NPR 2009-01-12

Israeli forces moved further into the Gaza Strip today, killing¹ at least 29 Palestinians, that brings the death toll² to more than 870 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Israel is getting close to achieving its goals. NPR's Anne Garrels has more from Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Olmert gave no timeframe for an end to the assault, suggesting it could still go on for some time. Olmert said patience, determination and effort are still needed to realize Israel's goals, among them an end to Hamas rocket attacks. Israel has warned Gaza's one and a half million residents it plans to escalate³ its air and ground assault, telling Gazans to stay away from fighters for their own safety. But locked into the narrow strip of land, Gazans reached by phone say they have nowhere safe to move. Warned in one place, several report, they fled to another only to find people there too had been warned to evacuate⁴. Israel's Security Council is expected to discuss a possible third stage of the offensive in which the military would move into Gaza's densely⁵ populated urban areas. So far Israeli forces have launched attacks from the outskirts⁶. Anne Garrels, NPR News, Jerusalem.

President-elect Obama wants to make it more transparent⁷ as to how the second half of the 700-billion dollar bailout fund is spent. Mr. Obama, appearing on ABC's This Week, says he's asked his economic advisors⁸ to develop a set of principles to ensure more openness about how that money's doled⁹ out.

Let's lay out very specifically some of the things that we are gonna do with the next 350 billion of money.

Obama's team is talking with the Bush administration about having Treasury¹⁰ Secretary Henry Paulson ask Congress to release the rest of bailout fund this week.

Europe's energy crisis suffered a new twist when Russia rejected a deal with Ukraine aimed at restarting supplies of natural gas. Their price dispute has left hundreds of thousands of Europeans braving freezing temperatures without heat. NPR's Moscow correspondent Gregory Feifer reports.

Russia had said it would reopen its pipelines¹¹ to Europe as soon as a deal was signed for an international team of observers to verify the flow of gas through Ukraine. Prime Minister Mirek Topol nek of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU presidency¹², persuaded both sides to sign an agreement this weekend. But in a meeting staged for television cameras, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Ukraine has issued a new declaration that contradicts the signed agreement.

We are forced to consider the signed documents invalid¹³, Medvedev said, and we will not implement¹⁴ it until the stipulations are removed or revoked¹⁵ by Ukraine. Moscow has proposed sending officials to discuss the crisis in Brussels on Monday. Gregory Feifer, NPR News, Moscow.

The average price of gasoline went up about 12 cents nationwide over the past three weeks. It's the first price hike in half a year.

This is NPR.

Paramilitary and law enforcement personnel in southwest China have raided four underground armories¹⁶. The raid was part of a nationwide drive by police to reduce violent crime. NPR's Anthony Kuhn filed this report from Beijing.

On orders from the Police Ministry¹⁷ in Beijing, over a thousand paramilitary police and SWAT team personnel set out by train from the city of Chongqing. Armed with machineguns, explosives and assault rifles, they traveled on trucks into the mountains where Chongqing borders on southern Hunan and Guizhou provinces. According to state media, the teams arrested dozens of illegal arms makers¹⁸ and merchants early Friday morning. They also captured more than 60 guns which the police described as well-made. Some media reported exchanges of gunfire, but there was no mention of casualties. Gun ownership is illegal in China. The current anti-gun drive has so far netted 470 criminal suspects and 183 guns since August 12th. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Beijing.

The Senate acted on a bill in a rare Sunday session that would set aside 2 million acres in nine states as wilderness¹⁹. Democrats²⁰ made certain they had enough votes in Committee to overcome Republican stalling tactics by including some measures sponsored by Republicans. The measure ensures the Federal Government's highest level of protection on land that includes California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, Oregon's Mount Hood²¹ and Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

The Philadelphia Eagles eliminated last year's Super Bowl Champions New York Giants 23-11 today to reach the NFC title game for the first time in eight straight seasons, for the fifth time in eight seasons. The final game of the AFC playoffs is now underway.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

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 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

4 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

5 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

6 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

7 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

8 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

9 doled   

救济物( dole的过去式和过去分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• The food was doled out to the poor. 食品分发给了穷人。
• Sisco briskly doled out the United States positions on the key issues. 西斯科轻快地把美国在重大问题上的立场放了出去。

10 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。

11 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。

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

13 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

14 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

15 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

16 armories   

n.纹章( armory的名词复数 )；纹章学；兵工厂；军械库

参考例句：

• The armories were important in the World War II. 兵工厂在二战中是很重要的。 来自互联网
• Can only be used to open the door, such as churches and armories Colored door. 只能用来开门，例如血色的教堂和军械库的门。 来自互联网

17 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。

18 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

20 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。