NPR 2008-04-13

A UN peacekeeper was killed in Port-au-Prince this afternoon, hours after Haitian lawmakers ousted¹ Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis, following days of deadly violence over soaring food prices. President Rene Preval said he'd immediately move to replace Alexis who came to office two years ago. Preval also said he'd cut the price of rice. Meanwhile, here in Washington today, the head of the International Monetary² Fund warned if food prices continue spiraling out of control, hundreds of thousands of people in developing countries might starve. Dominique Strauss-Khan also said the problem could create trade imbalances that begin to affect major advanced economies. 

 Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has dismissed remarks by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown about the situation in his country. Brown expressed concern about reports of post-election violence in Britain’s former colony. Zimbabwe is still awaiting the results of the presidential ballot³ two weeks after the vote. From the capital Harare, NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton filed this report.

 Zimbabwe’s main opposition⁴ party has accused President Robert Mugabe’s government of unleashing⁵ a campaign of violence and fear to intimidate⁶ the nation. Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown said such reports were worrisome, and warned that the world was losing patience with President Mugabe. “It’s appalling⁷ if there is intimidation⁸ and violence. It is completely unacceptable and the whole eyes of the world are upon Zimbabwe now.” A defiant⁹ Robert Mugabe, who accuses western governments including the former colonial power of meddling¹⁰ in Zimbabwe’s affairs, shrugged¹¹ off(固定词组，等于dismiss) the British prime minister’s comments. “If Brown is the world, sure, he will lose patience.(奸笑) But  I know Brown is a little tiny dot, eh, on this planet. Thank you!” (好奸诈。。）Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Harare.

 The head of the Immigration Enforcement Agency hopes a new program will be able to deport¹² hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants serving time in jails. Often in the past, such inmates¹³ have fallen through the cracks and simply been released when their sentences are up. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports.

 Homeland Security already has joined programs in some jails and prisons, but Assistant Secretary Julie Myers says she hopes to expand them nationwide. This would give all jails and prisons access to an immigration database. It would deploy¹⁴ immigration officers to more jails and expand a system of interviewing inmates subject to deportation¹⁵ via video conferencing. Myers estimates it would take three and a half years to remove some 400,000 illegal immigrant inmates. Congress has appropriated 200 million dollars, but the total cost is estimated at two to three billion a year. Local law enforcement has long complained that when it does identify illegal immigrants, the overwhelmed federal agency is slow to respond. Homeland Security Agency says its new plan will focus only on the worst offenders¹⁶. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington.

 This is NPR.

 Iranian media report what might have been a bomb exploded in a mosque¹⁷ filled with hundreds of worshippers in the southwest part of the country today. The blast killed at least nine people and wounded more than 100 others. State television reports ambulances rushed to the scene in the ancient city of Shiraz. One hospital official says the death toll¹⁸ is expected to rise because some were critically wounded.

 Victims of last year's Southern California wildfires have banded together to sue a major utility. One hundred and twenty six families say San Diego Gas & Electric is at fault for some of the fires. From member station KPBS in San Diego, Andrew Phelps has this story.

 Power lines downed by Santa Ana winds ignited the Rice, Guejito and Witch fires last October. Those fires killed two people and destroyed more than 1200 homes. The lawsuit¹⁹ says SDG&E was negligent²⁰ that the utility could have built the power lines farther apart to prevent sparking. SDG&E serves 3.5 million customers in San Diego and Orange counties. A spokeswoman would not discuss particulars of the case, but she says the utility is not necessarily liable just because its power lines started the fires. The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages. An attorney says the families’ losses could reach 50 million dollars. For NPR News, I am Andrew Phelps, in San Diego.

 Senator Barack Obama is admitting his remarks over what he called "bitter" working class voters in small towns across America could have been worded better. He told the Winston-Salem North Carolina Journal that if he offended anyone, he deeply regrets that. Senator Hillary Clinton called Obama’s remarks "elitist and arrogant²¹". She hopes to woo voters in Pennsylvania who were Obama supporters.

1 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

2 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。

3 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 unleashing   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Company logos: making people's life better by unleashing Cummins power. 公司理念：以康明斯动力建设更美好的生活！ 来自互联网
• Sooner or later the dam will burst, unleashing catastrophic destruction. 否则堤坝将崩溃，酿成灾难。 来自互联网

6 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

7 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

8 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。

9 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

10 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

11 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

13 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

15 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

16 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

17 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

18 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

19 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

20 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

21 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。