NPR 2010-11-03

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
President Obama is spending part of his election day on the radio. As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, he's urging Democrats¹ to get to the polls in an effort to stem big losses.
President Obama taped a series of interviews with national radio programs. He's also making local appeals in Los Angeles, Chicago, Jacksonville, Florida and on KVEG in Las Vegas, where Senator Majority Leader Harry² Reid is in a tough battle for reelection.
"We have made progress all across the board, but it is always at risk if people don't turn out and vote today."The president scheduled a postelection news conference tomorrow to address what's likely to be a new governing reality. Republicans are expecting big gains in one or both houses of Congress. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.
NPR's Don Gonyea reports that one of the things today's election will show is the strength of Tea Party-backed candidates in the general election.
This is the first big general election test for the Tea Party movement. Many of the candidates it backed pulled off unexpected wins in Republican primaries that include Senate hopefuls Rand Paul in Kentucky, Ron Johnson in Wisconsin and Ken³ Buck⁴ in Colorado. Each has run a strong race in the general and could win today. Then, there’re Sharron Angle running against Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid in Nevada, Joe Miller⁵ in Alaska and Christine O'Donnell in Delaware. Each is in a contest the GOP had much higher hopes of winning earlier this year. Don Gonyea, NPR News.
Across the Iraqi capital, evidence of yet more major attacks on the people. More than a dozen coordinated⁶ explosions and mortar⁷ fire killed at least 57 people and wounded more than 240. NPR's Kelly McEvers reports most of the attacks were in Shiite neighborhoods. Officials say the blasts were mainly car bombs, plus a few roadside bombs and mortar attacks in a dozen neighborhoods around the capital. Unlike attacks in previous months, these explosions targeted civilians⁸. The blasts come just two days after militants⁹ affiliated¹⁰ with al-Qaeda have seized a church in Baghdad and took more than 100 hostages. Fifty-eight people died during that takeover and a subsequent raid by an Iraqi counter-terrorism force. While that operation first appeared to be a robbery attempt of a nearby stock exchange, it's now believed it was planned well in advance. Iraq's prime minister has fired the commander responsible for security in the area. Kelly McEvers, NPR News.
Greek authorities are investigating a second day of mail bomb attacks addressed to Western embassies including the office of German Chancellor¹¹ Angela Merkel. In the latest incident, police have destroyed two suspicious packages at Athens International Airport. Authorities insist this is likely the work of domestic terrorists, and not linked to the discovery of two explosive parcels found in Dubai and Britain last week.
Last check on Wall Street, Dow was up 64 points.
This is NPR.
Yemen has put a US-born Islamic cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, on trial in absentia for plotting to kill foreigners. However, the hunt continues for those responsible for last week's foiled bomb plot out of Dubai and the UK.
An omega-3 fatty acid called DHA that's been associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease may not deliver as much as some people had hoped. NPR's Alix Spiegel reports that a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests DHA probably won't stop the progression of Alzheimer's.
Because of evidence that a diet high in this omega-3 fatty acid lowers the risk of Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University wanted to test whether DHA supplements might benefit people who already had mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. To do this study, the researchers gave supplements or placebos¹² to almost 300 patients with Alzheimer's for 18 months, and then measured their cognitive¹³ ability and brain atrophy¹⁴. At the end of the study, they could find no significant difference between patients on DHA and patients on placebos. Alix Spiegel, NPR News, Washington.
BP says that the cost of the Gulf¹⁵ oil spill is likely closer to $40 billion, and that dragged down the British company's third-quarter net income by more than 60 percent. It dropped to $1.79 billion from more than five billion same time a year ago. BP says it wants to start working again in the Gulf of Mexico, but it's taking its time while it reevaluates its equipment.
I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 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》

2 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。

3 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

4 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

5 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

6 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

8 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。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

10 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

11 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

12 placebos   

n.（给无实际治疗需要者的）安慰剂( placebo的名词复数 )；安慰物；宽心话；（试验药物用的）无效对照剂

参考例句：

• But, eventually, I think they were just kind of like placebos. 但是后来，我想它们只是安慰剂（安慰剂：没有任何药效的药） 来自电影对白
• But comparable numbers of those who received placebos also improved. 但是吃安慰剂的人的病情也改善了。 来自互联网

13 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

14 atrophy   

n./v.萎缩，虚脱，衰退

参考例句：

• Patients exercised their atrophied limbs in the swimming pool.病人们在泳池里锻炼萎缩的四肢。
• Many hoped he would renew the country's atrophied political system.很多人都期望他能使该国萎靡的政治体系振作起来。

15 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。