NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-03-25

 Emergency crews are continuing search and rescue efforts in Washington state after a massive landslide¹ yesterday. The death toll² has risen to four with 17 people unaccounted for. NPR’s Martin Kaste is downriver from the slide near Oso, Washington. 

 

Washington Governor Jay Inslee flew over the site this morning, and he says that the area of the landslide is just pure devastation³. He said that where that hillside collapsed⁴, not a single stick was left standing⁵ and everything was just swept in its path—forest and houses. 

 

Authorities say rescue operations have been hampered⁶ by quicksand-like mud, making it too dangerous to send workers into the stricken area. Officials are warning nearby residents to be on alert for a possible flooding. 

 

President Obama and world leaders could end up discussing the large military force Russia has on Ukraine’s eastern border. NATO’s top military commander says Russia has enough troops to move into a disputed territory in neighboring Moldova. From Brussels, Teri Schultz reports on NATO’s concern.

 

General Philip Breedlove, NATO’s supreme⁷ allied⁸ commander, says Russia has more than enough troops on the border with Ukraine to stage a takeover of the pro-Russian Transnistrian enclave in Moldova. Since 1992 Russian military personnel have been stationed in the disputed region as peacekeepers. Now Transnistria has asked to join Russia, just like Crimea did. Breedlove says the similarity to the Ukraine situation is not reassuring⁹. 

 

“What we do see is some of the same rhetoric¹⁰ that was used when they went into Crimea. So if that is the first indication of intent, then that’s very worrisome.”

 

Breedlove says NATO’s tried to make Russia a partner, but Moscow’s behaving more like an adversary¹¹. For NPR News, I’m Teri Schultz in Brussels.

 

Spain’s first prime minister after the Franco dictatorship has died. Lauren Frayer reports from Madrid on the death of a key figure in Spain’s transition to democracy in the late 1970s. 

 

Adolfo Suarez was Spain’s first prime minister after the 1975 death of dictator Francisco Franco. Suarez led a new generation of Spanish politicians into democracy. “He was a loyal friend,” King Juan Carlos eulogized Suarez in a televised speech. Suarez is perhaps best remembered for standing up to a gang of military officers who fired shots in parliament during a failed coup¹² in 1981. He died here in Madrid. He was 81 and suffered from Alzheimer's for a decade. Spain has declared three days of official mourning and will hold a state funeral on Tuesday. For NPR News, I’m Lauren Frayer in Madrid. 

 

Treasury¹³ Secretary Jack¹⁴ Lew will undergo surgery Tuesday in New York to treat a benign¹⁵ enlarged prostate. The Treasury spokeswoman says its doctor expects Lew to be able to return to a full schedule the following week. This is NPR.

 

The premiere matchup in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament took place in St. Louis—an eight-time NCAA tournament champion against a team that went into the game with a record-breaking unbeaten streak¹⁶. Greg Echlin reports. 

 

After setting an NCAA record for starting a season with 35 straight wins, Wichita State is at the end of the road. The eighth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Shockers, the No.1 seed, 78-76. Before the season started, the Wildcats were ranked No.1 in the AP poll and Wildcats coach John Calipari says it seemed the stakes were higher than a berth¹⁷ to the Sweet 16. 

 

“This was an Elite¹⁸ 8 game. The winner of this should have gone to the final four. That’s what this was.”

 

The Wildcats will move on to Indianapolis where they’ll play in-state rival Louisville, the defending national champion. For NPR News, I’m Greg Echlin in St. Louis. 

 

The federal government will pay for new boilers¹⁹ in more than 100 public housing buildings throughout New York City that were damaged in Superstorm Sandy. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was joined by Senator Chuck Schumer, announced a $100 million funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency at a news conference today. 

 

“We will have more repairs sooner. More people will be served better. A lot of the taxpayers’ money will be saved because we’ll be making serious solutions, not just band-aids.”

 

Since Superstorm Sandy hit, the city has spent $3 million each month for temporary boilers.

 

I’m Windsor Johnston, NPR News in Washington.

1 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 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。

9 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

10 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

11 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

12 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。

13 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。

14 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

15 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

16 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

17 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。

18 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

19 boilers   

锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even then the boilers often burst or came apart at the seams. 甚至那时的锅炉也经常从焊接处爆炸或裂开。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The clean coal is sent to a crusher and the boilers. 干净的煤送入破碎机和锅炉。