NPR 2010-08-26

President Obama is expected to address the nation Tuesday about the end of US combat operations in Iraq. The White House says Mr. Obama is also expected to visit troops at Fort Bliss¹ in Texas. The US focus in Iraq is shifting from combat to training and assistance. With the transition underway, insurgents² launched a wave of attacks across Iraq today that killed as many as 60 people.

In the US, new home sales are at record lows, down more than 12 percent from June to July. The government's report comes out a day after we learn sales of previously³ owned homes also took a heavy blow last month. Longtime realtor Marge McCreesh of RE/MAX Realty in the Baltimore, Maryland area says people just can't get the credit.

"Good, solid, rock solid buyers are having a hard time getting money right now. Some people I can't help. I mean I'll send them to several lenders, and they're just agents of portfolio⁴ that they're used to be, or where you could send them to different brokers⁵ or you had options."

Meanwhile, orders for durable⁶ goods in July were also weak.

Soldiers in Mexico have discovered the bodies of dozens of migrants from what, they say, could be the largest massacre⁷ yet in that country's deadly drug war. More on this from NPR's Jason Beaubien.

The Mexican Marines were manning a road block in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas when a man who'd been shot came to them asking for medical help. The man told them about a nearby ranch⁸ he said serves as a base for one of the drug gangs. As the Marines attempted to investigate, a firefight broke out, killing⁹ one soldier and three supposed cartel gunmen. In addition to the bodies of 58 men and 14 women, the Mexican Navy says it also seized 21 assault rifles, almost 7,000 rounds of ammunition¹⁰, several flak jackets and camouflage¹¹ uniforms. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Mexico City.

Investigators¹² in the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia plan to dig through rubble¹³ deep inside the mine as they continue to search for a cause of April's deadly explosion. NPR's Howard Berkes reports that Federal Mine Safety officials have provided an update on their progress.

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration isn't saying anything about what's been learned in the investigation¹⁴, but there's new information about what investigators are doing both above and underground. They've completed about 80 percent of their planned witness interviews; about 50 are left, including managers of the Upper Big Branch mine and owner Massey Energy. Investigators mapped about 90 percent of the mine, but flooding has kept them away from two key sections considered possible sources of the blast that killed 29 mine workers. And they're still trying to locate some methane¹⁵ monitors, which are supposed to warn of explosive levels of gas. The reported disabling of methane monitors is the subject of a criminal investigation, which continues this week before a federal grand jury in Charleston, West Virginia. Howard Berkes, NPR News.

Dow's up 19 points at 10,060.

This is NPR.

In Chile, rescuers are spending another day trying to free 33 miners who've been trapped deep underground since early August, the process of drilling an escape tunnel is expected to take months though. Meanwhile, rescuers are supplying basic items through a narrow bore hole to help keep the miners alive.

South Africa's largest trade union federation¹⁶ is warning the government to meet the wage demands of striking public servants; otherwise, as Vicky O'Hara reports, the strike will be expanded to the country's manufacturing sector¹⁷.

The eight-day-old strike already has disrupted schools and jeopardized¹⁸ public health care, but the economic effects have been limited. That will change if the strike is extended to manufacturing. The public servants are demanding an 8.6 percent wage hike. The government offers only seven percent. School officials in at least one province have announced exams will be postponed¹⁹ because of the strike. Suburban²⁰ schools in Johannesburg that had been open closed today as striking union workers threatened teachers and students. The health care situation is even more critical. The South African military now has deployed²¹ medics, armed guards and sanitation²² crews to at least 47 hospitals. For NPR News, I'm Vicky O'Hara in Johannesburg.

Hot weather is helping²³ spread wildfires in Oregon, California and Idaho. On the outskirts²⁴ of Ashland, Oregon, a tourist spot best-known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a fire set off explosions and burned through several homes yesterday. Authorities say a homeless man has been charged.

Dow's up 20 at last check at 10,060.
 

1 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

2 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

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

5 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

6 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

7 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

8 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

11 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

12 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

14 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

15 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

16 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

17 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

18 jeopardized   

危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The soldier jeopardized his life to save his comrade. 这个士兵冒生命的危险救他的同志。
• The occasional failed project or neglected opportunity does not jeopardized overall progress. 偶然失败的项目或失误的机会并没有影响总的进展。

19 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

20 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

21 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

22 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

23 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。

24 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。