NPR 2008-05-10

US military officials in Baghdad are disputing Iraqi government claim that they captured the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq near the northwestern city of Mosul. NPR’s Ivan Watson reports from Baghdad.

 At midnight on Thursday, Iraqi officials announced on state TV the capture of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. But US military authorities say the man, who was captured last night, is not in fact al-Masri. They say the suspect is another al-Qaeda in Iraq militant¹ who uses the same codename. Iraqi security forces have broadcast false alarms in the past, claiming to have killed al-Masri. The insurgent² leader was last heard speaking in an audio recording³ last month when he called for a celebration after the US death toll⁴ in Iraq passed the 4,000 mark. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been on the defensive⁵ for the past year, fighting the war on several fronts against US and Iraqi security forces as well as against Sunni-Arab tribal⁶ militias⁷, which are being supported by the US. Ivan Watson, NPR News, Baghdad.

 Frustration is mounting over Myanmar’s delays in allowing the international community to deliver aid supplies to cyclone⁸ survivors⁹. The former Burma’s military rulers say they want the aid, but don’t want any foreigners to deliver it. Ky Luu is head of the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. He says Myanmar needs to clear the way. “We urge the government of, er, the regime of Burma to open up access to all humanitarian¹⁰ actors.” US military planes loaded with relief supplies are on the ground in Thailand. But so far, they’ve not been cleared to land in Myanmar. Officials fear up to 100,000 people may have been killed. The UN says 1.5 million people have been severely¹¹ affected¹².

 Spring-time storms have been battering¹³ parts of the eastern US. A tornado¹⁴ flipped¹⁵ big rigs on an Interstate outside Greensboro, North Carolina overnight. One person was killed. An apparent tornado wrecked¹⁶ a shopping area in Mississippi yesterday and heavy rain drenched¹⁷ Virginia last night amid tornado warnings.

 Congressional negotiators have unveiled a compromise farm bill. NPR’s Brian Naylor reports.

 About three quarters of the money in the farm bill goes to nutrition programs like food stamps, which will receive a ten-billion-dollar increase. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat¹⁸, says people across the nation will be affected by the measure. “This is a strong bipartisan farm bill that benefits every American from Cumming, Iowa, population 162, to New York City, population eight million.” The bill also contains billions of dollars in subsidies¹⁹ for farmers at a time of record crop prices. The White House says it contains little in the way of reform, but the administration has not said the president will veto the bill. It’s expected to pass the House and Senate next week. Brian Naylor, NPR News, the Capitol.

 And you’re listening to NPR News from Washington.

 Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will both be campaigning in Oregon today. Obama will begin the day discussing the economy with high-tech²⁰ workers near Portland and end it at a rally at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Clinton plans to lead a panel discussion in Portland. She’ll be in Kentucky tonight for a Democratic Party dinner.

 A fund-raiser for Clinton said she raised more than one million dollars online in the 24 hours after Tuesday’s primaries. But her campaign continues to be short on cash. NPR’s Peter Overby reports.

 The campaign’s national finance chairman, Hassan Nemazee, told NPR that in addition to the Internet funds, a major donor²¹ event in Washington D.C. also brought in more than a million dollars. But Clinton operatives have mostly kept mum about campaign finances. For this week’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, Clinton spent 4.5 million dollars on TV, barely half of Barack Obama’s TV buy. In Oregon, Obama is outspending Clinton on the ground. Independent pollster Tim Hibbitts says Clinton has seven field offices to the Obama campaign’s 17. “They’re on the ground in a lot more places in Oregon, and they are on the ground in some small and mid-sized towns that I think a presidential campaign has not opened an office in for quite some time.” Oregon’s primary is May 20th, but vote-by-mail ballots²² have already gone out. Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington.

 There have been more fierce gun battles in Beirut. Hezbollah gunmen have seized control of several neighborhoods in the capital from forces loyal to the western-backed government. Lebanese security officials say at least 11 people have died and more than 20 have been wounded over the past three days. 

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 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。

5 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

8 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

12 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。

13 battering   

n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The film took a battering from critics in the US. 该影片在美国遭遇到批评家的猛烈抨击。
• He kept battering away at the door. 他接连不断地砸门。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

15 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

16 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

17 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 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。

19 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

21 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

22 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》