NPR 2008-11-17

Firefighters have been making progress in containing two of the major wildfires burning in Southern California despite tricky¹ variable winds. But a third fire is raging out of control, spreading northward² from Orange County into other heavily populated areas. The blazes have destroyed more than 800 homes and apartments so far, and forced the evacuation of thousands of people. Frank Stoltze of member station KPCC has more from Los Angeles.

 Most of the homes were lost at the Mobile Home Park in the Foothills of the San Fernando Valley, more than 500 mobile homes burned. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaragoisa visited the park. "What you see is a devastation³ that I've never seen before, and our hearts are out to all of those people who have lost their homes. Remember,many of these people were elderly, some were disabled, a lot of them were on fixed⁴ incomes, they don't have a home anymore." Police are not sure everyone got out alive and have launched a house-by-house search of the park that’s expected to last into Monday. Governor Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Barbara counties, clearing the way for state and federal aid to victims. For NPR News, I'm Frank Stoltze in Los Angeles.

 Israel Supreme⁵ Court has ordered Jewish settlers to vacate a disputed building in the West Bank town of Hebron within three days. Settlers are accusing the court of being biased⁶ against them. Linda Gradstein has the story. About 150 Jewish settlers moved into a building they dubbed⁷ "the House of Peace" in March 2007, saying they had purchased the building from its Palestinian owners. In court, the owner said he had agreed to sell the building to the settlers, but later changed his mind and canceled the deal. The Israeli army had ordered the settlers to leave the building, and the settlers appealed to the Supreme Court. Today's decision says the settlers must leave in three days, and Israeli government will be in charge of the building until the legal dispute over its ownership is resolved by a lower court. Jewish settler leaders called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to meet with them and delay implementing⁸ the ruling. A spokesman for the settlers called the Supreme Court decision a robbery. For NPR News I'm Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem.

 Iraq's Parliament has given its overwhelming approval to a new security agreement with the U.S. that spells out the terms under which American military forces may operate in Iraq for the next 3 years. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh says the pact⁹, while not perfect, is appropriate for the circumstances. "I think I'm optimistic that this agreement (is) going to pass through the Council of Representatives, as it is a national and important issue which is the best choice available for Iraq. " The agreement now goes to Iraq's Parliament for consideration. The pact would take the place of a UN Security Council Resolution which expires at the end of December.

This is NPR News from Washington.

 The race for one of the three U.S. Senate seats still undecided is drawing attention from national political figures. Incumbent¹⁰ Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia will face his Democratic Challenger Jim Martin in a run-off election early in December. David Barasoain of member station WABE in Atlanta has more.

 Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is just one of the many politicians who have stepped in to lend their support to the candidates. Huckabee is stumping¹³ with Saxby Chambliss today, and former President Bill Clinton will headline a rally for Democratic Senator candidate Jim Martin on Wednesday. Clinton is the first big name Democrat¹¹ to stump¹² for Martin in the December second run-off. John McCain campaigned for Chambliss on Thursday. He also took all Georgia's electoral votes in the January election. Huckabee won the state's February 5th presidential primary. Clinton won Georgia meanwhile in 1992 in his presidential bid. He was the last Democrat to carry the state in the race for the White House. There's still no definite word though on whether or not Barack Obama will come to Georgia to campaign on Martin's behalf. For NPR News, I'm David Barasoain in Atlanta.

 The space shuttle Endeavor eased into a perfect docking with the International Space Station this afternoon. " Contact.” “On the big loop, capture confirmed" And so the special Endeavor docking with the International Space Station at 4: 01 pm central time as the two vehicles flew over northern India near the Chinese border and now to approximately 212 statute¹⁴ miles. " Endeavor is carrying a payload of supplies to be used for what the Space Station commander is calling "an Extreme Makeover" of the living quarters on the orbiting outpost, those changes will allow for a larger crews in the future.

1 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

2 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

3 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

5 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。

6 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

7 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

11 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

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 stumping   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• She's tired of stumping up for school fees, books and uniform. 她讨厌为学费、课本和校服掏腰包。
• But Democrats and Republicans are still dumping stumping for the young. 但是民主党和共和党依然向年轻人发表演说以争取他们的支持。

14 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。