NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-05-05

 It’s a day of prayer and healing in Baltimore as politicians attend church service around the city. Officials canceled the curfew in place after the death of Freddie Gray. And Maryland Governor Larry Hogan says the 3,000 National Guard troops are being sent home. Orady Stuart lives in Baltimore. He says this is good, so things can get back to normal. 

“I think it’s great because that this way the citizens of Baltimore can get on with their lives, normal lives, and these businesses in the city can, they can get back to, well, making some money.”

Six officers have been charged over Gray’s death. A rally organized by religious leaders was held today near City Hall. 

 

The official death toll¹ from the earthquake that devastated² Nepal eight days ago has climbed to more than 7,000. U.S. marines and emergency aircraft arrived to help deliver aid today. But as the BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder reports from Kathmandu, the relief effort is having mixed results. 

This is Durbar Square, one of the worst-affected areas. Things are picking up on Kathmandu right now. It’s a very different picture in the villages up in the mountains close to the epicenter. In Sindhupalchok, north of here, that’s from where most of the deaths have been recorded and 95% of the buildings have been flattened³. Officials have been telling us that very little aid has got through, that there are people, they are in desperate need of food supplies, of tents, and essential medicines. Now one of the problems is that a lot of aid is piling up at the airport, because of bureaucratic⁴ delays and the U.N. has now appealed to the government to ease customs restrictions⁵ so that this aid can come through to people who need it most. 

The BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder. 

Meanwhile, managers at Kathmandu’s airport say the runway is deteriorating⁶ and can no longer handle large military and cargo⁷ planes. 

 

Islamic State militants⁸ are claiming responsibility for car bomb attacks in downtown Baghdad that killed at least 19 people last night. Susannah George reports such attacks are on the rise in the Iraqi capital. 

Images from the aftermath of the twin explosion showed increasingly common sights in Iraqi media—charred car frames, blackened streets, hollowed-out shops and restaurants. The attacks struck Karada, a mainly Shia shopping and business district late at night over the weekend. Iraqi officials say the dead and wounded are mainly civilians⁹. Islamic State media said the attacks, like others last week, were in retaliation¹⁰ for fighting in Anbar province, where Iraqi government-led offensive is seeking to dislodge the group. U.S.-led coalition¹¹ forces say recent airstrikes in Anbar have destroyed what they described as three IS tactical units and a defensive¹² position. For NPR News, I’m Susannah George in northern Iraq. 

 

It’s still unclear what the newest British Princess of Cambridge’s name will be. She was born yesterday to Prince William and his wife Kate. Britain’s legal bookmakers say the names Charlotte and Alice are favorites. 

 

This is NPR.

 

Boxer¹³ Floyd Mayweather is celebrating victory and $100m plus payday after his long-awaited match up with Manny Pacquiao last night in Las Vegas. As NPR’s Tom Goldman reports, Mayweather won a unanimous 12-round decision.

Floyd Mayweather displayed his usual defensive prowess in the ring, constantly dodging¹⁴ Pacquiao’s expected punching barrages¹⁵. Mayweather played offence too, turning aggressor in the ring and literally¹⁶ keeping Pacquiao at arm’s length with his superior reach. It was a fight at least five years overdue¹⁷ because of delays and contention¹⁸ by some media members that Mayweather was afraid to fight Pacquiao. Last night he spoke¹⁹ to his critics. 

“I want now to say that non-believers, Floyd Mayweather turned us into believers.” 

Clouding the outcome was Pacquiao’s admission afterwards that he fought with an injured shoulder that he said limited his punching ability. Tom Goldman, NPR News, Las Vegas. 

 

The movie Avengers: Age of Ultron is the blockbuster of the summer box office so far. 

“Is that why you’ve come? To end the Avengers?” 

“I’ve come to save the world. But also, yeah.”

That’s James Spader and Elizabeth Olsen, stars of the movie. It’s the second biggest U.S. opening of all time, earning nearly $188m in its weekend debut²⁰ and more than $600m internationally, but that’s over the past 12 days. This movie is the second installment²¹ of the Avengers. The Age of Adaline came in second this weekend and Furious 7 came in third. 

 

1 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。

2 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

3 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

4 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

7 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

8 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。

9 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。

10 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

12 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

13 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

14 dodging   

n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。
• I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句

15 barrages   

n.弹幕射击( barrage的名词复数 )；火力网；猛烈炮火；河上的堰坝v.火力攻击（或阻击）( barrage的第三人称单数 )；以密集火力攻击（或阻击）

参考例句：

• In many Basidiomycetes barrages develop. 在许多担子菌中也发生一些栅栏。 来自辞典例句
• It's fun to be able to run around and do instant Barrages. 一边瞬发奥术弹幕一边四处跑确实很有趣。 来自互联网

16 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

17 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

18 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

19 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。

20 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

21 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。