NPR 2011-04-04

Seventy-nine Southwest's planes remain grounded after a hole tore the fuselage open in a plane out of Phoenix¹ Friday. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports the issue of metal fatigue² is not new to Southwest.

The plane damaged Friday was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-300. A Southwest spokesperson says many of that make have had their aluminum³ skins replaced, but those planes grounded have not. The Associated Press reports that a year ago the plane damaged Friday was found to have eight instances of cracking in its frame, and records show all were repaired. Two years ago, Southwest was charged with missing required safety inspections⁴ for cracks and paid a $7.5 million settlement. Shortly afterwards, a hole ripped open in the plane's fuselage. The cause there was found to be metal fatigue. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News.

Pakistani authorities say a suicide bombing at a shrine⁵ in Punjab left dozens dead today. From Islamabad, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that police did manage to apprehend⁶ a suspect.

The two attackers who authorities say were between 13 and 15 struck in Dera Ghazi Khan in the Punjab. They took advantage of several thousand people gathering⁷ to mark the annual anniversary of the shrine of Sakhi Sarwar Darbar. Eyewitnesses⁸ described the wounded bomber⁹ was surprised by his failure to blow himself up. His dead companion, however, caused maximum damage at the Sufi shrine, where the practice of singing and meditating¹⁰ is a long-established part of religious life here, but al-Qaeda-linked Taliban militants¹¹, who reportedly claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack, abhor¹² the unorthodox Sufi interpretation¹³ of Islam. Last year, dozens of people were killed in Lahore when bombers¹⁴ struck Pakistan's most revered¹⁵ shrine, known as Data Darbar. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

A Japanese official says it could be months before a tsunami-ravaged nuclear power plant is under control. NPR's Anthony Kuhn has more from Tokyo.

Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, said that work on the crippled reactors¹⁶ would face a crucial turning point in the next few months, but finally resolving the situation would take longer. Workers are still struggling to restore damaged cooling systems and plug cracks leaking radioactive water. Today, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the plant, confirmed the deaths of two young workers. Their bodies were not discovered until Wednesday as radioactivity prevented workers from searching the area. Prime Minister Nanto Kan, meanwhile, visited an emergency shelter in Fukushima Prefecture, pledging government help and providing evacuees¹⁷ with temporary housing. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Tokyo.

An envoy¹⁸ for Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi reportedly is in Athens with a message for Greek officials from Qaddafi. There're no details about that meeting.

This is NPR.

Congress has until Friday to come up with the budget to keep the government running. No one's predicting a deadlock¹⁹ yet. On CBS "Face the Nation", Republican Senator Lindsey Graham says he's optimistic.

"I think we'll get together. I think there are enough Red State Democrats²⁰ who do not want to take this fight any further. They do want to be seen as reducing spending."

But tough debates are ahead. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan says he's looking at $4 trillion in spending cuts in the coming decade, including changes in Medicare and Medicaid.

A wildfire in Colorado has forced home evacuations near Fort Collins. We get more on the story from Conrad Wilson of member station KDNK in Carpendale, Colorado.

High winds stoked the blaze that ballooned from just 25 acres Saturday to now over 2,000 acres. Firefighters ordered about 300 homes be evacuated²¹ and say there could be more. Eyewitnesses report at least one home was burned, and according to Larimer County Sheriff's Office, those watching the fire hope that's the extent of the damage. More firefighting agencies are expected to arrive on the scene tonight, including air support. Officials say even though winds are strong, a cold front is moving in along with some rain and snow expected later. They say that should help firefighters' efforts. For NPR News, I'm Conrad Wilson in Carpendale, Colorado.

At the box office this weekend, the top spot is claimed by the Easter Bunny. Russel Brand's family comedy "Hop²²" debuted²³ at No.1.

"A human Easter bunny? Come on, Fred. It doesn't make sense."

The movie scored $38 million in sales.

I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.

1 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

2 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

3 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

4 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

6 apprehend   

vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑

参考例句：

• I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
• Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

7 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

8 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

9 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

10 meditating   

a.沉思的，冥想的

参考例句：

• They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。
• 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。

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 abhor   

v.憎恶；痛恨

参考例句：

• They abhor all forms of racial discrimination.他们憎恶任何形式的种族歧视。
• They abhor all the nations who have different ideology and regime.他们仇视所有意识形态和制度与他们不同的国家。

13 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

14 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

16 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

17 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网

18 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。

19 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

20 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》

21 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。

22 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

23 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。