NPR 2010-05-24

Scathing¹ criticism is building against BP, the latest coming from Interior Secretary Ken² Salazar. He just wrapped up his fourth trip to BP's offices in Houston to get a progress report on the oil spill cleanup in the Gulf³ of Mexico. Salazar was not happy.

"I am angry and I am frustrated⁴ that BP has been unable to stop this well from leaking and to stop the pollution from spreading."

Salazar says if BP keeps missing deadlines to stop the oil from leaking, the government will push the company out of the way of the operation.

Authorities are still trying to identify victims from yesterday's plane crash in southern India. One hundred fifty-eight people were killed when the plane tried to land in Mangalore but overshot the runway and burst into flames. In Delhi, the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder says victims' families have begun arriving near the crash site .

At Mangalores main hospital, distraught relatives are still trying to locate the remains⁵ of their loved ones. Many of the bodies of the crash victims were burnt beyond recognition, and doctors are trying to use dental records and other means to identify them. A team of forensic⁶ experts have also arrived and will be taking samples for DNA⁷ testing, a process which could take days.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder.

Towns and cities across Poland are bracing⁸ for another day of floods. From Warsaw, Dave McGuire reports at least 12 deaths have been blamed on the floods.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk⁹ is calling the flooding Poland's worst in 160 years. In Warsaw, the Vistula River has reached 24 feet and is rising by a centimeter every few hours. There're reports of local flooding, and emergency crews are dealing¹⁰ with a 50-foot break in one barrier. Of particular concern are smaller villages that do not have sophisticated levees like the capital. The Polish army has been activated¹¹ to help with sandbagging, and residents have been evacuated¹² from areas under threat. Water management officials say the flood will not crest¹³ in Warsaw for at least another day, and there is rain forecasted for Sunday evening and Monday. For NPR News, I'm Dave McGuire in Warsaw.

British Airways¹⁴' workers are about to go on strike. The first in series will start tomorrow. The union representing the airline's cabin crew is in dispute with management over job security, pay and working conditions.

Shuttle Atlantis is coming home. It undocked from the International Space Station earlier today after spending about a week delivering supplies and doing maintenance work. Atlantis Commander Kenneth Ham says everyone enjoyed some laughs before saying goodbye this morning.

"We've bonded¹⁶ up here in space, which is an interesting experience. And I think part of that comes from working really hard and then having pride in your own success. Sort of sets up the human emotion for being happy and being happy together."

Atlantis is scheduled to land in Florida Wednesday, effectively ending its final mission in space. NASA is retiring its shuttle program later this year.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

A fire aboard a German cruise ship forces evacuation of more than 600 people today. Authorities say everyone got off safely. The fire broke out in a machine room while the cruise ship was at a port in western Norway. It has been contained.

A battle between the Department of Homeland Security and a Vermont farmer over a federal plan to buy or take some of his land to expand the port of entry on the Canadian border appears to have reached an impasse¹⁷. Charlotte Albright reports from Vermont Public Radio.

At a crowded public hearing in Franklin Town Hall, a few miles from the Canadian border, Customs and Border officials from Washington D.C. fended¹⁸ off attacks from angry Vermonters supporting the property rights of Clement¹⁹ Rainville, a popular dairy farmer. His son, Brian, got the loudest applause.

"I represent the small business community, a foundation industry in the state. We had a dairy farm for three generations. And I'm a little put-off when folks come in and tell me the best way to create jobs is to put my family out of work."

The Rainvilles say they need all 220 acres of their land to grow hay for their cows. The Department of Homeland Security says it needs at least 2.2 acres to curb²⁰ illegal cross-border traffic. For now, the plan is on hold, pending¹⁵ final review. For NPR News, I'm Charlotte Albright in Franklin, Vermont.

The Taliban says it was behind the overnight raid on Kandahar Airfield²¹, NATO's main military base in southern Afghanistan. Insurgents²² fired rockets and mortar²³ shells as they tried to storm the site. Several coalition²⁴ personnel were injured. This was the second attack of its kind on a major military installation this week.

 

1 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

3 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。

4 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

7 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。

8 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

9 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

12 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

13 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

14 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。

15 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

16 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。

17 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。

18 fended   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的过去式和过去分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He neatly fended off a jab at his chest. 他利落地挡开了当胸的一击。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I fended off his sword thrust with my spear. 他一刀砍来，我拿枪架住。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 clement   

adj.仁慈的；温和的

参考例句：

• A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。
• The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。

20 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

21 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。

22 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

23 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

24 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。