NPR 2011-07-23

It has been a day of bloodshed in Oslo, Norway. At mid¹ afternoon local time, a mass explosion tore apart a government building housing the prime minister's office. At least seven people are dead there. The prime minister was not in the building at the time of the blast. At a nearby youth camp, there are unconfirmed reports of many dead after a gunman opened fire just hours after the blast in downtown Oslo. NPR's Philip Reeves is tracking events.

The center of Oslo sealed off by the police after a very large blast outside the main government building. Hours afterwards, there are unconfirmed reports of people still trapped. The attack in a quiet city known for its association with the Nobel Peace Prize scattered² rubble³, blast and papers over a wide area. The Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg says all government ministers are thought safe but described the situation as "very serious." The city was still gripped by shock as reports emerged that a man dressed as a police officer had opened fire on an island near Oslo, venue⁴ for a youth meeting of Norway's Labor⁵ Party. The prime minister's due there tomorrow. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.

All sides continue to posture⁶ as the deadline for raising the country's debt ceiling looms⁷ closer. President Obama took his message to a gathering⁸ in the Washington suburbs of Maryland, saying that any agreement must include tax increases in addition to spending cuts. Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner says there is no deal, and that negotiators will spend a hot weekend in Washington. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats⁹ have rejected a House Republican measure that would have cut six trillion dollars from the deficit¹⁰ over the next 10 years. The so-called "cut, cap and balance" plan would have also called for a balanced budget amendment¹¹ to the Constitution. Speaker Boehner says if the Senate Democrats don't like the plan, they should offer one of their own.

Hot weather continues to be a problem across much of the South, Midwest and East today as heat points blanket parts of 13 states from Nebraska to Mississippi. From member station WUOT in Knoxville, Tennessee, Brandon Hollingsworth reports little relief is in sight.

A ridge¹² of high pressure is the culprit, cranking daily high temperatures in the region to dangerously high levels. Chris Duke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Memphis, says even for a part of the country accustomed to hot summers, this year's heat is serious business.

"Usually, you know, we get this type of heat for, you know, few weeks at a time during the June, July and August months, but it's been more of a prolonged peak. You see those heat advisories¹³ and heat warnings just, you know, stay up for days and days and days."

Nighttime doesn't provide much respite¹⁴ as overnight lows are falling only into the mid to upper 70s. Duke says there's little change in the forecast for days to come. For NPR News, I'm Brandon Hollingsworth in Knoxville.

The Labor Department says unemployment in the US crept up to 9.2% with increases in 28 states and the District of Columbia.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 63 points at 12,661; the NASDAQ Composite is up 23 points at 2,857.

This is NPR News.

Nuclear negotiators for the two Koreas say they are willing to try to restart stalled nuclear disarmament talks. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Bali, Indonesia that today marks the first time the Koreas' nuclear envoys¹⁵ have met in three years.

North Korea's Ri Yong-ho and the South's Wi Sung-lac called their two-hour meeting "constructive¹⁶" and said that the two sides would try to restart six-party talks soon. The two met on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa of Indonesia, which holds ASEAN's chairmanship, called the envoys' talks "significant."

"The fact that the two Koreas met at this senior official level should not be underestimated because if we do it right, we can create fresh momentum¹⁷."

Also here today, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi assured Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that China is doing all it can to get North Korea back to the negotiating table. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Bali.

Tensions are again high in Damascus, Syria as hundreds of thousands of Syrians are turning out for a planned day of protest against President Bashar Assad's government. The weekly Friday protests have been deadly for months. Last week, 32 people were killed, and today activists¹⁸ say at least five people have been killed. Early reports said the military had turned out in big numbers ahead of the protest. There is no way to independently confirm those claims as Western media are not allowed in the city.

Hurricane Dora is weakening off the Mexican coast. Dora is now a Category 1 storm, but coastal¹⁹ areas from the Baja California peninsula and south are remaining on alert. Heavy waves have damaged a number of resort areas in the region.

I'm Jim Howard, NPR News in Washington.

1 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 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。

4 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

5 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。

6 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

7 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 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》

10 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。

11 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

12 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

13 advisories   

n.（有关进展、动向、建议等的）报告( advisory的名词复数 )；公告；通告；通报

参考例句：

• Compliance with Practice Advisories is optional. 是否遵守实务公告由审计师自行选择决定。 来自互联网
• Hardened-PHP: not as such a PHP security information website, but it does have security advisories. 增强PHP:不仅仅是一个PHP安全新的网站，它还提供安全建议。 来自互联网

14 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

15 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

16 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

17 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。

18 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》

19 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。