NPR 2009-09-06

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal is acknowledging that some civilians¹ were at least injured in an airstrike yesterday against two hijacked² fuel tanker³ trucks. "From what I have seen today in going to the hospital, it's clear to me there were some civilians who were harmed at that site." McChrystal did not say if any civilians were among the 60 or more people killed in the attack. He was speaking after visiting a hospital where some of those wounded were being treated including a ten-year- old boy with severe burns. NATO investigators⁴ are looking into the attack.

 Universities and colleges are just barely into the new semester and they’ve already seen a steady stream of suspected swine flu cases. School administrators⁵ are watching closely hoping to keep the spread of swine flu in check. NPR’s Larry Abramson has more.

 Many schools are reporting cases in the dozens. Schools in Georgia are reporting some of the highest numbers. Emory University has seen more than 200 cases, so have Georgia Tech and University of Georgia. Washington State University is reporting 2,000 cases of flu-like symptoms among its 25,000 students. Public health officials say the numbers are in line with what they’ve been expecting as different flu strains including swine flu spread throughout the U.S. But schools are staying open and urging sick students to stay in the dorm. Some schools have set aside special sick dorms. Symptoms on campus have been mild and the American College Health Association says there are no reports of flu-related death and so far few hospitalizations. Larry Abramson, NPR News, Washington.

 Two astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery are beginning a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. From Orlando, Pat Duggins reports.

 Spacewalkers Christer Fuglesang and Danny Olivas will be working as electricians outside the space station. The two astronauts want to install power cables for a module⁶ and its observation dome⁷ which was delivered by a shuttle crew in February. The crew members will also attach electrical wires to heaters to keep one of the space stations docking tunnels warm. This is the third and final spacewalk in Discovery’s mission to the outpost. During the two earlier work sessions, astronauts replaced an ammonia tank on the station’s cooling system. Another shuttle crew training in Houston for a future flight watched this work from the ground. They will replace another ammonia tank on the outpost next year. For NPR News, I’m Pat Duggins in Orlando.

 Finance ministers from the world’s largest industrialized nations have agreed to raise capital requirements for banks and to restrain excessive pay for bank executives. Treasury⁸ Secretary Timothy Geithner. “The financial system is showing signs of repair; growth is now underway. However, we still face significant challenges ahead.” Geithner and his counterparts meeting in London agree that the monetary⁹ and fiscal¹⁰ policy must remain expansionary for as long as necessary to prevent a slide back into a global recession. The finance ministers stop short of calling for caps on bankers' pay though. The U.S. and Britain had opposed firm pay limits.

 This is NPR News from Washington.

 Fire crews are making slow but steady progress in their effort to contain the massive wildfire in north of Los Angles that has destroyed more than 76 homes and other structures and killed two firefighters. The blaze has charred¹¹ more than 240 square miles of land. The fire is now nearly 50 percent contained. A 100,000-dollar reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. Investigators have determined¹² the fire was deliberately¹³ set.

 One of the nation’s busiest bridges is close to traffic for the Labor¹⁴ Day weekend. The San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge is undergoing major earthquake safety improvements. From member station KTVD, Rory Gelerger has the story.

 On any given day, the Bay Bridge carries 280,000 vehicles between San Francisco and Oakland. But it’s now temporarily closed. Construction crews are replacing an entire 300-foot section. Bart Ney with the Californian Department of Transportation is on the bridge, witnessing what he calls the single biggest construction operation in State history. "What we are trying to do is create a new seismically¹⁵ safe bridge, in the same footprint as a historical bridge that sitting there. And what we’re doing is we are routing traffic around, we are cutting a section out, we are building a new bridge, all in a very short period of time." The bridge is set to reopen Tuesday morning by 5:00. For NPR News, I’m Rory Gelerger in San Francisco.

 Five people were killed when a small plane crashed in heavy fog in Oklahoma. The plane was en route to Dallas when it went down in a park near a baseball field in Tosy shortly after takeoff. Investigators believed the plane may have hit a guide wire from the communications tower.

1 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。

2 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

3 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

4 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》

5 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

6 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

7 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

8 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。

9 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

10 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

11 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

13 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 seismically   

地震

参考例句：

• The crust and mantle are separated by a seismically determined boundary known as the Moho-discontinuity. 改译为：地壳与地幔的交接处系根据地波走失而确定的一个界面，通称为莫霍界面。 来自互联网
• China's code is now on par with similar codes in seismically active areas of the world. 中国现在施行的标准与世界其他地震活跃地区施行的标准基本一致。 来自互联网