NPR 2008-12-27

Police in California are providing new details into the Christmas Eve slayings in the town of Covina that left nine people dead and a number of others severely¹ injured. Los Angeles police chief Kim Raney says 45-year-old Bruce Pardo who entered a home and opened fire apparently² had cash on him and intended to flee the country. Raney says police have also learned that Pardo, who was wearing a Santa Claus suit when he launched the attack, was severely burnt when he set up a homemade incendiary device inside the home.  "All indications are that he intended to commit this crime and then flee the country. What appears is that he didn't anticipate injuring himself to the point where he obviously took his own life." Authorities are still trying to piece together all the details that led up to the shootings which occurred on Christmas Eve at the home of Pardo's former in-laws. Pardo killed himself after the shootings. A ninth body was recovered from inside the burned-out home today with authorities still trying to ID the victims.

Public utility officials in Tennessee are now doubling the estimate of how much coal ash spilt out of a holding pond covering neighborhoods and a river. A spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority estimated today as much as 5.4 million cubic yards of ash from a restraining pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant broke free, enough to flood upwards³ of 3,000 acres a foot deep. John Morton says a major cleanup is under way there. "We are cleaning the ash from the neighborhood. We are, controlling the ash on the water." And a dozen homes were affected⁴ directly, some swamped with mud and knocked off their foundations. However, some residents say the utility is not doing enough to address their fears about drinking the ash-laden sludge, whether it's endangering safe drinking water. The plant is some 40 miles west of Knoxville.

Sluggish⁵ pre-Christmas sales have spurred retailers⁷ to offer huge discounts today in an effort to lure⁸ shoppers back into stores. NPR's Pam Fessler has more.

It almost seems like a repeat of the Friday after Thanksgiving with early store openings and deep price cuts on everything from appliances to clothing. JC Penney's opened its doors at 5:30 am, and even made wakeup calls to those who requested them online. Retailers hope business will benefit from customers who show up to redeem⁹ gift cards and to exchange unwanted items, and then linger to spend more. Pre-Christmas retail⁶ sales were down sharply from last year according to preliminary estimates. SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard-Advisors, reported a drop of from 5.5 to 8 percent. If auto¹⁰ and gas sales are excluded, the decline is about half that amount. Stores were hit hard not only by the recession, but by bad weather in many parts of the country. Pam Fessler, NPR News.

Shares of automaker General Motors rebounded¹¹ today amid word the company's finance arm GMAC has won approval to become a bank holding company. The move by the Fed clears the way for GMAC to access government lending programs under the administration's 700 billion dollar financial aid package.

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 47 points.

This is NPR.

US coalition¹² members say today forces killed at least 11 Taliban militants¹³ including a member of a bomb-making cell during an operation in southern Afghanistan. Officials say the raid in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province was targeted at those responsible for roadside bombings that have killed NATO soldiers. Militants reportedly barricaded¹⁴ themselves inside a home during the raid and opened fire on coalition troops who then responded with guns and grenades. Inside the building, coalition forces say they found dozens of landmines¹⁵, grenades, and AK-47s as well as bomb-making materials.

Parts of Colorado are under a blizzard¹⁶ warning today. Meanwhile lots of snow and few breaks between winter storms over the past month have increased the danger of avalanche¹⁷ in the southwestern part of the state. Mitzi Rapkin reports form Aspen Public Radio.

Over the last month there have been many avalanches¹⁸ in the mountainous backcountry as well as some within ski area boundaries. A series of snow storms in December have dumped several feet of snow around the state. The heavy snowfall, coupled with high winds, is a recipe for high danger for avalanches. Bryan McCall is a forecaster for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. "We've seen quite a number of close calls. We had a couple of fatalities¹⁹ in Colorado so far this winter and a number of other ones around the west, and we've seen some very, very unstable²⁰ conditions. There's also been a few incidents of avalanches happening in ski areas." So far in southwestern Colorado, there have been two backcountry avalanche related deaths reported. For NPR News, I'm Mitzi Rapkin, in Aspen, Colorado.

Crude oil futures²¹ ended the session higher today. The contract for benchmark crude was up $2.36 a barrel, ending the session at 36.71 a barrel in New York.

1 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

6 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

7 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

8 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

9 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。

10 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

11 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

12 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。

13 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。

14 barricaded   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

15 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

16 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

17 avalanche   

n.雪崩，大量涌来

参考例句：

• They were killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.他们在瑞士阿尔卑斯山的一次雪崩中罹难。
• Higher still the snow was ready to avalanche.在更高处积雪随时都会崩塌。

18 avalanches   

n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
• Avalanches poured down on the tracks and rails were spread. 雪崩压满了轨道，铁轨被弄得四分五裂。 来自辞典例句

19 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

21 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。