NPR 2008-07-21

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama held what was called “a working lunch” with Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai in Kabul today. Obama says Afghanistan has not gotten enough attention because of what he called “the distraction” posed by the Iraq War. NPR’s Allison Keyes has more.

The Illinois senator told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Afghanistan is the No.1 front on the war on terrorism. “The situation is precarious¹ and urgent.” Obama echoed US military brass² who have been implying that troop reductions in Iraq would allow a shift of resources to Afghanistan. “There’s starting to be a growing consensus³ that it’s time for us to withdraw some of our combat troops out of Iraq, deploy⁴ them here in Afghanistan.” Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has also advocated sending more forces to Afghanistan. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.
 
The nation’s top military official says Obama’s plan to remove all US combat troops from Iraq by early in 2010 could be very dangerous. Admiral Mike Mullen says any troop pullouts must be based on security conditions in Iraq. “I’d worry about any kind of rapid movement out and creating instability where we have stability. We are engaged very much right now with the Iraqi people. The Iraqi leadership is starting to generate the kind of political progress that we need to make.” Mullen was on FOX News Sunday. If current trends in Iraq continue, he says he hopes to be able to recommend further US troop reductions to President Bush this fall.

Iraqi election officials say a provincial⁵ vote set for October must be delayed. That vote is intended to satisfy Sunni Arab demands for more influence in the government. Disagreements in parliament over how provincial council seats are allocated⁶ have repeatedly delayed the election.

Tropical Storm Cristobal skirted along the coast of North Carolina today, drenching⁷ part of the state with much-needed rain. From member station WHQR in Wilmington, Catherine Welch has more.

Tropical Storm Cristobal has already dumped five inches of rain on some parts of the state as it makes its way along the North Carolina coast. The National Weather Service says Cristobal will pick up speed and head out into the Atlantic just off the Virginia Coast. National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Pfaff says much of the storm will be felt offshore⁸. “Most of the strong winds associated with the system are offshore, creating large waves and rough conditions for boaters.”  Pfaff says it’s likely Tropical Storm Cristobal will leave rip currents in its wake for a day or two. For NPR News, I’m Catherine Welch in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The latest storm to form in the Caribbean is Tropical Storm Dolly. It’s headed for the Gulf⁹ of Mexico.

GOP presidential candidate John McCain attended a New York Yankees game today along with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Tomorrow, McCain travels to Maine. There, he will be the guest of former President George. H. W. Bush at a fundraiser in Kennebunkport.

This is NPR News from Washington.

The new chief mediator¹⁰ who will attempt to defuse the ongoing¹¹ violence in Sudan’s Darfur region has made his first visit to Sudan. He faces the challenging task of getting the stalled peace process between the government and rebels back on track. Dale Gavlak has the story.

Djibril Bassole, who is also the foreign minister of Burkina Faso, called his task “difficult”, but said it wasn't “mission impossible”. He held talks with Sudan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali Karti. He said he wanted dialogue between the two sides strengthened and then an end to hostilities¹², so a comprehensive political solution could be found to the five-year crisis. Thrown into the equation is the recent move by the International Criminal Court. It wants an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar Hasan al-Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. An estimated 200,000 have died and another 2.5 million have been driven from their homes due to the fighting. From NPR News, I’m Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan.

Treasury¹³ Secretary Henry Paulson insists the US economy is fundamentally strong and will rebound¹⁴ from the turmoil¹⁵ in the financial and housing markets. “We’ve got challenges and we’re focused on those challenges, and it’s gonna take us a while to work through this period, but we’ll work through it, we always do.” Paulson was on CBS’s “Face the Nation”. He sought to reassure¹⁶ Americans who might be worried about their bank accounts. Paulson said the nation’s banking¹⁷ system is safe and sound, and accounts are insured up to 100,000 dollars. He acknowledged, though, that the list of troubled banks is likely to grow as more banks feel the effects of losses from bad mortgages.

1 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

2 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 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。

5 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

6 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

7 drenching   

n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• A black cloudburst was drenching Siena at midday. 中午，一场天昏地暗的暴风雨在锡耶纳上空倒下来。 来自辞典例句
• A drenching rain poured down and the rising hurricane drove it in sheets along the ground. 一阵倾盆大雨泼下来了，越来越大的狂风把它顺着地面刮成了一片一片的雨幕。 来自辞典例句

8 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

12 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

13 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

14 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

15 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

16 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

17 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。