NPR 2011-06-23

Americans are expecting to hear more details tonight from President Obama on his plans to bring US troops home from Afghanistan. NPR's Ari Shapiro is here to talk about what the president is expected to reveal tonight in his prime-time televised address.

Hi, Lakshmi. Well, you remember that about 18 months ago, President Obama ordered a surge of some 30000 troops into Afghanistan with a plan to start bringing troops home this July. Well, tonight, we're expecting him to talk about bringing 10000 troops home this year with the rest of the surge troops to follow, and the goal is to have all of the combat troops out by 2014. Right now, there's a total of some 100000 American troops in Afghanistan, another 50000 or so allied¹ troops, and this is a quicker drawdown than many of the president's military leaders had wanted, but a slower drawdown that the American people who would like to see all American troops leave Afghanistan as soon as possible would prefer.

Yeah. Ari, what other key points are expecting here tonight from the president?

Well, he's gonna frame us as an evidence of a growing success in Afghanistan measured against the goals that he set in terms of denying al-Qaeda safe haven², reversing Taliban momentum³ training, the Afghan national security forces. He's gonna talk about progress on all of those fronts, and he's not ready to say "mission accomplished⁴", but he will talk about positive sides on the horizon.

OK, Ari, thank you. That's NPR's Ari Shapiro.

The Federal Reserve confirms jobs and economic growth in general are not expected to grow this year as fast as previously⁵ thought. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gives us a few reasons why.

"Consumers' purchasing power has been dampened by higher food and energy prices, and the aftermath of the tragic⁶ earthquake and tsunami⁷ in Japan has been associated with disruptions in global supply chains, especially in the auto⁸ sector⁹."

But Bernanke says growth should pick up next year. At the close of a two-day policy meeting, the central bank decided¹⁰ not to touch low interest rates.

Sirens sounding off in Minot, North Dakota, where about 11000 people are racing¹¹ to get to higher ground. The Souris River is overtopping levees, threatening to unleash¹² destructive floods through the center of town not seen since 1969. This as Onarori Shell is scrambling¹³ to get his family out.

"Oh, my gosh! It's * for two days straight. * lasted at about midnight, and my parents are ready to evacuate¹⁴ them also. So it's been kind of crazy."

Nearly 500 national guardsmen are helping¹⁵ with evacuations.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 80 points at 12110; Nasdaq off 18 before the close or more than 0.5% at 2669; S&P 500 down eight points at 1287.

This is NPR News.

Syria's foreign minister is lashing¹⁶ out at his country's critics, promising¹⁷ that Syria will become a model of democracy within three months. NPR's Deborah Amos has this from Beirut.

Foreign Minister Walid Muallem condemned¹⁸ new economic sanctions imposed by Europe. "We will forget that Europe is on the map," he said in a televised news conference. He also vowed¹⁹ Syria would be an unprecedented²⁰ example of democracy within months. His comments go beyond the more vague promises in a presidential speech earlier this week, another attempt to blunt the momentum of the protest movement. Dissidents dismissed the president's remarks as did Europe and the US. Turkey's president was quick to deem the reforms inadequate²¹. Syrian officials have been on the offensive to project confidence that the majority of Syrians support their reform program. Deborah Amos, NPR News, Beirut.

A teenager accused of being involved in cyber-attacks on the CIA website faces police charges in Britain. The 19-year-old is also suspected of having ties to a group that recently breached²² computer security at the US Senate and at Sony.

Venus Williams advances in Wimbledon after a thrilling match against her Japanese rival who at 40 was the second oldest woman to reach the second round after Martina Navratilova. Williams conceded the win was anything but easy, saying that her opponent doesn't play anywhere near her age. Five-time champion won 6-7, 6-3, 8-6. Spaniard Rafael Nadal's victory, meanwhile, was more swift. He defeated American Ryan Sweeting in the men's—6-3, 6-2, 6-4—to advance to the third round and a go at a third Wimbledon title.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

4 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

7 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。

8 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

12 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

13 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 lashing   

n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

19 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

20 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

21 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

22 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。