NPR 2010-06-02

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

BP is making another attempt at tackling the oil spill that's been dumping as much as 19,000 barrels of oil each day for over a month in the Gulf¹ of Mexico. NPR's John Ydstie has details.

The goal is to place a containment² cap over the wellhead, capture as much of the oil and gas as possible and direct it to ships on the surface. The first step is making a clean cut on the pipe coming out of the ocean floor. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen told reporters in a conference call that effort has already begun. The idea is to get as tight a seal as possible on the containment vessel³ so that a minimum of seawater enters. That should help avoid the formation of the icy plugs that doomed⁴ the first attempt by BP to install a containment cap. Officials warned the flow from the well could increase by as much as 20% after the pipe is cut. BP officials say the process involves risks and uncertainties⁵. They estimate it will take three days to get the cap in place. John Ydstie, NPR News, New Orleans.

Turkey is calling on Israel to apologize and pay compensation for a raid that killed nine activists⁶ trying to deliver humanitarian⁷ supplies to Gaza this week. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports Turkish foreign minister is also demanding that the United States clearly condemn⁹ the incident.

Just before his meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters that he's been disappointed by the US response so far.

"I have to be frank: I am not very happy with the statement from Washington yesterday. We expect a clear condemnation¹⁰."

The Obama administration said it regrets the loss of life but wants to see all the facts about the raid. Davutoglu said the flotilla carrying supplies for Gaza was in international waters, and he called the Israeli blockade of Gaza illegal. The Turkish foreign minister said he was supposed to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, but the Israeli leader canceled his trip. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.

And today still no definitive¹¹ answer from the Obama administration on whether it believes Israel was justified¹² in raiding the humanitarian flotilla. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

"I think the situation from our perspective is very difficult and requires careful, thoughtful responses from all concerned."

The Obama administration is trying to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. It recently got the Arab League's support for indirect discussions, which in the wake of the Israeli raid have been thrown into doubt.

Last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than 100 points at 10,023 after some modest gains earlier in the day, NASDAQ Composite Index also losing more than 30 points, 2,222.

This is NPR.

In Mexico, a judge has charged the mayor of Cancun with having ties to organized crime. NPR's Jason Beaubien has more from Mexico City.

Cancun Mayor Gregorio Sanchez Martinez is accused of helping¹³ two of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico. Prosecutors¹⁴ say Sanchez made unexplained bank withdrawals¹⁵ of more than two million dollars. He's accused of money laundering¹⁶ and associating with organized criminals. The charges against Sanchez derailed his bid for governor just a month before the July 4th elections. Sanchez is being held without bail¹⁷ in a prison on the Pacific coast. Three weeks ago, the former governor of the area was extradited to New York. He's accused of accepting almost $20 million to allow the Juarez cartel to move tons of cocaine¹⁸ through Cancun. Sanchez says he'll fight the charges against him in an attempt to continue his gubernatorial campaign even from prison. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Mexico City.

Attorneys for the alleged¹⁹ Fort Hood²⁰ gunman are getting more time to prepare for an evidentiary hearing, which is now scheduled for early October. Today, their client, former psychiatrist²¹ Nidal Hasan, made his first public appearance in court since last year's attack in which 13 people were killed. Wearing his army uniform, Hasan entered the courtroom in a wheelchair. He was paralyzed after being shot by two Fort Hood, Texas police officers.

The 40-year-old son of former ABC News anchor Ted⁸ Koppel has been found dead in New York. Cause of death is still under investigation²². There's been no official statement from the family. Ted Koppel was longtime anchor of ABC News Nightline and is an NPR News analyst²³.

The Gores²⁵ are separating after 40 years in marriage. Former Vice²⁶ President Al Gore²⁴ and his wife, Tipper, reportedly have told friends that it was a mutually supportive decision.

This is NPR.
 

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 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

3 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

4 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

5 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

6 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》

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

9 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

10 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

11 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

12 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

15 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

16 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

18 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

19 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

20 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

21 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

22 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

23 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

24 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

25 gores   

n.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的名词复数 )v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This bull gores people. 这牛爱顶人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Prometheus periodically gores the F ring drawing out streamers of material from the ring. 普罗米修斯周期性的F环触的彩带，从材料的戒指。 来自互联网

26 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。