NPR 2011-04-20

Syria is abolishing nearly 50 years of emergency rule that gave the government broad powers to detain anyone considered a threat. This was a key demand for the Syrian opposition¹. But it may not be enough for President Bashar al-Assad to halt the more than month-old uprising against his regime.

The Libyan government's allowing humanitarian² aid in certain areas of the country, but NPR's Peter Kenyon says Muammar Gaddafi's military is opposed to allowing foreign troops to escort aid convoys³.

Libya and the UN have agreed on a humanitarian mission in the western part of the country mostly controlled by Muammar Gaddafi. But Libya's deputy foreign minister said any armed presence would be regarded as military not humanitarian. The European Union is reportedly prepared to send up to 1,000 troops to Libya to help get aid in and evacuees⁴ out of conflict zones, such as Misrata. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told Al Jazeera's English language channel that such a deployment⁵ would only come if the UN issues a specific invitation. Separately, British Foreign Minister William Hague said his country is sending advisers⁶ to Benghazi to help organize the ad hoc rebel fighting force. He said they would not be delivering weapons or assisting in any fighting. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Benghazi.

Bagpipes⁷ wail⁸ for the lives lost in the Oklahoma City bombing. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was targeted 16 years ago today. From member station KOSU, Michael Cross reports on a somber⁹ ceremony at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

The day began just as it did on April 19th, 1995. But at 9:02, during 168 seconds of silence to honor the victims of the bombing, a strong cold front came through, gusting¹⁰ winds and dropping temperatures. Governor Mary Fallin, who was at the time lieutenant¹¹ governor, told the crowd that the response to the tragedy on that day has been known as "the Oklahoma Standard."

"To the firefighters, to first responders who came across the nation, to the man who drove up to the bombing site and took off his shoes when he heard that first responders needed some boots to wear to go through the rubble¹²."

Family, friends and survivors¹³ read the names of the 168 victims. The national memorial is commemorating¹⁴ its 10th year, and this summer expects to surpass two million visitors. For NPR News, I'm Michael Cross in Oklahoma City.

Work is under way in Japan to pump out 25,000 tons of contaminated water from one part of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The operator says that the mission could take up to nine months to complete before workers can finally reach the cooling systems that were knocked out in last month's earthquake and tsunami¹⁵.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 65 points, more than 0.5%, at 12,267. NASDAQ up ten at 2,745.

This is NPR News.

The Obama administration is rejecting Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade its credit rating outlook for the US, projecting that if the deficit¹⁶ cutting deal isn't reached within two years, the country will be a riskier¹⁷ place to invest. The president says that he is far more optimistic.

"I want you to hold me accountable. I want you to hold all of Washington accountable. There’s a way to solve this deficit problem in an intelligent way that is fair and share sacrifices so that we can share opportunity all across America."

The president speaking at an Easter prayer breakfast at the White House this morning.

Norwegian long-distance runner Grete Waitz has died at the age of 57 after a long struggle with cancer. NPR's Margot Adler reports Waitz won nine New York City Marathons and a silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

A former Oslo schoolteacher, Waitz won her first New York City Marathon in 1978, setting a world best in 2 hours, 32 minutes, 30 seconds. It was her first attempt at running the distance. She went on to win eight more times. It was more than any other runner, male or female. Waitz won the London Marathon twice and earned five titles at the World Cross country championships. Waitz competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in the 1,500 meters, but missed the 1980 Moscow Games because of the American-led boycott¹⁸. Waitz started undergoing cancer treatment in 2005, but rarely discussed her condition in public. She also declined to specify¹⁹ which type of cancer she had. A private funeral ceremony is planned for next week. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

Firefighting efforts continue in Texas about 70 miles outside of Fort Worth, 10,000 acres burned.

1 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。

2 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。

3 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

4 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

5 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

6 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

7 bagpipes   

n.风笛；风笛( bagpipe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Yes, and I'm also learning to play the bagpipes. 是的，我也想学习吹风笛。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Mr. Vinegar took the bagpipes and the piper led the cow away. 于是醋溜先生拿过了风笛，风笛手牵走了奶牛。 来自互联网

8 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

9 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

10 gusting   

（风）猛刮（gust的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Then the treacherous North Atlantic struck, with hail, rain, lightning and gusting wind. 这时，气候变幻莫测的北大西洋出现了冰雹、大雨、闪电和狂风。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
• Jeff: Sometimes, the partiality and miscarriage of justice are dis-gusting too. 杰夫： 有时，裁判的不公平和误判也真是令人讨厌的一件事情。

11 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

12 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。

13 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

14 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

15 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

16 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。

17 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

18 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

19 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。