NPR 2011-05-27

The former Bosnian Serb general accused of being the architect of some of the worst atrocities¹ in Europe, not seen since World War II, is under arrest. Ratko Mladic appeared in a Belgrade courtroom today, wearing a cap and appearing frail², as he was escorted by four guards. NPR's Philip Reeves reports the 69-year-old faces trial before the[口误] International Criminal Court in The Hague over genocide and atrocities in the Bosnian War in the 1990s.

Mladic has been on the run for years. Today, the world caught up with him. The news was announced by Serbia's President Boris Tadic. "On behalf of the Republic of Serbia, I announce that today we arrested Ratko Mladic." Mladic faces a stack of accusations³ over his role as the Bosnian Serb military leader. He led the long siege of Sarajevo in which thousands of people died. Perhaps the most notorious crime against his name was the execution over several days of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995, the worst massacre⁴ in Europe since the Second World War. Philip Reeves, NPR News.

Eight NATO service members in Afghanistan are dead. Seven of them are Americans. They were reportedly killed in a bomb blast while on foot patrol. Authorities say two Afghan policemen were also killed and as many were wounded in Kandahar province.

A day after the Libyan government offers a ceasefire, no evidence of violence subsiding⁵ anytime soon, rebels and troops loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi trade rocketing gunfire today near Misrata, as world leaders meeting in Europe pledge to step up their pressure on Gaddafi to step down and put an end to Libya's civil war.

Officials in Joplin, Missouri are releasing names of people still unaccounted for. Since Sunday's tornado⁶, which is known to have killed at least 125, more than 230 people are listed as unaccounted for. NPR's Sonari Glinton reports frustration⁷ is growing, as survivors⁸ try to find information about their loved ones.

Family members have expressed anger that they aren't allowed into the morgue to identify the bodies, and it's taking so long to do so. Don Bloom is with the Federal Mortuary Operations Response Team. He's calling for patience. "And our people are dedicated⁹ in not being pushed into, to making rash decisions or speeding things up. That is why the process on our side takes a little bit longer than you feel it needs to." Bloom says workers are interviewing family members and gathering¹⁰ DNA¹¹. Officials also say positively¹² identifying bodies has been made more difficult because one of Joplin's hospitals was destroyed, and with it, access to its medical records. Sonari Glinton, NPR News, Joplin.

Before the close, US stocks were up across the board.

This is NPR News.

The latest influx¹³ of unemployment claims ends three weeks of declines underscoring, troubles still plaguing the job market. In the Labor¹⁴ Department's weekly update, we see number of people who applied¹⁵ for insurance last week rose by 10,000 to a seasonally¹⁶ adjusted 424,000, but a spokesman says data for offices are not citing the recent spate¹⁷ of destructive weather in the Midwest and South as a factor in the claims' uptick.

Small cars are getting better marks for safety. Six of 13 have won a safety group's top rating. NPR's Giles Snyder reports it's a reversal from just a few years ago.

Small cars used to have a tough time earning top marks in crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is funded by the insurance industry, but that's changing. None of 13 cars tested received a poor rating. The top picks include the Ford¹⁸ Focus, Honda Civic¹⁹, Hyundai Elantram, and the Lexus CT 200h Hybrid²⁰, Nissan Juke and Toyota Prius, but even though automakers have made improvements, chief research officer David Zuby says bigger cars still have the edge. "You still always have to worry about physics. Physics doesn't go away, and, you know, if you're more concerned about crash protection than fuel economy, a bigger, heavier car is a better choice." Still, with high gas prices, the new ratings could help make small cars attractive to safety-conscious drivers. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

The Obama administration is overhauling²¹ or doing away with regulations that appear to hamper²² economic growth. Regulations include a requirement imposed on gasoline stations to install devices that capture polluting vapors²³.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

3 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

4 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

5 subsiding   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的现在分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• The flooded river was subsiding rapidly. 泛滥的河水正在迅速退落。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gradually the tension was subsiding, gradually the governor was relenting. 风潮渐渐地平息了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

6 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

7 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

8 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

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 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。

11 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

12 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

13 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

16 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

17 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

18 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

19 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

20 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

21 overhauling   

n.大修；拆修；卸修；翻修v.彻底检查( overhaul的现在分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• I had no chance of overhauling him. 我没有赶上他的可能。 来自辞典例句
• Some sites need little alterations but some need total overhauling. 有些网站需要做出细微修改，而有些网站就需要整体改版。 来自互联网

22 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

23 vapors   

n.水汽，水蒸气，无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 )；自夸者；幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁（症）v.自夸，（使）蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• His emotions became vague and shifted about like vapors. 他的心情则如同一团雾气，变幻无常，捉摸不定。 来自辞典例句
• They have hysterics, they weep, they have the vapors. 他们歇斯底里，他们哭泣，他们精神忧郁。 来自辞典例句