NPR 2010-01-03

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.

 

President Obama says an al-Qaeda affiliate¹ in Yemen was apparently² behind the failed attempt to blow up a jetliner bounded for Detroit last week. Mr. Obama said today he thinks about the nation's security every moment of every day. NPR's Renita Jablonsky has more.

 

President Obama described in his weekly address the path through Yemen a bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He said the 23-year-old Nigerian had been trained and equipped by the Islamic militant³ network. It was the president's most direct public language today tying the incident to al-Qaeda. He repeated his warning that anyone involved in the Christmas Day plot would be held accountable and said a top-to-bottom review of the nation's intelligence agency is ongoing⁴.

 

"I've directed to my counter-terrorism and homeland security advisor⁵ at the White House, John Brennan, to lead these reviews going forward and to present the final results and recommendations to me in the days to come."

 

Mr. Obama added he's made it a priority to strengthen the country's partnership⁶ with the Yemeni government. Renita Jablonsky, NPR News, Washington.

 

The head of US Central Command, General David Petraeus, arrived in Yemen today. He met with that country's president and discussed ways to boost military and economic cooperation. Petraeus says the United States will more than double its counter-terrorism assistance to the impoverished⁷ area of the nation.

 

Afghanistan's parliament is dealt to set back to the country's President Hamid Karzai in his effort to assemble a cabinet. Lawmakers have rejected 17 of the 24 names on Karzai's list of nominees⁹. Among them, a powerful warlord nominated for a new term as the country's Energy Minister, and a lone¹⁰ female nominee⁸. But NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson says the nominees who were approved include several who were in the good graces of US officials.

 

In a Salute¹¹ to Americans, I think, they did approve some of the, the ministers who are already in office that Americans and that the Europeans would have preferred to see stay on. And in fact, they will be staying on and that includes the Defense¹² Minister, the Interior Minister, the Agriculture Minister, Finance Minister. People like that that the Americans have found pretty easy to work with who they consider to be a professional in technic crafts. So what's gonna happen at this stage is that President Karzai has said he will submit more names for nomination¹³. But this will obviously slow progress down at a time that’s very vital for Afghans to be seeing their government doing things for them. This is just gonna delay that further. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reporting from Kabul.

 

Iran has set a one-month deadline for the United States and other western nations to accept its counterproposal to the United Nations-backed plan, or it will begin producing nuclear fuel on its own. Under the UN plan, Iran would swap¹⁴ most of its enriched uranium for a nuclear power plant fuel. Iran wants to swap smaller batches¹⁵ of its enriched uranium stockpile than the UN plan calls for, a move that would leave it with enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon.

 

This is NPR News from Washington.

 

A winter storm is settling into New England, bringing periods of heavy snow and strong winds to the region. Forecasters say wind gusts¹⁶ could cause drifting over some major roadways.

 

Searchers have recovered the bodies of at least 64 people killed by mudslides in a resort area of Brazil. Heavy rainfall over the past week has heightened the possibility of further slides. Jeff Brown reports from Rio de Janeiro.

 

The death toll¹⁷ continues to rise in the wake of torrential rains and mudslides in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state. Many were smothered¹⁸ as they slept before dawn on New Year's Day. Many of the victims died on Ilha Grande, an island popular with foreign eco-tourists. Others were killed in Angra dos Reis, a city swarmed¹⁹ with workers seeking jobs at shipyards and a new nuclear plant. In Angra, 3,000 homes remained in areas at risk of landslides²⁰. An offshore²¹ oil boom has brought prosperity to the region, boosting the popularity of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Local officials, though, say little has been done to ensure safe housing for workers in a mountainous rain forest region. For NPR News, I'm Jeff Brown, Rio de Janeiro.

 

Military bands set the tone for today's New Year's rally in North Korea where tens of thousands of people gathered in a square decorated with red flags to voice support for the communist regime. The crowds shouting "Let's implement²² it" meaning the government's policy goals. The country's President Kim Jong-il did not make an appearance, but other top officials watched from a balcony. In a New Year's message, the North Korean government urged an end to hostile relations with the United States.

 

I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

9 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

10 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

11 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

14 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

15 batches   

一批( batch的名词复数 )； 一炉； （食物、药物等的）一批生产的量； 成批作业

参考例句：

• The prisoners were led out in batches and shot. 这些囚犯被分批带出去枪毙了。
• The stainless drum may be used to make larger batches. 不锈钢转数设备可用来加工批量大的料。

16 gusts   

一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作

参考例句：

• Her profuse skirt bosomed out with the gusts. 她的宽大的裙子被风吹得鼓鼓的。
• Turbulence is defined as a series of irregular gusts. 紊流定义为一组无规则的突风。

17 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。

18 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

19 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

20 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

21 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

22 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。