NPR 2009-01-09

Key Arab nations and western powers have reportedly reached an agreement in principle on a UN resolution will impose a cease-fire in Gaza. That News comes as Palestinian officials say the bodies of 35 people were found beneath rubble¹ in a battle zone in Gaza taking the death toll² there since the fighting began to nearly 750. Official of the Palestinian Health Ministry³ says the bodies were retrieved⁴ during a brief pause in fighting to allow aid shipments into Gaza. There are also reports of at least three rockets fired into Israel from Lebanon today. There was no immediate⁵ claim of responsibility. Hamas also reportedly fired upwards⁶ of two dozen rockets into Israel, injuring four people, one of them seriously. Twelve Israelis, including nine soldiers, died since the offensive began last month.

President-elect Obama made a high-profile case for his economic stimulus⁷ plan today. He warned of dire⁸ consequences as Congress doesn't act quickly. NRP's Giles Snyder has more.

 The President-elect speech at George Mason University outside Washington came on the date that saw more troubling economic data. The government said the number of people staying on the unemployment benefit rolls has climbed to a 26-year high. Also retail⁹ sales figures for December confirm fears of the weakest holiday season in decades. Mr. Obama said it's not too late to turn things around. "But it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible. If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years." Mr. Obama is seeking bipartisan support for his plan which could carry a 775-billion-dollar price tag. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

A committee of Illinois State lawmakers is recommending Governor Rod Blagojevich be impeached¹⁰. The 21-member committee has been conducting hearing since mid-December, and today issued a preliminary report. Chicago Public Radio's Ben Calhoun reports.

 Near the beginning of their report, lawmakers stress that the possibility of impeachment¹² "should be, and in Illinois has been, rarely invoked¹³". The 59-page document then sprints¹⁴ through Blagojevich's history in office. It outlines the corruption¹⁵ charges he now faces, and plea agreements from people already convicted in the investigation¹⁶ of his administration. The report concludes Blagojevich repeatedly abused his power, and recounts several ugly incidents. It also describes some of the governor's worst moments like when he spent millions in state money on flu vaccines¹⁷ that were never approved to be imported into the country, and were ultimately destroyed. The report concludes that  "the totality of the evidence warrants the impeachment of the Governor for cause."  Should the state house vote to impeach¹¹ Blagojevich, the matter would go to the state Senate for a trial. For NPR News, I’m Ben Calhoun in Chicago.

Testifying before the committee today, Blagojevich appointee Roland Burris denied having any improper¹⁸ dealings with Blagojevich prior to his appointment.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 27 points, ending the session at 8,742. The NASDAQ gains 17 points. The S&P 500 grows up three points today.

 This is NPR.

Russia now says it's agreed to the deployment¹⁹ of monitors to oversee²⁰ gas supplies to the European Union via Ukraine, a move that could clear the way for resumption of supplies. The chiefs of Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom and Ukraine held talks today for the first time since negotiations²¹ collapsed²² on News Year's Eve over 2009 gas prices. Europe depends on Russia for a quarter of its gas supplies, about 80% of that  shipped through pipelines²³ crossing Ukraine.

Flooding mudslides and avalanches²⁴ virtually shut down road travel in Washington State today. Interstate 5 which runs from Canada to Mexico was closed, through all three paths to the Cascade²⁵ Mounts. Austin Jenkins reports from Olympia, Washington.

A Pineapple Express storm warmed up temperatures, melted snow and dumped nearly ten inches of rain in 48 hours. The result of 1-2-3 punch from Mother Nature’s snow slides, mudslides and extensive flooding, it closed nearly 70 state roads in Washington, chief among them, Interstates 5 and 90, the main north-south and east-west routes. Washington State Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond says the closures are costing businesses millions of dollars a day. "We have totally stopped commerce in the state. It's most important to get an east-west path open and to get I-5 cleared as quickly as possible." But that could take one to four days depending on how quickly rivers recede²⁶ and crews can clear the debris²⁷ and fix damaged roads. For NPR News, I'm Austin Jenkins in Olympia, Washington.

The Buffalo²⁸ News has become the latest newspaper to announce it's offering buyouts. The paper which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway says it's offering about 300 employees in the newsroom and elsewhere buyouts. That's more than a third of the newspaper's staff.

1 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

2 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。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

7 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

8 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

9 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

10 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

12 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

13 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 sprints   

n.短距离的全速奔跑( sprint的名词复数 )v.短距离疾跑( sprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You can run sprints only so long before you're out of breath. 你死命地跑，只能跑那么一段时间，到了喘不上气的时候，只好停下来。 来自辞典例句
• The cheetah finds the open grasslands ideal footing for its lightning-quick sprints. 非洲猎豹把开阔的草原作为它们闪电猎食的理想处所。 来自互联网

15 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

16 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

17 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

18 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

19 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

20 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

21 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。

22 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

23 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

24 avalanches   

n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
• Avalanches poured down on the tracks and rails were spread. 雪崩压满了轨道，铁轨被弄得四分五裂。 来自辞典例句

25 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

26 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

27 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。

28 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。