NPR 2010-04-30

The Gulf¹ Coast is bracing² for the shoreline impact of the worst oil spill the region's ever faced. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports the growing oil slick threatens wildlife, fisheries and beaches from Louisiana to Florida.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency with the massive oil slick now within 20 miles off the state's fragile coastal³ ecosystem⁴. The Obama administration has designated the spill of national significance and is mobilizing federal resources to protect the coast and help with the clean-up, but Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the oil company BP is ultimately responsible.

"We will continue to push BP to engage in the strongest response possible. We will continue to oversee⁵ their efforts."

Officials now say more than 200,000 gallons of oil a day are gushing⁶ from the site of an offshore⁷ oil platform explosion that left 11 workers presumed dead. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Orange Beach, Alabama.

A nation bids farewell to a civil rights leader today. Dr.Dorothy Height died last week at the age of 98. President Obama, delivering the eulogy⁸ at her memorial service in the Washington National Cathedral this morning, said Height deserves a place of honor in America's memory for a lifetime of work toward justice and equality.

In a few hours, Florida Republican Governor Charlie Crist is expected to announce he will run as an independent for an open US Senate seat. From member station WUSF in Tampa, Bobbie O'Brien tells us Crist's fellow Republicans are warning their colleagues against strain.

Bill Bunting is on the state GOP executive board. He's reminding Florida Republicans of a loyalty⁹ oath they signed. And he says Republicans who back Charlie Crist as an independent candidate will get a call from the party asking them to resign.

"We no longer want guys like that in the Republican Party. And we know that many of the donors¹⁰ will be coming in to ask for their money back. You can be sure of that."

Crist reportedly has more than seven million dollars in campaign contributions. Bunting says what Republicans want is an apology from Governor Crist for him to step aside and get behind Marco Rubio, another GOP candidate for US Senate. For NPR News, I'm Bobbie O'Brien in Tampa.

One miner is dead, another is still missing after a roof caved in at a coal mine in western Kentucky late yesterday. Recovery crews are slowed down by unstable¹¹ conditions at the Dotiki Mine in Providence¹² which is about 150 miles west of Louisville.

Moving on positive economic news today, US stocks gaining ground, last check, Dow was up more than 120 points.

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In eastern Afghanistan, NATO forces are said to have killed the brother-in-law of an Afghan lawmaker. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson has this from Kabul.

The fatal shooting occurred late Wednesday night during a raid on the home of lawmaker Safiya Sidiqi. Sidiqi, who was not there, says her family told her about 100 troops stormed her house near the city of Jalalabad. The lawmaker says they broke windows and pulled more than a dozen of her relatives outside who were photographed and fingerprinted¹³. She says the troops opened fire on her brother-in-law, Amanullah. His body, wrapped in a white sheet, was the focal point for hundreds of protesters this morning who shouted anti-American slogans. NATO is saying little about the incident, other than that a joint¹⁴ NATO-Afghan operation against a Taliban facilitator led to one armed person being killed. The military says that person ignored demands he lower his weapon. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Kabul.

The Chinese government is pledging to make administrative¹⁵ changes to ensure it does not violate Olympic rules again. This after a panel learned that a gymnast at the 2000 Sydney Games was technically¹⁶ too young to compete. She was 14 years old. The minimum age is 16. The International Olympic Committee is stripping China's women's team off its bronze medal and giving it to the US team.

More teams will be playing in the NCAA basketball tournament starting next season. The Board of Directors has decided¹⁷ to expand from 65 to 68 teams. It recommended the expansion last week when it also announced it had reached a new 11-billion-dollar TV package with CBS and Turner Broadcasting to broadcast the tournament.
 

1 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。

2 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

3 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

4 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

5 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

6 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 eulogy   

n.颂词；颂扬

参考例句：

• He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. 他不需要我或者任何一个人来称颂。
• Mr.Garth gave a long eulogy about their achievements in the research.加思先生对他们的研究成果大大地颂扬了一番。

9 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

10 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

12 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

13 fingerprinted   

v.指纹( fingerprint的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The criminal was fingerprinted in the sheriff's office. 罪犯在警长办公室里被取下指纹。 来自辞典例句
• They were then taken to be photographed and fingerprinted. 然后，他们被带去照相、留指纹。 来自互联网

14 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

15 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

16 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。