NPR 2010-06-22

Triple-digit gains on Wall Street have(口误) been wiped out. At last check, the Dow was down eight points at 10,443, NASDAQ losing 20 points at 2,289. We'll check back on those numbers a little bit later on.

About 35% of the more than million homeowners getting help from the government's main mortgage aid program are in danger of losing their homes. The Treasury¹ Department estimates more than 400,000 people have already dropped out. Officials fear that could trigger a new round of foreclosures and drag down the housing market.

The Coast Guard wants BP to have a better oil containment² system in place before a hurricane enters the Gulf³ of Mexico. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports it would also be able to take in more oil than BP's current operation.

BP captured about 23,000 barrels of oil yesterday, and Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says when a third vessel⁴ arrives next week, the firm should be able to get up to 53,000 barrels a day. In July, shuttle tankers⁵ should arrive from the North Sea, increasing the capacity to 60,000 to 80,000 barrels a day. Allen says the new containment system will rely on flexible floating pipes rather than fixed⁶ pipes attached to the leaking well.

"It will allow the vessels⁷ to have greater flexibility⁸ in dealing⁹ with sea states in higher winds and so forth¹⁰. It won't be completely hurricane-proof, but it will allow them to operate in a little heavier weather than they can right now. It will also allow us to be able to disconnect and reconnect if a hurricane does come through."

If the system is disconnected, the oil would temporarily gush¹¹ unabated into the Gulf. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

Iran is barring two inspectors¹² with the International Atomic Energy Agency from entering the country. More on this from NPR's Mike Shuster.

Statements by Iranian officials suggest the ban is in retaliation¹³ for alleged¹⁴ leaks of information to the news media. The IAEA received a letter from Iran earlier this month, objecting to the use of the two inspectors in question. In response, the IAEA says it has full confidence in the professionalism and impartiality¹⁵ of the inspectors concerned. Iran has indicated this is not a step to prevent the inspections¹⁶ from taking place. Officials say they can be carried out using other inspectors. The IAEA learned of Iran's action in a letter dated June 10th, just one day after the UN Security Council imposed new economic sanctions on Iran's nuclear activities. The letter was not made public until now. Mike Shuster, NPR News.

Earlier, we saw US stocks steadily¹⁷ gaining ground on the news that China was planning to ease the value of its currency, allowing it to appreciate against the dollar. Now it's expected to bolster¹⁸ US manufacturers' competition when they sell their products in China. But those gains have since been lost. At last check, the Dow was down eight points at 10,443.

This is NPR.

A wildfire now scorching¹⁹ about 9,000 acres north of Flagstaff is still growing. Firefighters are struggling to keep it away from homes. Arizona Public Radio's Laurel Morales says about 900 homes have already been evacuated²¹ since two fires broke out over the weekend.

Fires flanked the town north and south. One started Saturday, the other Sunday. More than 200 people registered with the American Red Cross shelter. Kelly Waxman was evacuated from her ranch²² Sunday and spent that night at a converted middle school gym.

"As far up in the sky as I could see, it looked like a nuclear bomb. I mean literally²³ I was like looking straight up in the sky, and it was red in flames, as far as you could see in it. Just like in ten minutes' time, there was nothing and then the whole neighborhood was just kaplow(kablow)."

Waxman, with the help of a volunteer with a trailer, was able to evacuate²⁰ one of her horses, but three remained. The sheriff's office told her they would cut her fence line to let the others run loose. For NPR News, I am Laurel Morales in Flagstaff.

The death toll²⁴ among NATO forces in Afghanistan is getting higher in a month that is already considered one of the deadliest since the start of the war. An American and three Australian commandos were killed in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar when their helicopter crashed. Several Australian troops were hurt. The Taliban claims its militants²⁵ shot down the aircraft, but NATO and Australian officials say there is no evidence it was brought down by hostile fire.

Billings, Montana is reeling from its largest tornado²⁶ in more than half a century. The governor was expected to visit the city today to tour damaged communities. The area is under a state of emergency.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.
 

1 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

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 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。

4 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。

5 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

6 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

7 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 gush   

v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发

参考例句：

• There was a gush of blood from the wound.血从伤口流出。
• There was a gush of blood as the arrow was pulled out from the arm.当从手臂上拔出箭来时，一股鲜血涌了出来。

12 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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

15 impartiality   

n. 公平, 无私, 不偏

参考例句：

• He shows impartiality and detachment. 他表现得不偏不倚，超然事外。
• Impartiality is essential to a judge. 公平是当法官所必需的。

16 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

18 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

19 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

20 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

21 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

22 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

23 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

24 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。

25 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。

26 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。