NPR 2008-09-15

Nearly 2,000 people have been rescued from flooded or damaged homes in Texas and areas hit by Hurricane Ike. But officials say thousands more who ignored evacuation orders are likely stranded¹ and waiting for help. People who were evacuated² are being told it's too soon to try to get back to their homes. At least 13 deaths are being blamed on the storm. From member station KUT in Austin, Erika Aguilar reports.

A weeklong curfew for Houston and Galveston is in place. Much of Galveston Island is still underwater and without power. Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc pleaded with evacuated residents trying to return. "We have about 2000 staying that still want to leave and we're making arrangements now to take them with your help to either Austin or San Antonio. So that I'll send you a strong message not to come back." Nearly 400 people have been rescued by air. The western part of the island took the hardest hit. Governor Rick Perry vowed³ to rebuild Galveston. He said he hoped the federal government will help with the cost of debris⁴ removal, rebuilding and recovering. President Bush will be in Texas Tuesday to tour the damage. For NPR News, I'm Mary Cabilou in Austin.

Efforts to work out a rescue plan for Lehman Brothers have been unsuccessful so far and hopes for a buyout of the troubled investment bank are fading. Both of the possible buyers, Bank of America and Britain's Barclays Bank, have backed out apparently⁵ because of the reluctance⁶ of federal regulators to provide financial support for such a deal. The most likely scenario⁷ is now said to be an orderly liquidation⁸ of the assets of Lehman Brothers, until recently Wall Street's fourth largest investment bank. US and foreign banks are now reportedly working on a plan to protect the global financial system from Lehman's possible failure.

GOP presidential nominee⁹ John McCain was campaigning in New Hampshire today. He spoke¹⁰ briefly¹¹ to the crowd at a NASCAR race. NPR's Brian Naylor has more.

McCain and his wife Cindy met with drivers and car owners in advance of the race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway and he addressed the crowd just before drivers started their engines. "Thank you, it's great, great to be back in the great state of New Hampshire. For the first, chase for the Cup race here in the great state of New Hampshire." It was the second day in a row that the state was host to one of the presidential candidates. Democrat¹² Barack Obama addressed a rally Saturday in Manchester, evidence the two campaigns believe the state's four electoral votes are up for grabs. Meanwhile the Obama campaign announced it raised 66 million dollars in August, a record for a presidential candidate. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Manchester, New Hampshire.

Senator Hillary Clinton was campaigning for Obama in Ohio today. She told a crowd in Elyria, many of whom were wearing "Hillary for President" T-shirts that if McCain were to win the election, the nation would have to endure four more years of the policies of the Bush administration.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Police in India have been carrying out raids in New Delhi today in the search for those responsible for a series of bomb explosions there yesterday. The death toll¹³ from the attacks has risen to 21. More than 100 others were injured. NPR’s Philip Reeves has the story.

Police say they've detained several people. The bombs detonated within an hour of one another in market areas and a park in the early evening when the streets were particularly crowded. Detectives are investigating an email sent from the city of Bombay to Indian news organizations just before the blasts. It purported¹⁴ to be from a group called the Indian Mujahideen. It claimed responsibility for the attacks and warned of more. The police face deep public skepticism about whether they'll ever find the bombers¹⁵. They appear to have made little progress solving similar multiple bombings this year in the cities of Jaipur and Ahmedabad, which killed more than 100 people. Indians are getting frustrated¹⁶ and angered by these assaults. Relatives of victims of yesterday's attacks reportedly shouted slogans against the police, accusing them of failing to protect the capital. Philip Reeves, NPR News, New Delhi.

A spokesman for Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai says a US bombing strike that killed up to 90 Afghan civilians¹⁷ last month was based on false information provided by a rival tribe and did not kill a single Taliban fighter. The US has claimed up to 35 Taliban militants¹⁸ were killed.

The top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, is calling the Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan "an industrial strength insurgency¹⁹". Petraeus takes over on Tuesday as the head of US Central Command which oversees²⁰ US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the rest of the Middle East and Central Asia.

1 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。

2 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。

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

5 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。

6 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

7 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

8 liquidation   

n.清算，停止营业

参考例句：

• The bankrupt company went into liquidation.这家破产公司停业清盘。
• He lost all he possessed when his company was put into liquidation.当公司被清算结业时他失去了拥有的一切。

9 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。

10 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。

11 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

12 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。

13 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。

14 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

18 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

19 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

20 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网