NPR NEWS 2008-02-02

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Paul Brown.

At least 55 people are dead today after two suicide bombings at popular outdoor pet markets in Baghdad. At least 100 people were hurt. Here is Greg Smith with more.

Just around 10:30 this morning, apparently¹ this woman walked into the market and blew herself up in the middle of the crowd, and almost the exact same time within just a few minutes, there's another woman at another market killed herself, she apparently was carrying the bomb inside a box of birds over this bird market. That's NPR's Greg Smith in Baghdad.

After numerous bombings, the markets have regained² some popularity as security in Baghdad improved.

The two remaining Democratic contenders on the race for the presidency³ met in a one-on-one debate in Los Angeles last night. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama avoided the wrangle⁴ and the occasional testiness⁵ that marked their last debate. The tone was set in opening statements. 'I think it's imperative⁶ we have a problem solver, that we roll up our sleeves. I'm offering that kind of approach because I think that Americans are ready once again to know that there isn't anything we can't do if we put our minds to it.' 'I don't think the choice is between black and white, or it's about gender⁷ or religion, I don't think it's about young or old. I think what is at stake right now is whether we are looking backwards⁸ or we are looking forward.' They did each highlight what they see as differences: Clinton talking about her experience and readiness, Obama questioning her judgment⁹ in voting for the Iraq war in 2003. Don Gonyea, NPR News, Los Angeles.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt¹⁰ Romney campaigned in Southern California yesterday, where he argued he was more capable of handling the sputtering¹¹ economy than his main rival, Arizona Senator John McCain. NPR's Ina Jaffe reports.

At an outdoor rally in San Diego, Romney told an enthusiastic crowd that because of his business background, he understood how to create jobs and what made jobs disappear. He belittled¹² John McCain's response during Wednesday's debate to a question about home foreclosure, calling extreme of consciousness. 'And when Senator McCain stands up and says the economy is not his strong suit, let me tell you that it is my strong suit.' But McCain is now clearly the frontrunner, and Romney said it will be impossible to advertise in the many states voting on February 5th as intensively as he did in Iowa and New Hampshire. He does have his first spot up in California now. It goes after Hillary Clinton however, instead of John McCain. Ina Jaffe, NPR News, San Diego.

McCain has also been campaigning in California which is the big prize among the Super Tuesday states.

Software giant Microsoft said today it's offered to buy internet media company Yahoo for cash and stock worth more than 44 billion dollars.

This is NPR News.

Bidding in a government auction¹³ has set a new record for the most money ever offered for wireless¹⁴ spectrum¹⁵. But at the same time, the Federal Communications Commission is having a hard time getting any offers for some of the spectrum for sale. NPR's Laura Sydell reports.

Auction bidders¹⁶ have offered more than 14 billion dollars to get a piece of some high quality spectrum. The competitive bidding flies in the face of critics who thought that restrictions¹⁸ placed on the network could keep bidders away. Whoever wins the 700 MHz spectrum must keep the network open that means the customers will no longer have to buy a phone from their wireless network provider. They can purchase a phone themselves and use it on any network. The auction for another block of airwaves designated for the creation of a national safety network is going badly. The winning bidder¹⁷ of that spectrum will have the right to operate a nationwide voice and data service. It would also serve local public safety agencies. FCC chair Kevin Martin says he still believes it will sell. Laura Sydell, NPR News.

Another big winter storm has hit parts of the U.S. midsection, forcing cancellation¹⁹ of hundreds of flights and blocking roadways. A 40-car pileup on an interstate highway in the Texas panhandle left at least one person dead, and officials blamed at least 3 other deaths in Texas and Oklahoma on the storm system. More than 600 flights in and out of Chicago's O'Hare airport have been cancelled, and many others have been delayed. Some Indiana school districts have announced cancellations. Farther west in Northern Idaho, there is a state of emergency in effect with snow so high that officials say they don't have places to put it once they've cleared it. And food and fuel supplies have been dwindling²⁰ in areas of China affected²¹ by huge snowstorms and record-breaking cold.

I'm Paul Brown in Washington.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 wrangle   

vi.争吵

参考例句：

• I don't want to get into a wrangle with the committee.我不想同委员会发生争执。
• The two countries fell out in a bitter wrangle over imports.这两个国家在有关进口问题的激烈争吵中闹翻了。

5 testiness   

n.易怒，暴躁

参考例句：

• Testiness crept into my voice. 我的话音渐渐带上了怒气。 来自辞典例句

6 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

7 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

8 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

11 sputtering   

n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出

参考例句：

• A wick was sputtering feebly in a dish of oil. 瓦油灯上结了一个大灯花，使微弱的灯光变得更加阴暗。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• Jack ran up to the referee, sputtering protest. 贾克跑到裁判跟前，唾沫飞溅地提出抗议。 来自辞典例句

12 belittled   

使显得微小，轻视，贬低( belittle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She felt her husband constantly belittled her achievements. 她觉得她的丈夫时常贬低她的成就。
• A poor but honest man is not to be belittled. 穷而诚实的人是不该让人小看的。

13 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

14 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

15 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

16 bidders   

n.出价者，投标人( bidder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Bidders should proceed only if they intend on using a PayPal account to complete payment. Bidders的唯一形式，应继续只当他们在使用贝宝帐户，以完成付款打算。 来自互联网
• The other bidders for the contract complained that it had not been a fair contest. 其他竞标人抱怨说该合同的竞标不公平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 bidder   

n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder.电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。
• The bidder withdrew his bid after submission of his bid.投标者在投标之后撤销了投标书。

18 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

19 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

20 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

21 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。