NPR 2012-04-08

 Activists¹ in Syria say government forces are shelling rebel-held towns across the country today. They say at least 74 civilians³ have been killed. The BBC's Jim Muir is monitoring events from Beirut.

 

There’s been in many areas, but specifically Latamneh, the north of Damascus, where there was very heavy shelling apparently⁴. They are calling it a massacre⁵, more than 50 killed though. Activists uploaded onto Youtube video which does show a large number of bodies being piled into pickup⁶ trucks and driven off, and then a funeral, very emotional. Many many people gathered there. A young toddler dead, being held aloft by the crowd. Other bodies waiting to be buried lined up in shrouds⁷ on the ground. 

 

The BBC's Jim Muir reporting from Beirut.

 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to a ceasefire starting Thursday. Activists speculate he’s trying to get rid of as many rebels as possible before the truce⁸.

 

An avalanche⁹ struck a Pakistani army base in the Himalayas today. Officials say at least 100 soldiers are buried in the snow. It struck on a glacier¹⁰ in the Kashmir region near the Indian border, a territory claimed by both countries. Both Pakistan and India station thousands of troops there, and they skirmish from time to time, but not since a ceasefire in 2003. More soldiers have died from the harsh weather than combat with the viciously cold temperatures and high winds that last for months at a time. 

 

Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma are investigating a string of shootings which they say may have been racially motivated. From member station KOSU, Michael Cross reports all those shot were African-Americans and witnesses have identified a suspect.

 

African-American leaders in Tulsa are trying to keep the calm as police and FBI agents look into the separate shootings which left three people dead and two wounded. Victims have described the shooter as a white man in a white van. Investigators¹¹ say the attacks might be linked because they happened in quick succession within three miles of one another and all five victims were out walking when they were shot. It also appears that the victims didn't know each other. Tulsa NAACP President Warren Blakney Sr. met with leaders in the community Friday night and says he's on edge for his people as someone appears to be targeting black people to shoot. For NPR News, I'm Michael Cross in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. 

 

Officials in Virginia Beach, Virginia say they've accounted for all the residents of an apartment complex where a Navy fighter jet crashed yesterday. Nobody died. Admiral John Harvey credits the people at the crash site for the lack of fatalities¹². 

 

“It was citizens that dragged our aircrew to safety out of the fire zone. It was citizens that stepped up and helped move those hoses. It was citizens who evacuated¹³ the other inhabitants off the apartment complex and got that going and saved them from the fires that went through those buildings.”

 

At least seven people were injured, including the two pilots. 

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

Investigators say they suspect dissident Irish nationalists planted a bomb near the main Dublin to Belfast highway yesterday. A bomb disposal team removed the device which police say could've caused fatalities. It was found on Good Friday on the anniversary of the 1998 peace agreement designed to end 30 years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. 

 

Coup¹⁴ leaders in Mali have agreed to step aside and hand power back to civilians. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports from the capital. 

 

Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo, who heads Mali's military junta¹⁵, announced the agreement on the civilian² transition. Sanogo says Mali's parliamentary speaker was stepped in as the interim¹⁶ head of state, leading up to democratic election. But he didn't say when. Regional mediator¹⁷ Burkina Faso's foreign minister has confirmed that Mali's neighbors will immediately lift crippling sanctions imposed on the junta. Djibrill Bassole says considering the grave humanitarian¹⁸ crisis, victims of the rebellion in northern Mali as well as many displaced people and refugees are to receive emergency assistance. Ofeibea Quist-Arction, NPR News, Bamako.

 

Artist Thomas Kinkade died yesterday. A family spokesman said he died at his home in the San Francisco Bay area. No cause was given, but the spokesman said it appeared to be from natural causes. Kinkade was 54. His paintings focus on idyllic¹⁹ landscapes, cottages and churches. That drew a devoted²⁰ following, (inaudible) dismissed by many art critics. Kinkade claimed to be the most collected living artist in the US, fetching some 100 millions dollars in sales every year. 

 

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

1 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》

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 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！

6 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

7 shrouds   

n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密

参考例句：

• 'For instance,' returned Madame Defarge, composedly,'shrouds.' “比如说，”德伐日太太平静地回答，“裹尸布。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Figure 3-10 illustrates the result of a study or conical shrouds. 图3-10表明了对锥形外壳的研究结果。 来自辞典例句

8 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

9 avalanche   

n.雪崩，大量涌来

参考例句：

• They were killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.他们在瑞士阿尔卑斯山的一次雪崩中罹难。
• Higher still the snow was ready to avalanche.在更高处积雪随时都会崩塌。

10 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

11 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

14 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

15 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

16 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

17 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

18 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。

19 idyllic   

adj.质朴宜人的，田园风光的

参考例句：

• These scenes had an idyllic air.这种情景多少有点田园气氛。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

20 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。