NPR 2009-12-07

President Obama was on Capitol Hill today to try to rally members of the Senate Democratic caucus¹ to support landmark² legislation to overhaul³ the nation’s health care system. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says the exclusion⁴ of GOP lawmakers from that meeting underlined how partisan⁵ the health care issue has become.

"Early in the year, there was talk about producing a bill that 80 of 100 Senators could support, doing it on a truly bipartisan basis. But instead, as you know, as you follow this over the weeks and months, it’s drifted off into a completely partisan effort."

But Senate Majority leader Harry⁶ Reid says it’s the Republicans who’ve made the matter so partisan.

"Republicans are being destructive. They want this to be, as one Senator said, President Obama’s Waterloo, and it’s not going to be."

Reid is hoping the Senate will pass the health care legislation by Christmas.

In Iraq, lawmakers have agreed on a long-delayed election law. The measure has been passed by Parliament and election officials say the national vote could take place in late February. NPR’s Corey Flintoff has the story from Baghdad.

Iraqi lawmakers voted on the law after striking a deal but satisfied the objections of Vice⁷ President Tariq Al-Hashimi who vetoed an earlier version of the measure. Hashimi, a Sunni Arab, said the original version of the law didn’t provide fair representation for Iraqis living abroad, most of whom are Sunnis. The new agreement was hashed out over days of close-door meetings among top lawmakers. It also resolves the concerns of Iraq’s Kurds who had complained that they wouldn’t get enough seats in the new parliament. Iraq’s Election Commission says the passage of the law should make it possible to prepare for voting near the end of February. The delay has been a concern for the US because the drawdown of US combat troops in Iraq is tentatively set to begin 60 days after the election. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Baghdad.

The United Nations says reducing risks from weather-related disasters, such as floods and droughts, can help countries adapt to climate change. The statement from the UN comes ahead of this week’s climate summit which begins in Copenhagen. Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.

In any given year, the UN reports at least 70% of natural disasters are created by climate and weather. UN expert Margareta Wahlstrom says there are concrete solutions which can enable countries to adapt to climate change.

"You should know your environment. If your bridge is taken away by floods one year, you can firmly expect it’s going to happen again, so don’t rebuild it in the same place."

A UN plan of action for reducing disaster risks includes early warning, education, public awareness⁸ as well as better urban and land use planning measures. For NPR News, I’m Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Protesters in Athens have taken over a university building in the heart of the city. And hundreds of riot police have surrounded the facility and have been lobbing tear gas into the facility. One year ago today, Greek police shot and killed a teenager, sparking two-week-long riots that left much of the city center in ruins. John Psaropoulos says more.

About 200 rioters encamped in the 19-century building following a peaceful march to commemorate⁹ the slaying¹⁰ teenager. They broke up marble masonry¹¹ from the front steps and courtyard and have been hurling¹² into police who’ve been responding with stun¹³ grenades and tear gas. The university dean was injured during the takeover of the building and is hospitalized in intensive care. Sixteen police officers were also treated for injuries. Two of them were pulled off their motorcycles and beaten. Police detained 230 people since disturbances¹⁴ began yesterday. Since the police shooting over the teenager a year ago, both street violence and terrorism have been on the rise. For NPR News, I’m John Psaropoulos in Athens.

A court in Russia has ordered four people jailed, depending an investigation¹⁵ into the nightclub fire this weekend that has killed at least 112 people. Investigators¹⁶ say the four are the club’s owner, the executive director, the artistic¹⁷ director and a businessman who was hired to install pyrotechnics on the night of the blaze. They are suspected of negligence¹⁸ and violating fire safety rules. Witnesses say the blaze was triggered by on-stage fireworks that shot into the ceiling which had been decorated with plastic and willow¹⁹ twigs²⁰. Many of the victims were trapped in the panicked crush for the club’s only exit. Hundreds of people were injured by the blaze. Many are in critical condition.

I’m Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.

1 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

2 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

3 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。

4 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

5 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。

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 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。

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

9 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

10 slaying   

杀戮。

参考例句：

• The man mimed the slaying of an enemy. 此人比手划脚地表演砍死一个敌人的情况。
• He is suspected of having been an accomplice in the slaying,butthey can't pin it on him. 他有嫌疑曾参与该杀人案，但他们找不到证据来指控他。

11 masonry   

n.砖土建筑；砖石

参考例句：

• Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。
• The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。

12 hurling   

n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• The boat rocked wildly, hurling him into the water. 这艘船剧烈地晃动，把他甩到水中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fancy hurling away a good chance like that, the silly girl! 想想她竟然把这样一个好机会白白丢掉了，真是个傻姑娘！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 stun   

vt.打昏，使昏迷，使震惊，使惊叹

参考例句：

• When they told me she had gone missing I was totally stunned.他们告诉我她不见了时，我当时完全惊呆了。
• Sam stood his ground and got a blow that stunned him.萨姆站在原地，被一下打昏了。

14 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

15 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。

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 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

18 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

19 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

20 twigs   

细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
• Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。