NPR 2008-09-12

President Bush said today when history reviews America's response to the September 11th attacks, it will find "we did not tire, we did not falter¹ and we did not fail." The president today marked the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a moment of silence at the White House at 8:46 AM, the exact moment that terrorists crashed the first hijacked² jet into the World Trade Center in New York. A second plane struck the Trade Center a short time later while another plane hit the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks including 184 people inside the Pentagon.

The first major permanent 9/11 memorial was unveiled at the Pentagon today. Hundreds gathered to dedicate the site. NPR's JJ Sutherland reports from the Pentagon.

184 stone benches are scattered³ next to the place where American Airlines Flight 77 plowed⁴ into the building seven years ago. On each is engraved⁵ the name of someone who died here that day. 125 of them face the Pentagon as you read the names-those who died in the building. 59 others with the names of the passengers and crew of the plane face the sky. President George Bush dedicated⁶ the memorial and spoke⁷ to the crowd. "The day will come when most Americans have no living memory of the events of September the 11th. When they visit this memorial, they will learn that the 21st century began with a great struggle between the forces of freedom and the forces of terror." The memorial will be open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week. JJ Sutherland, NPR News, the Pentagon.

In a televised interview tonight on ABC, Republican vice⁸ presidential candidate Sarah Palin said that if Georgia were admitted to NATO, the US would be obliged to defend the former Soviet⁹ republic from Russia. In her exclusive interview with ABC's Charles Gibson, the Alaska governor also explained a previous statement in which she is said to have characterized the Iraq war as a task from God. "I would never presume to know God's will or to speak God's words. But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that's a repeat in my comments, was 'let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God's side.' That's what that comment was all about, Charlie." Palin says she never hesitated when asked by McCain to be his running mate.

Hurricane Ike could hit Texas over the weekend. Emily Donahue has a report on the state's preparations.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said he could not stress enough the threat to Texans from Hurricane Ike. "Finish your preparations because this is a storm that can have extraordinary impact and it's on its way." Mandatory¹⁰ evacuations are in effect along the coast. Some highways have been turned around to allow more cars to get inland. The Port of Houston has shut down through Monday and oil refineries¹¹ are closing. The hurricane is expected to bring a storm surge of at least 14 feet. Perry called this the strongest storm to impact Texas since Rita in 2005.

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With two more US soldiers reported to have been killed in Afghanistan today, 2008 is shaping up to be the deadliest year for US troops since the 2001 invasion. Officials say a US soldier died when insurgents¹² attacked a compound while another died in combat. The killings¹³ bring the total number of US troops who've lost their lives in Afghanistan this year to 113. US forces moved into Afghanistan in October of 2001 in response to the 9/11 attacks.

A deal has been announced between Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and the opposition¹⁴. The power sharing arrangement comes after stop-and-start talks that followed a disputed presidential election in Zimbabwe and political violence there. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton has more.

South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, who brokered¹⁵ the political deal for Zimbabwe, called it a unanimous agreement supported by all parties. So it should include President Mugabe's party and the opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai as well as a breakaway faction¹⁶. Mbeki had been harshly criticized over the years for cutting Mugabe too much slack, but he described the accord as made in Zimbabwe and owned by all Zimbabweans. The main holdup during the negotiations¹⁷ was over the division of power in any unity¹⁸ government. And barring any leaks, we won't know till Monday how key posts will be divvied up and whether President Mugabe retains all his authority—that would be unlikely since the opposition has signed on to the Zimbabwe settlement. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Dakar.

Automaker Ford¹⁹ has notified the United Autoworkers Union, because of the slumping²⁰ economy and declining vehicle sales, it has about 4,000 more hourly workers than it needs. Ford, which posted quarterly losses of 8.7 billion dollars, has been offering buyouts to its hourly workers.

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 164 points.

1 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

2 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

3 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

4 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

5 engraved   

v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• The silver cup was engraved with his name. 银杯上刻有他的名字。
• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back. 此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

10 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

11 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

12 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

13 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

14 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。

15 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

16 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

17 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

18 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

19 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

20 slumping   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的现在分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Hong Kong's slumping economy also caused a rise in bankruptcy applications. 香港经济低迷，破产申请个案随之上升。
• And as with slumping, over-arching can also be a simple postural habit. 就像弯腰驼背，过度挺直也可能只是一种习惯性姿势。