NPR 2010-08-24

Federal officials are focusing on manufacturing and processing facilities as they work to get to the bottom of a salmonella outbreak in eggs. The Food and Drug Administration says there haven't been many standards in place for farms like the two in Iowa involved in the recall of a half billion eggs. More than 1,000 cases of salmonella poisoning are linked to those farms. The FDA is telling consumers not to eat eggs that aren't fully¹ cooked.

Vice² President Joe Biden says the drawdown of combat troops in Iraq does not mean American engagement in that country is ending. As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, the vice president told a veterans group the US remains³ committed to helping⁴ the Iraqi people.

Speaking to a VFW convention in Indianapolis, Vice President Biden said the Iraqis are ready to take charge of their own country, noting a drop in sectarian violence and the development of an Iraqi security force. Although Iraqi leaders have yet to form a government five months after elections were held, Biden says it's a good thing that leaders are trying to iron out their differences through politics, not war. The vice president spoke⁵ as the last US combat troops are leaving Iraq, bringing force levels down from 140,000 troops early last year to just 50,000 by month's end. President Obama plans to mark the milestone⁶ with his own speech next week. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

A dramatic and deadly scene in Manila today. Philippine police stormed a bus taken hostage by a former policeman, the scene broadcast by news channels around the globe. Eight people are dead. As Simone Orendain reports from Manila, the hostage taker was fired from his job earlier this year.

Police here SWAT team sharpshooter killed former Senior Inspector⁷ Rolando Mendoza on board a tourist bus that he'd hijacked⁸ earlier in the morning. More than 20 people including Chinese and Hong Kong nationals were on the bus when Mendoza toting an M16 rifle took control of it at a popular Manila park. By midday, police say nine hostages were released. In the early evening, several reporters at the scene heard shots fired inside the bus. Two Manila hospitals reported six people were dead on arrival. Mendoza's brother told reporters he wanted his job back. Mendoza lost his retirement⁹ benefits when he was dismissed on charges of extortion. For NPR News, I'm Simone Orendain in Manila.

Talk of deal making today wasn't enough to counter worries about the economy. Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was down 39 points to 10,174; for the NASDAQ, it was a loss of 20 points to 2,159; the S&P500 came in four points short at 1,067.

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A US district court has issued a preliminary injunction today, blocking federal funding of human embryonic¹⁰ stem cell research. The court says it involves the destruction of human embryos¹¹. The ruling favors a suit filed this summer by a researcher who objects to the Obama administration's new guidelines allowing funding of the research.

Tropical storm Danielle is intensifying¹² rapidly in the open Atlantic with winds nearing hurricane strength, but as Phil Latzman from member station WLRN in Miami tells us, forecasters don't think Danielle poses a threat to the US.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say Danielle's winds have increased to 65 mph, and they're expecting the system to strengthen into a hurricane by this evening and a Category 2 storm by later in the week, as it heads generally to the west. The official forecast track though begins to carry Danielle well to the north by midweek, before it threatens any interest in the US or Caribbean, even Bermuda appears out of its current path. Danielle is the Atlantic season's fourth main storm, but as the hurricane season begins its most active stretch, government forecasters say coastal¹³ residents should not let their guards down. A busy season is still expected with up to six hurricanes (of) Category 3 strength or above. For NPR News, I'm Phil Latzman in Miami.

The divorce of Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren is official. Lawyers for both sides released the statement today, saying the marriage was dissolved in Bay County Circuit Court in Florida. This comes nine months after revelations of Woods had been cheating on his wife. Terms of the divorce were not disclosed except that they will share parenting of their two children.

I'm Renita Jablonski, NPR News from Washington.
 

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 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。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

7 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

8 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

9 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

10 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

11 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

12 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

13 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。