NPR 2008-10-20

Democratic presidential nominee¹ Barack Obama got a major boost today as he was endorsed² by former Secretary of State Colin Powell. NPR's Jamie Tarabay has more.

The retired³ general told NBC's “Meet the Press” he plans to vote for Obama on November 4. He says he's been watching both Obama and Republican nominee John McCain over the past seven weeks to see how they're dealing⁴ with the country's economic crisis. He said McCain seemed unsure and Powell senses he doesn't have a complete grasp of the crisis, whereas Obama has displayed steadiness and a depth of knowledge. "I think that he has a definitive⁵ way of doing business that would serve us well." Powell said he was also concerned at McCain's choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his Number 2. He doesn't think she's ready to be president. On a different Sunday show, McCain said he wasn't surprised at Powell's decision. Speaking on “FOX News Sunday”, McCain says he has the endorsement⁶ of four other secretaries of state. Jamie Tarabay, NPR News, Washington.

Obama's campaign says it raised more than 150 million dollars in September, more than double the amount raised in August which was a fundraising record for political campaigns. By contrast, GOP candidate John McCain is limited to 84 million dollars for the whole campaign because he accepted federal money. Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe: "We added 632,000 new donors⁷ to the Obama campaign in September which is the biggest month we've ever had in terms of new donors. We now have over 3.1 million people contributed to this campaign." Commenting on the new fundraising figure, McCain said Obama is breaking all ideas about keeping the cost and spending on campaigns under control. McCain added that history shows that where unlimited⁸ amounts of money are in political campaigns, it leads to problems. "That is unleashed⁹ now in presidential campaigns a new flood of spending that will then cause a scandal and then we will fix it again." McCain was on “Fox News Sunday”.

The proposed security agreement between the US and Iraq that the Bush administration was hoping to wrap up quickly has hit a snag. The largest political bloc¹⁰ in Iraq's parliament is calling for changes to the pact¹¹. Top Iraqi officials held a late night meeting to review terms of the deal which would govern the presence of US troops in Iraq after December. The BBC's Jim Muir reports from Baghdad.

The statement came from the spokesman for the Supreme¹² Islamic Council in Iraq, one of the biggest Shiite groups which make up the strongest coalition¹³ in the Iraqi parliament. He said that seven points in the draft agreement with the Americans needed to be reexamined and amended¹⁴. He didn't spell out what they were. But another member of the Shiite coalition told the BBC that one of the most important Reservations concerned the clauses covering the immunity¹⁵ of American troops from prosecution¹⁶. The BBC's Jim Muir.

The Screen Actors Guild¹⁷ board has voted to bring in a federal mediator¹⁸ to intercede¹⁹ in its contract dispute with movie studios. The board is also asking for an authorization²⁰ for a strike.

This is NPR.

Israel's Defense²¹ Minister Ehud Barack says Israel is seriously considering a proposal made years ago by Saudi Arabia. The concept was a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and the Arab world in exchange for Israel's withdrawal²² from Arab lands captured in 1967, including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Saudi Arabia first proposed the peace initiative back in 2002.

The American League Championship will be decided²³ tonight as the Boston Red Sox take on the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. From member station WUSF, Barbie Brian has a preview.

The Tampa Bay Rays have hit more home runs than Boston in the first six games. But it was a solo homer by Jason Varitek. That put the Red Sox in the lead to stay Saturday night at Tropicana Field. There are many Red Sox Nation fans living in the Tampa Bay area like Craig Mishard. He grew up in Boston and remains²⁴ loyal to the team. "Now in the back where we get our best guy among them. And we've done this before, to raise our great team, they are upcoming in the, they will be fine either way win or lose for them. But I would have to say, we will be heavily favored." Tonight's game will determine if the more experienced World Series Champion Red Sox can defeat an exuberant²⁵ worst-to-first Rays team for the privilege to play in the World Series. For NPR News, I'm Barbie Brain in Tampa.

FBI and police investigators²⁶ are interviewing the six-year-old boy who was found safe last night after being kidnapped at gunpoint last week in Nevada. Cole Puffinburger was alone in front of a church on a quiet street in Las Vegas. He was said to be in extremely good condition. Police believe his abduction was linked to alleged²⁷ involvement with drug dealing by his grandfather.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 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。

5 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

6 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

7 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

9 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

11 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 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。

14 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

15 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

16 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

17 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

18 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

19 intercede   

vi.仲裁，说情

参考例句：

• He was quickly snubbed when he tried to intercede.当他试着说情时很快被制止了。
• At a time like that there has to be a third party to intercede.这时候要有个第三者出来斡旋。

20 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

21 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。

22 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

23 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。

24 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

25 exuberant   

adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的

参考例句：

• Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。
• All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

26 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为