic² search is underway for the last victims of a plane crash in southern India today. The bodies of most of the 166 people on board have been pulled out of the wreckage³ of the jet which crashed upon landing in Mangalore. At least seven people survived.

There's been another arrest in connection with the attempted bombing earlier this month in Times Square. A caterer⁴ based in Islamabad has been taken into custody⁵. NPR's Julie McCarthy also reports the US Embassy's warning Americans in Pakistan that the suspect's popular catering⁶ company may have rather ties to terrorists.

The US Embassy message says it is aware of threat information suggesting that terrorist groups may have established links to a catering service in Islamabad and urged personnel in Pakistan to avoid using the company. The Hanif Rajput Catering Services is well-known and has organized functions for the American Embassy. It's owned by Rana Ashraf Khan and his son, Salman Ashraf, who was taken into custody. The company's website said the 35-year-old executive studied in Houston, Texas before returning to help run the family business. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

In his weekly address, President Obama speaks about the continuing crisis of the BP oil spill in the Gulf⁷ of Mexico. He promises to hold accountable both the energy company and Washington lawmakers. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates has more.

The president has announced the formation of a commission to investigate the oil spill that will be jointly⁸ headed by former Florida Senator Bob Graham and William K. Reilly, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

"The purpose of this commission is to consider both the root causes of the disaster and offer options on what safety and environmental precautions we need to take to prevent a similar disaster from happening again."

In a Republican response, Louisiana Senator David Vitter said the announcement was "a media event" created by Democratic politicians but said all Congress's energy and attention should be focused now on containing the spill that is beginning to devastate⁹ the Gulf coastline.

"The time for committee hearings is for after the well has been capped, not before."

Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR News.

NATO's main military base in southern Afghanistan has come under attack. Master Sgt. Sabrina Foster says insurgents¹⁰ began firing rockets at Kandahar Airfield¹¹ several hours ago. There've been several injuries.

This is NPR.

Far more oil may have spilled into the Gulf than the 5,000 barrels a day BP earlier estimated. Authorities believe the amount of oil gushing¹² into the water daily is more in the tens of thousands of barrels. But speaking to NPR this morning, BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles is skeptical¹³.

"I've heard those estimates and seen them and I don't believe it's possible that it's anywhere near that number. Of course, I can't - since I can't meter it, I can't, I can't actually say it couldn't be. But all of our techniques would say that that's highly unlikely."

BP's using a mile-long tube to suck the crude up to a tanker¹⁴ on the surface.

The remains¹⁵ of 16th-century scientist Nicolaus Copernicus have been reburied in a Polish cathedral. From Warsaw, Dave McGuire reports some of the country's highest ranking clerics attended today's service.

When Copernicus died in 1543, he had no idea how his theory that the sun was the center of the solar system, not the earth, would revolutionize science and the way we see the universe. He was buried in an anonymous¹⁶ grave in the cathedral in Frombork in northern Poland where he served as a canon. His remains were exhumed¹⁷ five years ago at the request of a local bishop¹⁸, and DNA¹⁹ samples were matched with hairs found in one of his books. Copernicus's work was controversial as it removed man from the center of the universe and challenged the conventional view of the Catholic Church. The Church banned Copernicus's work after his death and excommunicated some of his followers²⁰. But today, he was reburied in the same cathedral as a hero in a lavish²¹ ceremony led by the head of the Polish Catholic Church. For NPR News, I'm Dave McGuire.

More art's been stolen from a collector in France. This just days after a major heist from a museum in Paris.
 

1 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

2 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

3 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

4 caterer   

n. 备办食物者，备办宴席者

参考例句：

• My wife went to a lot of trouble; she called a caterer. 我太太花了很多心血，她找了专办派对的人来。
• The wedding reception has been organized by an outside caterer. 婚宴由外界的饮食公司承办。

5 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。

6 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

7 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。

8 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

9 devastate   

v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒

参考例句：

• A few days before,a fire had devastated large parts of Windsor Castle.几天前，温莎城堡的大部分被一场大火烧毁。
• Earthquakes can also cause tsunamis,which devastate coastal regions.地震还引发海啸，它直接破坏海岸地区。

10 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

11 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

12 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

14 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

15 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。

16 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

17 exhumed   

v.挖出，发掘出( exhume的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marie Curie's remains were exhumed and interred in the Pantheon. 玛丽·居里的遗体被移出葬在先贤祠中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His remains have been exhumed from a cemetery in Queens, New York City. 他的遗体被从纽约市皇后区的墓地里挖了出来。 来自辞典例句

18 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

19 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

20 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。

21 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。