NPR 2008-06-14

NBC newsman Tim Russert is being remembered today both by his colleagues and by the politicians whom he interviewed, among them President Bush. Russert died suddenly this afternoon while at work. The cause of death is not known. Informed of the news in Paris, President Bush called Russert "an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades”. Competitors like Bob Schieffer, host of the CBS show "Face the Nation", say he will be missed. "Oddly enough, in addition to being head-to-head competitors, Tim and I were very close friends and we have been close friends for a long,long time. He was the best, er, he was just the best at what he did. And quite frankly¹, he probably made "Face the Nation" better because I had to compete head-to-head with him every week.” Russert was born in Buffalo², New York and joined NBC in 1984. He took over the helm of the NBC show "Meet the Press" in 1991. Russert received numerous awards over his years in broadcasting. Tim Russert was 58.

 Officials in Des Moines, Iowa say they have now issued  a voluntary evacuation order for much of the downtown there as well as areas bordering the river as water levels continue to rise. Authorities say they are recommending the evacuation by 6 p.m. local time with the river expected to crest³ about two hours after that. Meanwhile, (in) the town of Cedar⁴ Rapids, Iowa, some 100 miles to the southwest,  more than 3,000 homes and a downtown hospital have been evacuated⁵ as the rains fall and Cedar River continues to rush through city streets.

 Wisconsin village that has been severely⁶ flooded twice in the last ten months is considering moving to higher ground. Wisconsin Public Radio’s Steve Roisum reports.

 Gays Mills evacuated its downtown and over 50 homes have water on the first floor. Village board member Pat Brockway has had enough. He says simply building homes higher won't completely fend⁷ off  water from the Kickapoo River. Brockway would like to see Gays Mills move to its industrial park about a mile away and buy additional land there. "We just can't keep going through this. You know, year after year, I mean, even though if you raise them, how high is high enough if you build a dyke⁸, how high should we… If you build the dyke 50 feet, you know, maybe the water will be 52 feet next year.."  The Gays Mills community will discuss moving their village at a meeting Tuesday night. Nearby Soldiers Grove⁹ moved around 30 years ago. Some homes there did get flooded this week. For NPR News, I'm Steve Roisum  in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

 Presidential rivals Barack Obama and John McCain are continuing to haggle¹⁰ over the schedule for a proposed series of town hall debates. Obama's campaign manager said in a statement today that the Democratic candidate offered to meet McCain in five joint¹¹ appearances between now and November. However, only one was apparently¹² a town hall meeting. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee¹³, has been pushing for the pair to appear in ten town hall sessions that would be unscripted with questions from voters.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 165 points to close at 12,307. The NASDAQ was up 50 points. The S&P 500 rose 20 points.

 This is NPR.

 The Irish people have rejected a treaty that the European Union claims is vital for its future effectiveness. The effect of the vote goes well beyond Ireland’s shores. Larry Miller¹⁴ reports from London.

 Before the Irish referendum, the European Commission president said there is no plan B and a rejection¹⁵ by Ireland would have a very negative effect for the EU. Opponents warned that the European Union reform treaty would take away Irish sovereignty. Some feared that might limit Ireland's right to control its taxes and maintain its ban on abortion¹⁶. So, that was denied. The treaty began life as the proposed EU Constitution. When that was rejected in Dutch and French referenda, it was remodeled and renamed as a treaty. It would only need to be ratified¹⁷ by governments. Ireland was the only EU member that let its people make the decision. Because all 27 EU countries need to approve the treaty, the Irish “No” vote means there is no clear way to achieve the reforms. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

 Singer R. Kelly was acquitted¹⁸ of all charges against him today after less than a day of  jury deliberations in his child pornography trial. Jury verdict ending what has been a six-year ordeal¹⁹ for the R&B singer. Kelly, who was found not guilty on all 14 counts against him, wiped away tears and hugged his attorneys after the verdict was read. The Grammy Award-winning singer had to face 15 years in prison if convicted on all the charges against him. Prosecutors²⁰ have claimed the videotape, mailed to a Chicago newspaper, showed the singer engaged in graphic²¹ sex acts  with the then 13-year-old girl. Both  Kelly and the now 23-year-old  alleged²² victim have denied they were the ones shown on the tape.

 Chrysler says it plans to begin listing its certified²³ used car inventory²⁴ on eBay following the lead of giant General Motors, which announced a similar deal in February.

1 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

2 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

3 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

4 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

5 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。

6 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。

7 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

8 dyke   

n.堤，水坝，排水沟

参考例句：

• If one sheep leap over the dyke,all the rest will follow.一只羊跳过沟，其余的羊也跟着跳。
• One ant-hole may cause the collapse of a thousand-li dyke.千里长堤，溃于蚁穴。

9 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

10 haggle   

vi.讨价还价，争论不休

参考例句：

• In many countries you have to haggle before you buy anything.在许多国家里买东西之前都得讨价还价。
• If you haggle over the price,they might give you discount.你讲讲价，他们可能会把价钱降低。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 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。

13 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

14 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。

15 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

16 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

17 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

18 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

19 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

20 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

21 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

22 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

23 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

24 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。