NPR 2010-03-07

At least three people were killed today when a car bomb exploded near a bus for pilgrims in the Shiite holy city of Najaf. Insurgents¹ are blamed for dozens of other deaths in the Iraqi cities in the run-up to tomorrow's national elections. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi expatriates have been voting ahead of the election. Natalia Antelava tells the BBC the UN refugee agency believes some two million Iraqis live abroad, many in neighboring Syria.

 

Dozens of people queue outside the polling center No.4 in Sayyida Zaynab. This neighborhood of Damascus is known as "little Baghdad". Most residents are refugees who've been coming here since 2003 US-led invasion. Politicians from Baghdad have campaigned hard here, urging people to vote, and many, it seems, are responding to these calls. Latziba says she is voting because she wants to make sure that Prime Minister Maliki does not get reelected.

 

"My sister and her son were kidnapped and killed during Maliki, So no for Maliki and no for any religious clerics that will run the country; we need secular² people to run the country."

 

People here blame the prime minister for failing to help them to return.

 

Natalia Antelava reporting from Damascus.

 

More than half of the General Motors dealerships that were terminated when the manufacturer filed bankruptcy⁴ more than a year ago may get their franchises⁵ back. Michigan Radio's Rina Miller⁶ says some could be back in business in a matter of weeks.

 

GM notified 661 dealers³ who filed for arbitration⁷ that they will receive letters of intent from the company next week. GM says the criteria⁸ for a reinstatement will include things like facilities, capitalization, location and licensing⁹. Mark Reuss is President of GM North America.

 

"We got ourselves and people and people's lives in a gray zone. We are trying to fix that and move on, and get a great network and sell cars and be profitable, period. That's the deal. This is not any kind of cost-savings activity."

 

The company denies that the letters of intent were a way to avoid expensive settlements or litigation. More than 1,100 dealers appealed GM's attempts to close them down. For NPR News, I am Rina Miller in Ann Arbor¹⁰, Michigan.

 

President Obama is flatly rejecting the Republicans' calls to start over when it comes to healthcare overhaul¹¹.

 

"You know what? The insurance companies aren't starting over. I just met with some of them on Thursday, and they couldn't give me a straight answer as to why they keep arbitrarily and massively raising premiums¹² by as much as 60% in states like Illinois. If we don't act, they will continue to do this."

 

The president uses his weekly address to try to convince the public that now is the time to pass his healthcare overhaul plan. Democrats¹³ are hoping to pass the revised legislation with an "up or down" vote, so they don't have to worry about Republican filibusters¹⁴ in a year of congressional races. First-term Republican Congressman¹⁵ Parker Griffith said it is time to start over.

 

This is NPR.

 

Iran's hard-line president is questioning the official US version of the 9/11 attacks. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls the attacks a big lie used as an excuse to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. His remarks were quoted on the Iranian state television today. It's not the first time the Iranian president has dismissed the attacks. In 2007, Ahmadinejad said the attacks were a result of mismanaging and inhumane managing of the world by the US. 

 

Thousands of Kurds are protesting in the streets of Brussels against the arrest of suspected members of a separatist group outlawed¹⁶ in the European Union. As Teri Schultz reports, tensions have been high for days between law enforcement and the Kurds when violence erupted.

 

Kurdish activists¹⁷ called for supporters from all over Europe to come into the streets to express their anger at Belgium for arresting eight Kurds Thursday on suspicion of recruiting fighters for the Kurdistan Workers' Party. Known as the PKK, it's considered a terrorist group by the EU as well as the US. The PKK has waged decades of armed struggle for the independence of Kurdish minorities in Turkey. Just after the march began in downtown Brussels, some demonstrators reportedly attacked Turkish shops, breaking windows and causing other damage. They are carrying signs that say "the arrests of Kurdish leaders are a violation¹⁸ of human rights". For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.

 

Thousands of fans have lined up along Fourth Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska, for the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The unofficial 11-mile race is spread out across Alaska's largest city. The official competition gets under way tomorrow in Willow¹⁹. That's some 50 miles to the north. 71 teams are entered in the 1,100-mile race.

 I'm Carol Van Dam, NPR News in Washington.

1 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

2 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

3 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

4 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

5 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

8 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

9 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句

10 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

11 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。

12 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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》

14 filibusters   

n.掠夺兵( filibuster的名词复数 )；暴兵；（用冗长的发言）阻挠议事的议员；会议妨碍行为v.阻碍或延宕国会或其他立法机构通过提案( filibuster的第三人称单数 )；掠夺

参考例句：

• This Republican leadership has waged 78 filibusters and we still have six months to go. 而这届参议院上台才一年半，共和党领导层已经应用了78次。 来自互联网
• Yes, there were filibusters in the past-most notably by segregationists trying to block civil rights legislation. 没错，过去也有使用阻挠立法手段的——尤其是种族隔离分子阻止民权法案使用过。 来自互联网

15 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

16 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

17 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

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。