NPR 2011-10-24

 People in Tunisia voted today in their first open and democratic election since overthrowing¹ their dictator in January. Eleanor Beardsley reports analysts² say there was a huge turnout.

 

As the day wore on, lines at polling stations seemed to grow longer instead of shorter but no one here complained. 42-year-old teacher Namjec Gimli says he is glad to stand in line for as long as it takes. "Under Ben Ali's dictatorship, I never even considered voting. We were so ashamed of those sham³ elections," says Gimli, "but today we are proud to be Tunisians and we know our true votes will be counted." Gimli says whatever the results, he and his friends will recognize and respect them. Many of the voters in this poor neighborhood say they will vote for the Muslim party, Ennahda, because it takes care of the poor, they say. After years of corruption⁴ under the dictatorship of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, many Tunisians also cite honesty as a top political value. For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley, in Tunis.

 

Libya declared its liberation today. The ceremony took place in Benghazi, where the rebellion began in February against the four-decade rule of Muammar Gaddafi who was killed last week. The declaration is a first step towards building a new nation.

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Iran today not to misread the US decision to withdraw most troops from Iraq by the end of the year. While making the rounds at the television talk shows, she said no one should miscalculate America's resolve and commitment to helping⁵ support the Iraqi democracy. Here she is on "Fox News Sunday".

 

"We have a security presence with a support and training mission in Iraq. We have bases in the region with other countries. That's what you do when you are dealing⁶ with independent sovereign nations that have a will and decision of their own."

 

On the same program, Republican Senator Lindsey Gram criticized the decision, saying it would embolden⁷ Iran.

 

"He's put in question our success in Afghanistan and he ended Iraq poorly, fumbled⁸ the ball inside of the ten. I hope I'm wrong about what happens in Iraq, but they are dancing in the streets in Tehran."

 

Gram said the Iranians don't fear the US at all.

 

Italy is under pressure today to sort out its economic problems before it's engulfed⁹ by the eurozone crisis. NPR's Philip Reeves reports leaders are worried Italy will face the same problems as Greece.

 

EU leaders are spending their Sunday at a crisis summit in Brussels that before it began, saw a meeting between some of the key big players, Angela Merkel of Germany, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italy's Silvio Berlusconi. Merkel and Sarkozy are pressuring the Italian leader to implement¹⁰ economic reforms to try to kindle¹¹ market confidence in Italy's economy before it's too late. Officials are playing down expectations saying the job won't be completed today, there is another summit Wednesday. Philip Reeves, NPR News, Paris.

 

An earthquake of 7.2 struck eastern Turkey today. State television reports at least 85 people were killed. Officials warned the death toll¹² will rise since dozens of buildings collapsed¹³.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal easily won reelection yesterday. In a field of ten he attracted 66% of the vote meaning there won't be a run-off election. Jindal is 40 years old and a son of immigrants from India. He's had high approval rating since first taking office in 2008.

 

Occupy Chicago demonstrators are defiant¹⁴ the day after 130 of them were arrested. NPR's Allison Keyes reports it was the second mass arrest of protestors there in just over a week.

 

They chanted this is what democracy looks like and beat on drums as police arrested protesters who refused to leave Grant Park after its 11:00 p.m. closing time. At all day today, Occupy Chicago has been tweeting its determination to continue, saying "we had a long night last night, but the occupation stands strong". Police say there have been no arrests so far today. The Occupy Chicago demonstrators are part of a movement focused on the inequality of wealth. And protests have been held over the last several weeks in many US cities and in other parts of the world. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

 

In baseball, Game 4 of the World Series will be held tonight in Arlington, Texas. The St. Louis Cardinals¹⁵ have a two-games-to-one lead over the Rangers¹⁶. They beat the Texas 16 to 7 last night. They were helped by player Albert Pujols who said he had hoped to be able to end his slump¹⁷, he did.  

 

"It's pretty special, you know, those guys are great players and to do it at this level and on this stage is amazing. But I told him that at the same time, I did not walk into the ballpark today thinking that I was going to have a night like this."

 

He had three home runs tying the World Series records of Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson. He also drove in sixth runs.

1 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 embolden   

v.给…壮胆，鼓励

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine,he went over to introduce himself to her.他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• The Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition.发现自己并未遭到反对，首相渐渐有了信心。

8 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

9 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

11 kindle   

v.点燃，着火

参考例句：

• This wood is too wet to kindle.这木柴太湿点不着。
• A small spark was enough to kindle Lily's imagination.一星光花足以点燃莉丽的全部想象力。

12 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。

13 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。

14 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

15 cardinals   

红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数

参考例句：

• cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
• A conclave of cardinals was held to elect the new Pope. 红衣主教团举行了秘密会议来选举新教皇。

16 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

17 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。