NPR 2008-12-15

President Bush made his fourth and final trip to Iraq today before leaving office. He defended his decision to order the US-led invasion and he met with the American troops. But his news conference in Baghdad was interrupted when an Iraqi man threw his shoes at the president. The BBC's Humphrey Hawksley has more from Baghdad.

President Bush's visit began with the inspection¹ of four Guard-of-Honour and the signing a watershed² security pact³ on how and when US forces would leave the country. But at a news conference, as the president was giving his upbeat assessment⁴ on Iraq's future, he came in for a surprise. An Iraqi journalist hurled⁵ two shoes at him in quick succession, shouting on the first: This is a farewell gift from Iraqi people, dog. And on the second: This is for all the widows and orphans⁶ and all those killed in Iraq. The BBC's Humphrey Hawksley.

Blowing drifting snow has forced the closure of some major highways in the northern plain states. More than a foot of snow has fallen in parts of North Dakota. Utility crews are working to restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the northeast that are still without electricity following a severe ice storm there. From member station WBUR, Mettle⁷ Largie reports.

Debris⁸ from ice coated trees is hampering⁹ efforts to restore power in northern New England. Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman Peter Judge says crews are making slow but steady progress restoring electricity to affected¹⁰ areas. "In the past, it's just a matter of crews going out bureau, repairing wires and poles that sort of thing. But right now there are a hundred billion to get to a lot of them. So we have a lot of crews out there with chain saws and with trucks trying to assist them to, so they can in fact do their jobs and then bring the lights back on." Power outages in some places could last for several more days. For NPR News, I'm Mettle Largie, in Boston.

China's government says it plans to increase the amount of money in circulation there by 17% next year as part of the country's response to the global financial crisis. NPR's Louisa Lim has the story from Shanghai.

China has released a broad blueprint¹¹ for addressing its economic downturn, including loosening its tight monetary¹² policy. Next year it will increase the money supply by 17%, a marked increase from 15% in November. Beijing wants to get more money circulating to try to stimulate¹³ domestic spending and shield the country from the global slowdown. The directive also laid out a number of changes making it easier for companies to borrow money, including increasing funding to its development banks by 15 billion dollars. Trade figures released last week show China's economy is slowing down far more dramatically than predicted. And senior officials warn worse is yet to come. To the next year, economic growth might fall below the 8% for necessary to provide jobs for those entering the workforce¹⁴ each year. Louisa Lim, NPR News, Shanghai.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is so far resisting pressure to resign. And a spokesman says Blagojevich will definitely not step down tomorrow. The man who would replace if he does resign--lieutenant governor Pat Quinn says he would like to name someone to fill at least temporarily, the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Obama until a special election could be held next spring. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says she's hoping to get a response within the next several days to her request to the state Supreme¹⁵ Court to strip Blagojevich of his powers. "We need to have a governor who can actually use the powers of that office and govern our state or else our state becomes paralyzed.” Madigan was on NBC's Meet the Press today.

In South Africa, a group that broke away from the ruling African National Congress of what they claim as its undemocratic direction is meeting over the next few days to launch a new party. NPR's Charlene Hunter-Gault reports.

More than 4, 000 delegates from around the country attending the three-day inaugural¹⁶ launch of the Congress of the People are in the celebratory mood. But much of the message from Cope interim¹⁷ chairman Mosiuoa Lekota was grim. He compared the country's mood to the apartheid era, saying intimidation¹⁸ and paralyzing fear is now gripping sections of South African society. And he accused ANC leaders of thriving in political hate speech. But Lekota says South Africans with lost faiths in the dream of a vibrant¹⁹ rainbow nation have had their hopes revived by Cope. Charlene Hunter-Gault, NPR News, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

President-elect Obama and his two daughters today picked out the family Christmas tree at a lot in Chicago. As they were leaving, Mr. Obama wished the small crowd that gathered a Merry Christmas.

1 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

2 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

3 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。

4 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

5 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

7 mettle   

n.勇气，精神

参考例句：

• When the seas are in turmoil,heroes are on their mettle.沧海横流，方显出英雄本色。
• Each and every one of these soldiers has proved his mettle.这些战士个个都是好样的。

8 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

9 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

12 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

13 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

14 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

15 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。

16 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

17 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

18 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

19 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。