NPR 2011-05-08

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jamie Mclntyre.

The Pentagon today released five unremarkable videos of Osama bin¹ Laden². Unremarkable except for the fact that they were bin Laden home videos, captured by US Navy SEALs, who raided his compound and shot him dead, but while the videos are a curiosity, NPR's Rachel Martin says the rest of the whole brought back by special operations commandos is turning out to be an intelligence bonanza³.

A senior intelligence official said that they gleaned⁴ what amounted to the most significant, largest collection of terrorism material ever. That included digital files, audio files, computers, computer equipment, recording⁵ devices, even handwritten documents that they say couldn't have belonged to anyone else except Osama bin Laden. They say that we take away from all of this intelligence is that Osama bin Laden was far from a figurehead. He's someone they believe to be operationally significant to al-Qaeda, someone who is still involved in tactical planning and inspiring al-Qaeda and its affiliates⁶ to carry out plots specifically against the United States.

NPR's Rachel Martin.

The Taliban is vowing⁷ to retake its former stronghold in southern Afghanistan. A Taliban spokesman says more than 100 militants⁸ flooded Kandahar, including men they say escaped in a bold prison break last month.

At least three women reportedly have been shot dead by Syrian forces outside the seaside city of Baniyas. NPR's Kelly McEvers reports Baniyas is a hotbed of anti-government protests and the latest to be surrounded by regime forces.

Human rights activists¹⁰ told news agencies the victims had joined an all-women protest on a road near Baniyas. Residents say tanks and soldiers stormed into the city at dawn and have cut electricity and phones. The same has reportedly happened in at least two other cities. A similar government takeover in the southern city of Daraa lasted 10 days and claimed dozens of lives. The Syrian government claims it's rooting out terrorists. The decentralized group that's been leading the protest, for the first time, has issued specific demands. On a Facebook page, the group calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop shooting at demonstrators, permit peaceful demonstrations¹¹, release all political prisoners and allow free elections in six months' time. Kelly McEvers, NPR News, Beirut.

Residents in western Tennessee and southwest Kentucky are on edge as the Mississippi River flood crest¹² moves downstream. Charlie Tipton, who owns a 3,000-acre farm just north of Memphis, Tennessee, is braced¹³ for the worst.

"We are actually in the flood plain, so we're used to high waters. We're used to flood, but never went this high."

The river near Memphis is expected to crest on Wednesday at 48 feet, just below the all-time record set in 1937.

This is NPR.

Post time is just two hours away, and NPR's Mike Pesca has this preview of the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby.

Uncle Mo is a no-go as that promising¹⁴ colt, winner of our four of its five races, has not been able to beat a puzzling internal ailment¹⁵ that has slowed him down. Uncle Mo is listed as the second favorite. The favorite remains¹⁶ Dialed In, trained by the estimable Nick Zito. Calvin Borel, the jockey who rode three of the last four Derby winners, almost didn't have a mount in this race, but he will be riding Twice the Appeal at 20: 1 shot. Overall, the field of horses has been kindly¹⁷ described as undistinguished, but less notable collections have gone on to produce horses that would be seen as great. No horse has run all three Triple Crown races since Affirmed in 1978. Mike Pesca, NPR News.

The FBI says it was a sting. Lawyers for a Somali-American teenager accused of trying to detonate a bomb at an Oregon holiday tree lighting¹⁸ argue that it was entrapment¹⁹. Mohamed Mohamud's attorneys say e-mails from an FBI agent show that he was coerced²⁰ to violence. They say that's enough proof to show Mohamud's innocence²¹.

The US military has sent a new satellite into space. The satellite launched today from Cape⁹ Canaveral Air Force Station will provide missile warning, missile defense²², battlefield reconnaissance and technical intelligence.

Nine days after President Barack Obama released his birth certificate to show he was born in the United States, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has done the same. Jindal's birth certificate shows he was born in Baton²³ Rouge²⁴ to immigrant parents from India, who had green cards for permanent residency. That means the Republican is eligible²⁵ to run for president if he should choose.

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 bonanza   

n.富矿带，幸运，带来好运的事

参考例句：

• Bargain hunters enjoyed a real bonanza today.到处买便宜货的人今天真是交了好运。
• What a bonanza for the winning ticket holders!对于手持胜券的人来说，这是多好的运气啊。

4 gleaned   

v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗

参考例句：

• These figures have been gleaned from a number of studies. 这些数据是通过多次研究收集得来的。
• A valuable lesson may be gleaned from it by those who have eyes to see. 明眼人可从中记取宝贵的教训。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

7 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

8 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。

9 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

12 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

13 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

15 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

18 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

19 entrapment   

n.（非法）诱捕，诱人犯罪；诱使犯罪

参考例句：

• The most common structural targets associated with oil entrapment are anticlines and faults. 与储油圈闭有关的最一般的构造目标是背斜和断层。 来自辞典例句
• The purely mechanical effect of glandular trichome exudates is the entrapment and immobilization of small arthropods. 具腺毛状体分泌物的纯机械作用是诱捕和粘住小的昆虫。 来自辞典例句

20 coerced   

v.迫使做( coerce的过去式和过去分词 )；强迫；（以武力、惩罚、威胁等手段）控制；支配

参考例句：

• They were coerced into negotiating a settlement. 他们被迫通过谈判解决。
• He was coerced into making a confession. 他被迫招供。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

22 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。

23 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

24 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

25 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。