NPR 2010-09-30

US officials are still trying to confirm that a major terrorist plot coming out of Pakistan has no American component¹. As NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports, terrorists allegedly have been planning commando-like attacks on European civilian² targets.

The would-be attackers had allegedly planned to send out small teams of gunmen to capture and kill Western hostages in Europe. It's unclear whether the United States was part of the plan as well. The plot, which was supposed to take its cues from a commando-style attack in India several years ago, was allegedly moving ahead, but was not imminent³. News of the planned attack is thought to have come from a German terror suspect who was arrested several months ago. He's been at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan ever since. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.

Diplomatic pressure to salvage⁴ Middle East peace talks is intensifying⁵. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports the European Union’s foreign policy chief is heading to the Middle East to join the effort.

Talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hit their first roadblock when Israel refused to extend a partial moratorium⁶ on Jewish housing projects in the West Bank. The European Union's Catherine Ashton says she's cutting short her stay in Washington to see if she can help keep talks moving.

"More than anything, we would like to see, of course, the moratorium on settlement building continue, but we are very keen to see the opportunity for President Abbas to stay in the talks, and for them to move forward to a successful conclusion."

Ashton will join US Middle East envoy⁷ George Mitchell who has been trying to salvage the talks which were launched less than a month ago. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington

Angry protesters in Brussels among thousands throughout Europe today, demonstrating against government austerity measures in EU countries. Many EU governments are cutting wages, pensions and public sector⁸ jobs as they try to recover from the recession.

President Obama is in Richmond, Virginia for another in his so-called backyard discussions on the economy. Earlier today, he spoke⁹ with a group of about 70 voters in Des Moines, Iowa. He's trying to boost support for Democrats¹⁰ in upcoming midterm elections.

"You can't say you want to balance the budget, deal with our deficit¹¹, invest in our kids and have a $700-billion tax cut that affects only 2% of the population. You just can't do it."

Mr. Obama's bipartisan budget commission today holds its last public meeting before the November elections, looking for ways to cut the federal deficit.

Just before the close on Wall Street today, the Dow fell 27 points down at 10,830; the NASDAQ was down three at 2,376; the S&P was off three.

This is NPR.

BP's incoming CEO says he's setting up a new safety division to monitor the company's operations around the world. Bob Dudley said today he's appointing Mark Bly as a kind of safety czar. BP says Bly will have more authority than previous safety chiefs with representatives in every business unit able to intervene if safety standards aren’t being met.

Lucasfilm is announcing the reincarnation of the Star Wars saga¹² in 3D. The Star Wars website says the live-action blockbusters lend themselves perfectly¹³ to 3D, but the stereo conversion¹⁴ will take time. Episode one isn't expected to be released until 2012.

Director Arthur Penn has died. As NPR's Neda Ulaby reports, Penn earned a lasting¹⁵ place in film history for the 1967 movie "Bonnie and Clyde".

That ending still shocks today. The scorching¹⁶ young outlaws¹⁷ ambushed¹⁸. They died spasmodically in a frenzy¹⁹ of bullets. No one had seen anything like "Bonnie and Clyde", the violence, the sex, the disorienting editing grafted²⁰ from European art-house movies onto Hollywood cinema. It would never look the same. Arthur Penn started professionally in television. His "Miracle Worker" from 1957 was such a success. He later directed the Broadway play and the 1962 movie. Winning Oscars for "Anne Bancroft" and "Patty Duke". Arthur Penn also directed "Little Big Man" and "Alice's Restaurant". He died Tuesday, a day after his 88th birthday. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

And I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

4 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

5 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

6 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

7 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

8 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。

9 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。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

12 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

13 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

14 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

15 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

16 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

17 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

18 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

20 grafted   

移植( graft的过去式和过去分词 )； 嫁接； 使（思想、制度等）成为（…的一部份）； 植根

参考例句：

• No art can be grafted with success on another art. 没有哪种艺术能成功地嫁接到另一种艺术上。
• Apples are easily grafted. 苹果树很容易嫁接。