NPR 2010-12-13

NATO says six coalition¹ troops and two Afghan soldiers have been killed in an insurgent² attack in southern Afghanistan. In Kabul, NPR's Quil Lawrence reports military authorities say a suicide bomber³ detonated an explosive-packed van at the gates of a military installation.

Today's combat death toll⁴ is the worst for NATO troops since an Afghan border guard whom the Taliban claimed was a sleeper⁵ agent opened fire on international troops last month, killing⁶ six. US military officials say they killed over 40 insurgents⁷ across Afghanistan over the weekend, including 25 suspected Taliban fighters with an airstrike in the north of the country. 2010 has been the deadliest year for international and Afghan troops since the US-led invasion nine years ago. This year has also been the worst for civilian⁸ casualties. International and Afghan monitors blame the Taliban for the majority of such deaths. But the Afghan government has repeatedly urged US forces to limit airstrikes and nighttime raids. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Kabul.

Wisconsin's governor has declared a state of emergency in all 72 counties and called out the national guard to help local officials cope with the heavy snowstorm. The Minnesota Vikings - New York Giants game has been moved from Minneapolis to Detroit because snow collapsed⁹ the inflatable roof of the Metrodome.

The Senate is holding a test vote on the tax-cut compromise tomorrow. And White House advisor¹⁰ David Axelrod predicts the bill will pass Congress by year's end. He told ABC's "This Week" no one wants taxes to go up or jobless benefits to be cut off.

"Everybody understands what the implications for the economy would be -- every economist¹¹ has spoken to it -- if that package doesn't move forward. So I believe that there will be a coming together around it."

Some Democrats¹² say the compromise is overly generous to wealthy Americans.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is scheduled to be on her way home now after a two-day visit to Haiti. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports Palin was on a tightly controlled trip to the earthquake-ravaged country.

Traveling at times by helicopter, Sarah Palin toured a cholera¹³ clinic, visited temporary shelters for earthquake survivors¹⁴ and a program to deliver Christmas presents to Haitian children. Media access was given exclusively to Fox News except for a press conference in which Palin said she was not going to take any questions. Palin said if more US politicians visited Haiti, they might organize a military airlift to the deeply impoverished¹⁵ nation.

"Again, we are talking about people. I'm just needing basic necessities in order to survive."

Palin said conditions were worse than she expected, and she called on people to pray for Haiti. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Port-au-Prince.

Palin may still be a potential presidential contender in 2012. But another politician's making it clear he won't be. On NBC's "Meet the Press", New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said there's "no way, no how" he'll make a White House bid.

This is NPR.

All the passengers have been rescued from the showboat that ran aground on a Missouri lake last night. The Springfield News-Leader says some members of the crew were staying on board, the Branson Belle¹⁶, until it can be moved. That won't happen until after heavy winds have calmed down.

Britain is considering banning Florida Pastor¹⁷ Terry Jones who caused controversy¹⁸ when he threatened to burn the Koran on the anniversary of September 11th. In London, Larry Miller¹⁹ reports Jones was invited by a far-right-wing UK group that has had a number of violent clashes with Muslims.

Pastor Jones is going to be a guest of the English Defence League in early February and address its rally in the highly Muslim area of Luton, north of London. The far-right group says Jones will speak out against the evils of Islam. But the pastor told Sky News he is not going to advocate burning Korans.

"If you are in a country as a citizen or as a guest, then you are obligated to respect those laws."

Home Secretary Theresa May can ban Jones. She says he's been on her radar²⁰.

"If it is now clear that he's definitely coming to the UK, then of course this is a case that I will be actively²¹ looking at."

Britain has banned others it deemed not conducive²² to the public good, including the former "Nation of Islam" leader Louis Farrakhan. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

The son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour is apologizing for climbing a war memorial and swinging from the flag during violent student protests in England. Twenty-one-year-old Charlie Gilmour says he feels nothing but shame. Police say a 21-year-old was arrested today on suspicion of violent disorder²³, theft, and attempted criminal damage on the Union Flag.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

3 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

4 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。

5 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

10 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。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 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》

13 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

14 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

15 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》

16 belle   

n.靓女

参考例句：

• She was the belle of her Sunday School class.在主日学校她是她们班的班花。
• She was the belle of the ball.她是那个舞会中的美女。

17 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

18 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

19 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。

20 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

21 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

22 conducive   

adj.有益的，有助的

参考例句：

• This is a more conducive atmosphere for studying.这样的氛围更有利于学习。
• Exercise is conducive to good health.体育锻炼有助于增强体质。

23 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。