NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-09-09

 The site of the 2020 Olympics will be Tokyo. The Japanese capital won an International Olympic Committee vote today over the cities of Istanbul and Madrid. From Buenos Aires, the site of the vote, NPR's Mike Pesca reports. In his final pitch to the voting members of the IOC, Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda emphasized his city's ability to competently delivery on its promises.

揤ote for Tokyo, and you vote for the superb games experience in every possible sense.?

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was on hand to bolster¹ the bidding, giving assurances that ongoing² problems with the Fukushima nuclear reactor³ would be solved in time for the Games. After a tie-breaker vote, Madrid was eliminated, leaving Tokyo to face Istanbul. An Istanbul Olympics would have been the first in the majority-Muslim country, one where most of the citizens are under 30 years old, but in the end the voters were more swayed by claims of Japanese confidence than tantalized⁴ by Turkey's demographics. Mike Pesca,

NPR News, Buenos Aires.

Secretary of State John Kerry is welcoming a statement by his European Union counterparts, saying there appears to be strong evidence that Syria's government was responsible for a chemical weapons attack against civilians⁵ near Damascus last month. He met with the EU foreign ministers in Lithuania today. Teri Schultz reports the EU consensus⁶ remains⁷ that diplomacy⁸ should be used to defuse the conflict.

Seeking to forge a common position on Syria, foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says the 28 EU governments are unanimous that the Syrian regime is the likely perpetrator of the August 21st chemical attack and that something must be done.

揂 clear and strong response is crucial to make clear that such crimes are unacceptable and that there can be no impunity⁹.?

But Ashton gave no sign the bloc¹⁰ as a whole is shifting towards support for military action. So far only France backs possible strikes on the Syrian regime, and Ashton welcomed the French promise to delay any moves until UN inspectors¹¹ conclude their report on the attack. Asked whether that EU is urging Washington to also wait on UN conclusions, Ashton said ministers didn't ask Secretary Kerry to 憄ledge¹² anything.?For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz.

Anti-war protesters stage demonstrations¹³ in New York City's Time Square today. Elizabeth Starsvitch was among them.

She says military strikes against Syria would only make matters worse.

揑 don't want the United States to go into war, and anything that we do in terms of bombings, which we will do, is a declaration of war that will destablize even further the situation in Syria.?

Anti-war protesters also held rallies in Texas, Michigan, Louisiana and outside of the White House. President Obama will address the nation Tuesday night to renew his call for military action in Syria. This is NPR.

The Egyptian military has launched an offensive against suspected hideouts of Islamist militants¹⁵ in the northern Sinai Peninsula. They say dozens were killed or wounded. The region adjoins Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip and is a haven¹⁶ for Islamist militants.

The military in Nigeria says it has killed 50 Islamist fighters in the northeastern part of the country. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports officials say the operation was in response to an attack on civilians.

Boko Haram means Western education is sinful, and the group continues to challenge the Nigerian authorities it's threatening to topple. The army now says insurgents¹⁷ have been killed in recent raids on militant¹⁴ camps. A military spokesman says troops in northeastern Borno State pursued the fighters, killing¹⁸ the men in shootout and destroying their camp. Earlier reports have spoken a number of people being killed on Friday in attacks by suspected militant sect¹⁹ members armed with machetes. In May Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three troubled northeastern states, including Borno,

but the violence continues despite a military crackdown in the region. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News.

The prime minister of Libya is facing increased calls for his ouster as government employees at oil export terminals continue their strike. The walkout has caused the North African country more than five billion dollars in losses. A board member of Libya's National Oil Corporation says exports have almost completely stopped. The strike is one of numerous problems the country's facing since the removal of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

1 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

4 tantalized   

v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The delicious smell tantalized us. 香味逗引我们。 来自辞典例句
• It tantalized him that she should have such a loathing for him. 她竟会这么厌恶他，这倒使他心里直纳闷。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

7 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。

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

10 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

11 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 ledge   

n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁

参考例句：

• They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
• Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上，摔倒了。

13 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

14 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

15 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

16 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。

17 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

18 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。

19 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。