NPR 2009-10-26

President Obama is condemning¹ today's suicide bombings in Baghdad as outrageous² attacks, but he said they were no match for the courage and resilience of the Iraqi people. The two blasts killed at least 132 people and injured hundreds of others. NPR's Quil Lawrence has more.

 

Near simultaneous explosions ripped the walls off the office buildings of Iraq's Justice Ministry³ and Baghdad's municipal council, leaving dozens of cars mangled⁴ and burned in the crowded street below just as Iraq's work day began. Wounded men and women staggered away as rescue workers and security forces rushed in. The blast also breached⁵ a water main, flooding the intersection⁶ near the second attack. Iraqi authorities have blamed al-Qaeda as they did with similar bombings in August that hit the Finance and Foreign Ministry buildings. Iraq is entering an election season during which violence is expected to rise from the relatively⁷ low levels of the past two years. Today some grieving survivors⁸ blamed the sitting government for failing to provide security. Others cursed Islamist extremists for trying to derail Iraq's fledgling democracy. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Baghdad.

 

Some key Senate Democrats¹⁰ say they are now confident that a public insurance option for uninsured Americans will be included in a compromised bill that's been worked out and will be headed soon to the full Senate. But other lawmakers caution that any public option may have to be modified to attract the 60 votes needed to overcome a possible filibuster¹¹. More from NPR's David Welna.

 

Wisconsin Democrat⁹ Russ Feingold told CBS's Face the Nation that there's now a good chance the bill sent to the Senate floor will include a public option.

 

"I mean we’ve got some chance of prevailing¹² in the Senate on it, and if we don't, I think there's a chance that it will come through the House, so I'm becoming increasingly optimistic."

 

On the same program, Arizona Republican John McCain said Democrats do seem to have the votes now to pass healthcare legislation.

 

"Democrats are very aware that they don't want a repeat of the Clinton failure in 1994. So I think it's likely they will get something through."

 

But Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill warned on ABC's This Week that the public option that's included in the bill may not end up in the final version.

 

"I think what we're going to end up with is having votes on a number of choices."

 

David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.

 

The debate over legislation to overhaul¹³ the nation's healthcare system may be highly partisan¹⁴, but GOP leaders insist that it is not the case with regard to the government's response to the swine flu outbreak. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

 

"The administration tells us that we've given them all the authority and all the money they need, so if they need anything additionally from Congress, and I know we will be happy to provide it on a totally bipartisan basis."

 

McConnell was on ABC's This Week.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 46 states now have widespread swine flu activity. President Obama has declared the outbreak a national emergency to speed up the response to any surge in cases.

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

Gasoline prices have jumped sharply over the past two weeks, up nearly 18 cents a gallon to a national average of $2.66 a gallon for self service regular. That's the biggest jump in prices at the pump since late July. Industry analyst¹⁵ Trilby Lundberg says rising crude oil costs are the main reason for the increase.

 

Federal investigators¹⁶ are looking through a smoldering¹⁷ fuel depot¹⁸ in San Juan, Puerto Rico, looking for any indication of whether an explosion there was intentionally¹⁹ triggered. The blast, shortly after midnight Friday, set fire to half of the fuel tanks at the facility and spewed toxic²⁰ smoke over a wide area, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people.

 

A wildfire in the mountains near Santa Cruz, California, has forced evacuation of nearly 100 homes. From member station KUSP, J.D. Hillard has the story.

 

Hundreds of firefighters have been mustered²¹ on the scene of the Loma fire which started early Sunday morning. California's CAL Fire Agency has not estimated when it will gain control. The terrain²² includes deep canyons²³ and dense²⁴ trees and brush with sparse²⁵ homes. A blaze a few miles away burned dozens of homes in May of last year. California is in the midst of a drought. Heavy rains fell in the region almost two weeks ago, but conditions do not seem to have been improved. More crews from neighboring areas have been requested. Helicopters and airplanes were dropping water and retardant after being initially²⁶ grounded Sunday morning by high winds. For NPR News, I'm J.D. Hillard in Santa Cruz.

 

Transit²⁷ system workers in Philadelphia have voted to authorize²⁸ a strike three days before the Phillies are slated²⁹ to play their first World Series game. The head of the union, representing the transit workers, says he hopes the deal can be reached before that. Contract negotiations³⁰ are set to resume tomorrow.

1 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

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 mangled   

vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• His hand was mangled in the machine. 他的手卷到机器里轧烂了。
• He was off work because he'd mangled his hand in a machine. 他没上班，因为他的手给机器严重压伤了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

6 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

9 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。

10 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》

11 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

12 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

13 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

14 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 smoldering   

v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mat was smoldering where the burning log had fallen. 燃烧的木棒落下的地方垫子慢慢燃烧起来。 来自辞典例句
• The wood was smoldering in the fireplace. 木柴在壁炉中闷烧。 来自辞典例句

18 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

19 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

20 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

21 mustered   

v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发

参考例句：

• We mustered what support we could for the plan. 我们极尽所能为这项计划寻求支持。
• The troops mustered on the square. 部队已在广场上集合。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

23 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

24 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

25 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

26 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

27 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

28 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

29 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

30 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。