NPR 2012-04-30

 The president’s counterterrorism adviser¹ says the US has so dismantled² al-Qaeda that the potential for a near-term strike on US soil seems slim. John Brennan spoke³ on “FOX News Sunday.” He says the US remains⁴ mindful of the threats that could accompany the impending⁵ one-year anniversary of the killing⁶ of Osama bin⁷ Laden⁸.

 

"We are not going to let down our guard, and we’re going to stay extra vigilant⁹, in fact, during this period of time”

 

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Brennan said Americans in many locations overseas are advised to be vigilant ahead of the anniversary. Also today, Brennan was asked about the drama unfolding in Beijing involving Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng. He would not comment specifically but says the administration will do what’s appropriate. Secretary of State Clinton and Treasury¹⁰ Secretary Geithner are heading to Beijing this week for a long-planned strategic and economic discussion. An advocacy group in Texas called ChinaAid says that Chen escaped from house arrest and is taking refuge at the US embassy in Beijing.

 

In Nigeria, an attack on a church service at a university campus has left 16 people dead. NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton says no group has claimed responsibility.

 

Details of filtering through that at least three explosions struck an older section of Bayero University campus in the historic northern city of Kano. Students were holding a Christian¹² church service at the lecture hall. A spokesman for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, Abubakar Jibril, said there was sporadic¹³ gunfire, adding that rescue officials were initially¹⁴ unable to reach the site because what he described as a terrorist attack was continuing. Northern Nigeria and in January Kano specifically have been hit by a wave of attacks by a radical¹⁵ anti-government Islamic sect¹¹ known as Boko Haram. The name means “Western education is sinful.” Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Juba.

 

A racing¹⁶ tragedy off the coast of California has left three people dead. A sailor who retrieved¹⁷ two dead bodies said the yacht looked like it had been through a blender. We get more on this story from Bob Hensley of Capitol Public Radio.

 

According to the US Coast Guard, the dead and missing crew members are from the sailboat named Aegean, which was participating in the Newport to Ensenada International Yachting Race. Debris¹⁸ and varnish¹⁹ from the boat were found near the Coronado Islands off the coast of Mexico. Officials haven’t determined²⁰ what happened to the vessel²¹ which had based in Redondo Beach, California. Two weeks ago, five crew members died after waves swept them off a yacht 30 miles from San Francisco. The Coast Guard has temporarily stopped issuing permits for races off the northern California coast until an investigation²² into that incident has been completed. For NPR News, I’m Bob Hensley.

 

This is NPR News.

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in Myanmar, also known as Burma. It’s his first visit there since a self-described civilian²³ government assumed power. NPR’s Anthony Kuhn reports from Jakarta that Ban is the latest in a string of foreign dignitaries to observe developments there.

 

Ban has said that one goal of his trip is to acknowledge the country’s progress in democratic reforms, and that the UN is committed to helping²⁴ Myanmar push the reforms forward. Ban will meet President Thein Sein and opposition²⁵ leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and become the first foreign dignitary to address Myanmar’s parliament. Ban is also scheduled to visit the northern Shan State, where the UN helps Myanmar to eradicate²⁶ opium²⁷ poppies. Also in Myanmar is the European Union’s top diplomat²⁸ Catherine Ashton. The EU announced that it would suspend most of its sanctions against the Burmese government. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Jakarta.

 

Attention, soccer fans: Tickets for the soccer tournament at the London Olympics go on sale tomorrow in London before noon local time. Organizers are selling 1.4 million tickets. The sale lasts until May 6th. A couple of weeks after that, another million tickets will be made available.

 

Simple assault charges have been filed against the former Miss New Hampshire USA. Twenty-six-year-old Nicole Houde is accused of punching, kicking and biting her boyfriend.

 

The box office giant this weekend scored its points outside the US, while Disney’s “Avengers” premiered overseas with a reported 178 million dollars in ticket sales. 

 

“You were made to be ruled.”

 

The movie opens in North America next Friday.

 

I’m Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 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。

5 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 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。

8 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。

9 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

10 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

11 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

14 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

15 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

16 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。

17 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

18 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

19 varnish   

n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰

参考例句：

• He tried to varnish over the facts,but it was useless.他想粉饰事实，但那是徒劳的。
• He applied varnish to the table.他给那张桌子涂上清漆。

20 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

21 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

22 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

23 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。

24 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。

25 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

26 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

27 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

28 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。