NPR 2008-06-08

Hillary Clinton has ended her campaign for the presidency¹ and endorsed² rival Barack Obama. She made the announcement at the National Building Museum in Washington today before hundreds of supporters. NPR's David Greene has more.

Hillary Clinton said this was not the party she planned, but that she liked the company. She told her supporters that she's ready to fight to get a Democrat³ in the White House. "I am standing⁴ with Senator Obama to say: Yes, we can!" She mentioned Obama more than a dozen times in her speech and told her millions of supporters that they should get behind him too. 61-year-old Marti Haub is a retired⁵ nurse and Clinton supporter from Maryland. She said she is close to backing Obama. "I am getting there, I am getting there. I’m, I’m a loyal Democrat, always have been." Haub said she is holding out hope that Clinton will be Obama's running mate. David Greene, NPR News, Washington.

The Coast Guard has joined efforts in Central Indiana to rescue people stranded⁶ by floodwaters. The region has been inundated⁷ by rain, up to 10 inches in some areas. Flash flood warnings have been posted in 15 counties. The same storm system has also been dumping rain and causing wind damage in Ohio and parts of Michigan.

Authorities in China say the threat of flooding from a lake that was formed by last month's earthquake has receded⁸ somewhat as water was drained off into a nearby channel. NPR's Rob Gifford reports from Chengdu.

Some 200, 000 people have already been evacuated⁹ to higher ground, and hundreds of thousands of others were prepared to move. But in a report suggesting that the draining of the lake was going well, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted a local military commander, saying in the foreseeable future, there's no risk of the dam collapsing¹⁰. Meanwhile, Xinhua announced that a medical team would be sent to the quake zone to perform reverse sterilization¹¹ operations for thousands of couples who lost their only child in the quake and want to have another. The report also said that the domestic and foreign donations after the quake had reached 6. 3 billion dollars. Rob Gifford, NPR News, Chengdu, China.

Firefighters in North Carolina now have a massive wildfire about 30% contained. The blaze has charred¹² about 30, 000 acres in and around the National Wildlife Refuge. A state Forest Service spokesman said the fire might smolder¹³ for months as it burns decayed vegetation that's a key component¹⁴ of the soil in the area. North Carolina Governor Mike Easley has declared a state of emergency in three counties. For the past few days, smoke from the blaze has blown northward¹⁵ into heavily populated areas along Virginia's coast.

At a meeting in Japan, the US and four other nations are urging oil-producing nations to boost their production to help ease oil costs. The meeting involves the United States, China, Japan, India and South Korea. Together, they account for more than half of the world's consumption of energy. They are pledging to develop new clean energy technologies.

This is NPR News from Washington.

In Britain, a Church of England report is claiming that the Labor¹⁶ government policies in the country are responsible for a spiritual, civil and economic crisis in Britain. Larry Miller¹⁷ reports from London.

The 180-page Church of England report charges the British government with discriminating¹⁸ against the official state religion, asserting that Christianity is taking a back seat to Islam and other minority faiths and is not registering on the government's policy-making radar¹⁹. It says there is evidence of deep-seated hostility²⁰ to the church, excluding it from important areas of policy and research while seeking Muslim input²¹. The hard-hitting report entitled "Moral, But No Compass" is endorsed by the head of the church, the Archbishop of Canterbury. While sharply critical of the government led by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown for more than a decade, the report praises the opposition²² Conservatives for their strident approach to fighting poverty. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

There was a dramatic upset in the Belmont Stakes today as heavily-favored Big Brown was beaten by a long-shot, Da'Tara. Big Brown had never lost a race before today. In the last time he raced against Da'Tara, he trounced him. But at the final turn today, it was clear the colt was having problems. Jockey Kent Desormeaux was interviewed on ABC Sports. "I got him out early and we just cantered along down the backside. There was a couple of times when he thought it was time to go and jumped into the bridle²³. By the time we, long before we went into the last turn, I had no horse. " Desormeaux stood up in the stirrups. Big Brown finished dead last. Big Brown's trainer had bragged²⁴ before the race that his horse's win was a foregone conclusion.

1 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。

2 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

7 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

9 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

10 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

11 sterilization   

n.杀菌，绝育；灭菌

参考例句：

• Sterilization by filtration is subject to one major theoretical limitation. 过滤灭菌具有一个理论上的局限性。 来自辞典例句
• Sterilization is a treatment that frees the treated object of all living organisms. 灭菌处理是从处理对象排除一切生活的生物。 来自辞典例句

12 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 smolder   

v.无火焰地闷烧；n.焖烧，文火

参考例句：

• The smolder will soon be a flame.闷火很快变为烈焰。
• It can smolder undetected for hours,then suddenly explode in fiery destruction.也有可能好几小时内不被发觉，突然激烈的爆炸。

14 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

15 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。

16 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

17 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

18 discriminating   

a.有辨别能力的

参考例句：

• Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
• Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。

19 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

20 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

21 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

22 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。

23 bridle   

n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒

参考例句：

• He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
• I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。

24 bragged   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He bragged to his friends about the crime. 他向朋友炫耀他的罪行。
• Mary bragged that she could run faster than Jack. 玛丽夸口说她比杰克跑得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》