NPR 2010-10-25

The death toll¹ in Haiti's cholera² epidemic³ is increasing. More than 250 people have died. Health experts say 3,000 people are infected, but the BBC's Laura Trevelyan says fewer diagnoses were reported today.

Outside the main gate of the St. Nicholas hospital in Saint Marc, the epicenter of the outbreak, the crowds are waiting anxiously, some people desperate to be admitted, others clamoring fornews of their relatives inside. Only those with the most severe cases of diarrhea are being admitted. As the outbreak moves south from here, Haiti's health minister has claimed it appears to be being contained to a limited geographical⁴ area. Doctors say cholera outbreaks in other parts of the world taking up to six months to be brought firmly under control.

The BBC's Laura Trevelyan in Haiti.

Alerts are posted in coastal⁵ communities in Honduras, which has been pummeled by heavy rain from Hurricane Richard. The storm has raised fears about possible mudslides and flooding. Richard is now on a path toward Belize and Mexico's southeast coast.

The battle over control of Congress is going down to the wire. GOP Chair Michael Steele believes Republicans will take the House and possibly the Senate. But on ABC's "This Week", Democratic Party head Tim Kaine said voters will respond to Democratic accomplishments⁷.

"We saved the auto⁸ industry. We saved the financial sector⁹. We've passed a bill enabling women to get equal pay for equal work, and done historic health care reform among many other bills."

Democrats¹⁰ have labeled the GOP as the "Party of No", but Steele told NBC's "Meet the Press" all of their suggestions have fallen on deaf ears.

"The ideas that were put on the table, a lot of them propounded¹¹ by folks like Mr. Boehner and Eric Cantor and, and Paul Ryan were summarily rejected."

President Obama's spending the day at the White House with a little golf mixed tennis, taking a brief rest from the campaign trail. He heads back out tomorrow to visit Rhode Island and four more states on the final weekend before the election.

Former President Bill Clinton is also on the stump¹² for fellow Democrats. He started his day in Detroit, hoping to boost the chances of Democrats in the gubernatorial in US House races. He was also scheduled to visit Minnesota.

The Obama administration wants big trucks and buses to be more fuel-efficient. The EPA and the Transportation Department are poised¹³ to release a proposal to set first-ever fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks. The rules would begin to take effect in the 2014 model year.

Pope Benedict addressed the issue of peace in the Middle East during Mass at St. Peter's today. He said peace is possible and urgently needed. He also called for greater freedom of religion throughout the region.

From Washington, this is NPR.

The government is warning about a possible health risk from a child's teething product. The Food and Drug Administration says Hyland's teething tablets contain belladonna, which can be dangerous taken in large doses. The FDA says it's received some reports of serious side effects. The manufacturer claims the tablets are safe, but it's recalling the product.

The man who created Rocky and Bullwinkle has died. NPR's Allison Keyes says Alexander Anderson had battled Alzheimer's for five years.

"We are going to have a lot of bucks¹⁴. Come on and join us."

"There's always room for one more."

Beginning in 1959, the exploits of Rocky, the flying squirrel, and Bullwinkle, the moose captivated TV audiences with cute talking cartoon characters and slight humor aimed at adults. Alexander Anderson's wife Patricia says the Bullwinkle character came to him in a dream about playing poker¹⁵ with his friends.

"He and brother Ward⁶, a friend and the friend happened to a moose, and the moose was playing with him, and Alex was so embarrassed because the moose kept doing silly things."

Bullwinkle's name came from a card dealership¹⁶ with a slightly different spelling. Anderson was born in September of 1920 in Berkeley, California. He started working in animation¹⁷ in 1938. Alexander Anderson died Friday. He was 90 years old. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

Some Americans were picking out their costumes and putting up Halloween decorations this weekend. Others decided¹⁸ to go to a scary movie. Paranormal Activity 2 came in No.1 at the weekend box office with $41 million in earnings¹⁹. Jackass 3D slipped to second place.
 

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 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

3 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

4 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

7 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 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。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 propounded   

v.提出（问题、计划等）供考虑[讨论]，提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the theory of natural selection, first propounded by Charles Darwin 查尔斯∙达尔文首先提出的物竞天择理论
• Indeed it was first propounded by the ubiquitous Thomas Young. 实际上，它是由尽人皆知的杨氏首先提出来的。 来自辞典例句

12 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

13 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

14 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

16 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

17 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

18 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

19 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。