美国国家公共电台 NPR 2016-1-4

 From NPR news in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.The execution of a top Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia is prompting worries about sectarian tensions. NPR's Leila Fadel reports the cleric was executed today along with 46 others cross the kingdom. Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr became a symbol for many young Shias during anti-government protest in eastern Saudi Arabia in 2011. He also expressed support for opposition¹ protest of mostly Shias in the Gulf² country of Bahrain. Shia Iranians condemn³ the execution. The foreign ministry⁴ told Iran's state agency that Saudi government supports radical⁵ Sunni ideology⁶ while executing critics inside its own kingdom. And a senior Iranian cleric called the ruling family criminal and warned this execution would lead to its downfall. A resident in the Shia majority province of Qatif says Saudi security forces are fleeing the major roads in anticipation⁷ of protests. And Reuters reports that Bahrain's  police buy tear gases at several dozen demonstrators protesting there was death in a Shia Muslim village west of the capital. Three other Shiite activists⁸ were executed with Nimr. Leila Fadel, NPR news, Dubai.

 

 

The State Department is calling on leaders in the Middle East to deescalate tensions after Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shia cleric. The US said today's election could further worsen sectarian violence. The State Department says it's reaffirming its cause on the country to protect human rights and ensure fair and transparent⁹ judicial¹⁰ proceedings¹¹. 

 

 

Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed off on a new security assessment¹² that describes the United States as a significant threat. From Moscow, NPR's Corey Flintoff reports the document will guide Russia's security policy. President Putin sighed off the national security strategy document on New Year's Eve. It says the United States and its western allies are trying to put pressure on Russia because they're afraid of Russia's growing strength and influence in world affairs. The US and its allies imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea and supported separatist militias¹³ in East Ukraine. The Russian strategy document also says that the expansion of the NATO alliance is a threat to Russia's national security. The document is another indicator¹⁴ of how far relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated¹⁵ in the past several years. Corey Flintoff, NPR news, Moscow.

 

 

Communities in the middle west are assessing the damages caused by widespread flooding after days of heavy rains. In southern Illinois, flood water overran the land-small levee system. It started overtopping even .... And it just eventually eroded¹⁶ away the levee and ... breaches¹⁷ in it right now. Frank Lackmore with the Alexander County Emergency Management Board. Missouri governor Jay Nixon is asking for a federal emergency declaration in the wake of a severe flooding in the St. Louis area. At least 24 people have died in the flooding. This is NPR.

 

 

The Somali IS groups al-Shabaab has released a recruitment video that features footage of Republican presidential contender Donald Trump¹⁸ calling for Muslims to be barred from entering the US. The propaganda video warns Muslims in the west that the US will be a land of religious discrimination and also urges African Americans to convert to Islam. 

 

 

10 of the 25 biggest office box hits this year centered on girls and women. As NPR's NW reports that's a major change for Hollywood over the past ten years. Let's start with this year's action movies. The latest * of the Hunger Games, Divergent and Mad Max, whose one-armed heroine.still administers an impressive beatdown. Meanwhile, the year's three biggest comedies, with Spy, Trainwreck and Pitch Perfect 2. Some of the year's most successful kids movies also told the stories of girls, such as Cinderella, Home and Inside Out. And Star Wars, the biggest movie in theaters now also sets its eyes on young woman and * fifty shades of grey. In the last decade, if you look at the year's 25 movies , there has never been more than 4 about girls and women. If these years try to continue, 2016 might bring something like parody¹⁹. NPR news.

 

 

The WHO says if there are no new cases of Ebola in west Africa by January 14th, the deadliest Ebola outbreak on record will be declared over. Sierra Leon and Guinea have both gone 42 consecutive²⁰ days without any new infections. Liberia has 12 days to go to reach the milestone²¹. I'm Windsor Johnston. NPR news in Washington.

1 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。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 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。

6 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

7 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

8 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》

9 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

10 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

11 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

12 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

13 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

14 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

15 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

16 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

17 breaches   

破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背

参考例句：

• He imposed heavy penalties for breaches of oath or pledges. 他对违反誓言和保证的行为给予严厉的惩罚。
• This renders all breaches of morality before marriage very uncommon. 这样一来，婚前败坏道德的事就少见了。

18 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

19 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。

20 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

21 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。