NPR 2011-05-30

A week after a devastating¹ tornado² hit the city of Joplin, Missouri, residents are coming together for a special memorial service. President Obama is attending the service.

"Today we gather to celebrate the lives of those we've lost to the storms here in Joplin and across the Midwest, to keep in our prayers those still missing, to mourn with their families, to stand together during this time of pain and trial."

Earlier this afternoon, Mr. Obama toured the barren landscape of Joplin, consoling the victims and promising³ the government will help them rebuild their lives. The tornado killed at least 139 people, and at least 40 remain unaccounted for.

After a brief reprieve⁴ from rain, the Midwest is being drenched⁵ again, and forecasters say up to three more inches of rain is expected through tomorrow in already soaked Montana. Montana Public Radio's Emily Ritter reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be in Montana early this week to assess flood damage.

Governor Brian Schweitzer toured parts of eastern Montana Friday, where hundreds of homes have been damaged by flooding. That rising water is moving west, and the middle portion of the state is currently under water while people further west are bracing⁶ for what's yet to come. State Disaster and Emergency Services spokesperson Monique Lay said she's never seen anything like this in the state.

"This is hitting every corner in the state, everything in between, and it's just that perfect storm of weather events and weather conditions that have come together to make it devastating statewide."

Record amounts of melting snow are starting to pour out of the mountains. At the same time, it's been raining pretty steadily⁷ here over the last week. For NPR News, I'm Emily Ritter in Helena.

The giant defense⁸ contractor⁹ Lockheed Martin says its secrets are safe despite a recent cyber attack. But as NPR's Jamie McIntyre reports, the Pentagon and Homeland Security officials are still investigating.

Lockheed Martin issued a statement confirming the attack on its classified computer systems but saying the company's security team quickly detected the threat, and that no customer, program or employee data had been compromised. The Pentagon called the impact minimal¹⁰, but said it's working along with Homeland Security officials to determine both the extent of the data breach¹¹ and the country of origin of the attack. In the past, Defense Department computers have come under attack from Chinese hackers¹². The cyber attack was described by Lockheed Martin as significant and tenacious¹³, but no other details were released. Jamie McIntyre, NPR News, Washington.

Afghan officials say a NATO air strike in southern Afghanistan has resulted in one of the worst civilian¹⁴ death tolls¹⁵ by foreign forces. Yesterday's attack intended for insurgents¹⁶ killed 12 children and two women.

This is NPR News.

A new study finds the American workplace may be contributing to the obesity¹⁷ epidemic¹⁸. Here's NPR Jennifer Ludden on what the study says.

The study finds that in 1960 half of American jobs required some amount of physical activity. But with the decline of agriculture and manufacturing, today only one in five does. Tim Church of Pennington Biomedical Research Center translated this changing employment trend into calories.

"On average for American male[s], they're burning 140 calories less than they used to per day at work."

Church says that closely matches American's average weight gain in recent decades. His study does not take into account technology like email. So he figures if anything, it's an understatement. Church acknowledges there are many factors in obesity, but he believes efforts to address it should include revamping this sedentary desk job. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News.

An outbreak of E coli bacteria is being blamed for at least ten deaths in Europe. Hundreds have been sickened. The source of the contamination appears to be Spanish cucumbers. Authorities in the Czech Republic and Austria are pulling the suspected vegetables from store shelves. Germany's health ministers are urging residents there not to eat any cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce¹⁹ and other leaf salads.

Heartbreak today at the Indianapolis 500 on the race's 100th anniversary: Rookie JR Hildebrand was less than a lap away from victory when he slammed his car into the wall. So Dan Wheldon took the checkered²⁰ flag and captured his second Indy win. Hilderbrand's crumbled²¹ car slid across in second place.

I'm Nancy Lyons, NPR News, in Washington.

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

5 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

7 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

10 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

11 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

12 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

13 tenacious   

adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的

参考例句：

• We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
• We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。

14 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

15 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

16 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

17 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

18 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。

19 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

20 checkered   

adj.有方格图案的

参考例句：

• The ground under the trees was checkered with sunlight and shade.林地光影交错。
• He’d had a checkered past in the government.他过去在政界浮沉。

21 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。