NPR 2011-10-09

 Texas Congressman¹ Ron Paul is the winner of the non-binding GOP presidential straw poll taken at this weekend's Values Voters Summit of social conservatives. He pulled in 37% of the votes. NPR's Don Gonyea reports Paul's strong showing is not a surprise, considering the venue².

 

We used to Ron Paul winning the straw polls at conferences. It's a relatively³ small universe, just shy of 2,000 people voted in this one. And Ron Paul gets people to turn out in a lot of time, such as young people, college kids. They even get bust⁴ in, they come, and they vote and they leave. They are not the usual conference participant, so that's what helped Ron Paul win. And as he's done so often, he finishes much stronger, 37% in this case, than he does in general state-by-state or nationwide poll.

 

NPR's Don Gonyea reporting. Georgia businessman Herman Cain came in second while former Senator Rick Santorum placed third.

 

It's been six weeks since anti-government forces took control of the Libyan capital of Tripoli. But revolutionary forces are running into fierce opposition⁵ as they try to take Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte. That has stymied⁶ transition efforts toward democracy. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro is following developments in Sirte from Tripoli.

 

The fighting now centers around the Ouagadougou conference center and the Mauritanian Quarter as it's known. Anti-Gaddafi fighters are alleging⁷ that there are foreign mercenaries holed up there, and those are the people who are putting up the fiercest resistance. They are using artillery⁸. They are using tank fire to try and get into the center of the city. But it's been increasingly difficult, and it seems right now that the offensive has stalled. Anti-Gaddafi fighters basically have Sirte in circle. They are coming in from the east, they are coming in from the west, and they are coming in from the south, though remaining civilians⁹ in the city say that there is no electricity, there's no food, there's no water, and there is limited access to medical care. Essentially¹⁰ there is a humanitarian¹¹ crisis that has unfolded in the city of Sirte as these fierce clashes continue. 

 

NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reporting.

 

Britain's defense¹² secretary is pledging to keep up NATO air strikes even after Sirte's fall as long as the remnants of the regime post a risk to civilians.

 

Sunny weather is usually a welcome sign for farmers needing to harvest their crops. But in parts of the Midwest, there's been too much heat. That's prompted red flag warnings. New England Public Radio's Anne Mostue is in Minnesota, where she says conditions are unusual.

 

Temperatures are in the 70s this week. People are walking out in t-shirts in northern Minnesota, which I have never seen before. It's very warm, it's very dry, and the wind gusts¹³ are as much as 40 miles an hour right now. So it's very windy.

 

Fires are burning in several states.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Smithsonian officials say they expect the National Air and Space Museum will be opened tomorrow. Authorities shut down the popular museum today after anti-war demonstrators tried to enter the building to protest a drone exhibit. Drones are the unmanned aircraft used by the US government to track and attack insurgents¹⁴ overseas. A Smithsonian official says one person was arrested during the melee¹⁵ that involved between 100 and 200 protesters as well as six guards.

 

Pianist Roger Williams died early this morning at his home in Los Angeles. NPR's Jeff Brady reports Williams revealed earlier this year he had pancreatic cancer. 

 

Roger Williams' biggest hit came in 1955 with his performance of the tune¹⁶ "Autumn Leaves." It topped the Billboard¹⁷ pop charts and stayed there for four weeks. Williams played for nine presidents and was an advocate for increasing music instruction in schools. Williams died of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 87 years old. His personal assistant says at the time of his death, he had three album projects in the works. Jeff Brady, NPR News.

 

NFL commissioner¹⁸ Roger Goodell calls Al Davis a "true legend" of the game. The longtime Oakland Raiders' owner and Hall of Famer has died. Davis was 82. He reportedly died at his Oakland home this morning. He was a key player in the AFL-NFL merger¹⁹ and broke racial and gender²⁰ barriers while running the Raiders. A black flag with the team logo is flying at half-staff at Raiders headquarters.

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 stymied   

n.被侵袭的v.妨碍，阻挠( stymie的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Relief efforts have been stymied in recent weeks by armed gunmen. 最近几周的救援工作一直受到武装分子的阻挠。 来自辞典例句
• I was completely stymied by her refusal to help. 由于她拒不相助， 我完全陷入了困境。 来自互联网

7 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

8 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 gusts   

一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作

参考例句：

• Her profuse skirt bosomed out with the gusts. 她的宽大的裙子被风吹得鼓鼓的。
• Turbulence is defined as a series of irregular gusts. 紊流定义为一组无规则的突风。

14 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

15 melee   

n.混战；混战的人群

参考例句：

• There was a scuffle and I lost my hat in the melee.因发生一场斗殴，我的帽子也在混乱中丢失了。
• In the melee that followed they trampled their mother a couple of times.他们打在一团，七手八脚的又踩了他们的母亲几下。

16 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

17 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

18 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

19 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

20 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。