NPR 2010-08-09

The official in charge of the Gulf¹ oil spill-up says that the blown-out well will be further sealed this week. But as NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports, he is promising² that won't be the end of relief efforts.

The well has already been sealed from the top. Retired³ General Thad Allen says the relief well will be used to also seal it from the bottom. Allen told CNN's "State of the Union" that parts of the region are already starting to recover.

"Some beaches are reopening. Fisheries are reopening. And that will happen as soon as we can, either by cleaning up the oil or having the areas tested for the seafood⁴ safety and so forth⁵. But we need to understand that different parts of the coast were impacted in very different ways."

Allen also stressed the need to revamp deepwater drilling, crucial technology for the cleanup had to be brought over from the shores off Africa and the North Sea. Going forward, he said that technology should be used for drilling in the Gulf as well. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington.

The man in charge of US troops in Iraq says Iraq's military has stepped up to the challenge and is ready to take over security operations. General Ray Odierno tells ABC's "This Week" despite the country's political stalemate, Iraq's military is showing signs of independence.

"They continue to do broad-scoped operations across all of Iraq. Uh, we continue to help them as they do these, and that will continue after 1 September, our assistance. But we do believe they are ready to assume full operations in Iraq."

The US is moving ahead with a major drawdown of its troops, which is set to be completed by the end of this month. After that, 50,000 US forces will remain in the country.

A South Korean fishing boat is being held by North Korea. South Korea's Coast Guard says the boat strayed into North Korean waters off the peninsula's east coast today. The BBC's John Sudworth reports the incident is increasing regional tensions.

The South Korean Coast Guard says that the fishing boat has been detained and taken to a North Korean port, where the four South Korean and three Chinese crewmen are now being questioned. There're fears that the case may be complicated because the detention⁶ comes at the same time that South Korea is staging a large-scale naval⁷ exercise meant to send a message of deterrence⁸ following the sinking of one of its warships⁹ in March. The exercise has drawn¹⁰ the threat of retaliation¹¹ from North Korea, which denies any involvement in the sinking.

The BBC's John Sudworth reporting from Seoul.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the slaying¹² of ten medical workers in Afghanistan—six of them Americans—is a despicable act of wanton violence. In a statement released today, she says it demonstrates the brutality¹³ of the Taliban. She says it will not, however, stop the international community from helping¹⁴ the Afghan people. The ten were gunned down late last week while on a medical mission. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. The bodies were all returned to Kabul earlier today.

This is NPR News.

Lawmakers will be returning to Washington this week. The House will be voting on a job's bill that has already made it through the Senate. Republicans say the 26-billion-dollar package is a giveaway to public employee unions, while supporters say it will save the jobs of as many as 145,000 teachers.

Numbers released by the US Border Patrol show Arizona's new immigration law has reduced the number of legal immigrants coming into the state. Officials say that has hurt commerce, especially in the southern part of Arizona. From member station KJZZ in Phoenix¹⁵, Mark Moran reports.

The number of legal visitors entering Arizona from Mexico has dropped 17% since Governor Jan Brewer¹⁶ signed Senate Bill 1070 in April. Mexico issued a warning to its citizens about travel to Arizona four days after her signature. Since then, a federal judge temporarily put on hold the most contentious¹⁷ parts of the law including provisions that require (the) immigrants to carry documentation, and that allow police officers to ask for proof of citizenship¹⁸ while enforcing another law. The state has appealed to the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals. The 17% drop in legal immigration amounts to about 12,500 fewer people a day coming into the state, compared with the same period last year, which is taking a toll¹⁹ on local businesses. For NPR News, I'm Mark Moran in Phoenix.

It's basketball and a barbecue for President Obama today. He played hoops²⁰ with some pros²¹ including Kobe Bryant and Lebron James as well as a few college players. His audience included a crowd of wounded warriors²², troops injured in action. Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha are wrapping up their visit to Spain. Today, they had lunch with the king and queen, and as a parting gift, the king gave Mrs. Obama some seeds for the White House garden.
 

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 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

5 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。

6 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

7 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

8 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

9 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

11 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》

12 slaying   

杀戮。

参考例句：

• The man mimed the slaying of an enemy. 此人比手划脚地表演砍死一个敌人的情况。
• He is suspected of having been an accomplice in the slaying,butthey can't pin it on him. 他有嫌疑曾参与该杀人案，但他们找不到证据来指控他。

13 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

14 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。

15 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

16 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

17 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

18 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

19 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。

20 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

21 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。