NPR 2010-06-03

A rescue plan to cap a blown-out well deep in the Gulf¹ of Mexico is stalled. BP is using undersea robots to free a saw that got stuck while it was cutting through a pipe on the wellhead assembly. The goal is to at least contain the oil spill. With anger building over the leak, President Obama's pushing for an overhaul² to energy policy. He's just back from a gathering³ in Pittsburg, where Mr. Obama said the Gulf spill may be the result of human error, corporations taking shortcuts⁴ or a combination of both, but he says there's another factor to consider.

"We have to acknowledge that there're inherent risks to drilling four miles beneath the surface of the Earth, and these are risks, these are risks that are bound to increase the harder oil extraction becomes."

We're seeing parts of the oil slick are threatening Florida coastal⁵ areas. Governor Charlie Crist:

"(Our state resources have determined⁶ that the oil sheen,) with it, are thousands of tar⁷ balls. Skimmers have been deployed⁸ near Pensacola. The goal is to remove that oil from nearshore waters."

Federal regulators meanwhile have approved the first new oil well in the Gulf since a brief ban on shallow-water drilling was lifted. An extended moratorium⁹ on deepwater drilling is still in effect.

Another day of anti-Israeli protests in Turkey where demonstrators have been rallying near the Israeli ambassador's residence in Ankara, Israel is facing a firestorm of criticism for its deadly raid on a humanitarian¹⁰ flotilla earlier this week. Today, Turkey, once Israel's close Muslim ally, said at least three of the nine people killed were Turks. The Turkish parliament now wants to review all ties with Israel. Israel's prime minister meanwhile is defying international condemnation¹¹ of Monday's raid. Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel regrets the deaths of nine activists¹² but must continue its blockade of the Gaza Strip. NPR's Peter Kenyon has this from Jerusalem.

Netanyahu decried¹³ what he called a wave of hypocritical international attacks against Israel's commando raid of a Turkish aid vessel¹⁴. He said the Islamist Hamas movement is committed to attacking Israeli civilians¹⁵, and he accused Syria and Iran of trying to supply weapons to the Gaza militants¹⁶. That's why, he said, the blockade will continue.

"I want the world to know what the results will be if we don't do this. It will be an Iranian proxy¹⁷ in Gaza."

As Israel moved to deport¹⁸ all the several hundred international activists detained in Monday's raids, another aid ship, the Rachel Corrie, was set to be heading toward the eastern Mediterranean¹⁹. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Jerusalem.

US stocks moved up 2% into the close. At last check, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 220 points at 10,250 in trading about three billion shares, NASDAQ Composite Index up nearly 60 points at 2,281, S&P 500 up 28 at 1,098.

This is NPR.

A taxi driver in northern Britain has gone on a shooting rampage, killing²⁰ 12 people, wounding 25 others before he turned the gun on himself. NPR's Rob Gifford has details from London.

Police were called to a street in the small town of Whitehaven in the county of Cumbria, northwest England this morning. There were reports of a man randomly²² opening fire. The man fled by car and appears to have continued to shoot people on nearby roads and in neighboring villages. After several hours, police say they found the body of the man they were searching for, a 52-year-old local taxi driver named Derrick Bird in a wooded area nearby, where he appears to have taken his own life. No motive²³ for the shooting has yet been determined. Cumbria, where Britain's well-known lake district is located, has one of the lowest crime rates in the country. Gun crime, especially random²¹ shooting such as this, is extremely rare in Britain, which has strict gun control laws. Rob Gifford, NPR News, London.

As Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for peace with the Taliban, militants attacked with rockets and gunfire. Violence erupted outside a nationally televised peace conference today in Kabul just as Karzai was making his opening remarks. At least three attackers were killed, and no one at the peace jirga was hurt. About 1,600 people were attending the gathering, which runs for about three days.

China won't be one of the Asian nations hosting Defense²⁴ Secretary Robert Gates this week, saying it's just bad timing²⁵, but there's also some tension between Beijing and Washington. The Obama administration angered Chinese officials over (the) decision to sell six billion dollars worth of weapons to Taiwan.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.
 

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 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。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 shortcuts   

n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 )；近路；快捷办法；被切短的东西（尤指烟草）

参考例句：

• In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说，专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 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。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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》

13 decried   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The measures were decried as useless. 这些措施受到指责，说是不起作用。
• The old poet decried the mediocrity of today's writing. 老诗人抨击了现代文体的平庸无奇。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

18 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

19 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

20 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。

21 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

22 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

23 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

24 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

25 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。