NPR 2010-08-17

Flood survivors¹ blocking a highway in southern Sindh province in Pakistan outrage² they're not seeing the humanitarian³ aid promised them. The BBC's Mike Wooldridge says an estimated 20 million people are affected⁴ with waterborne diseases on the rise.

As new areas of land in southern Pakistan succumb⁵ to the floodwaters, the UN is stepping up the urgency of its warnings about the threat from waterborne diseases. UN officials say access to vulnerable children has improved, and the relief operation now has the capacity to respond. It's primarily about funding. They say that being able to deliver more safe drinking water will make an immediate⁶ difference to saving the lives of children. But the UN's appeal for $110 million for the water-related aspects of the relief operation has only been met to the tune⁷ of $19 million.

The BBC's Mike Wooldridge reporting.

Top federal officials are reviewing two different options for how to proceed with the final step in sealing off BP's blown-out oil well in the Gulf⁸ of Mexico. NPR's Dan Charles reports the so-called "bottom kill" probably won't be finished for at least a week.

For the past week, crews have been poised⁹ to drill into the site of BP's original well just above the oil reservoir. They plan to pump cement into one more part of the well and narrow space around its central pipe, but they're waiting because engineers say there's a chance this could raise the pressure inside that channel, breaking a seal at the top of the well and pushing more oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Officials say they could install equipment that would release fluid from the top of the well as cement goes in near the bottom, or they could bring in a new blowout preventer, replacing the existing broken one along with the cap that stopped the flow of oil a month ago. A decision is expected within a day or two. Dan Charles, NPR News.

Colombian aviation authorities are calling it a miracle that more people were not killed, when a plane crashed this morning during stormy weather. The passenger jet broke apart while landing on San Andres Island. One hundred fourteen people were injured; one person died of a heart attack. The pilot of the Aires Boeing 737 told authorities that the plane was struck by lightning, but the cause of the crash is still under investigation¹⁰.

More attacks on Muslim pilgrims are reported out of Iraq. Four Iranians and an Iraqi died, when a car bomb exploded next to their bus. The pilgrims were headed to Shiite shrines¹¹. Authorities suspect Sunni militants¹² blamed for previous attacks against Shiite Muslims. The violence underscores the Iraqi military's worries about its ability to handle security, when the US pulls all of its combat forces out by the end of this year as planned.

Last check on Wall Street, Dow was down slightly one point at 10,302, NASDAQ was up eight at 2,182.

This is NPR News.

Two spacewalking astronauts installed a new pump on the International Space Station. NPR's Joe Palca reports the new pump is a critical component¹³ of the station's cooling system.

The station has two independent cooling systems. Cooling is necessary to remove excess heat produced by the station's electrical equipment and to keep the station at a habitable temperature. On July 30th, a pump that circulated coolant through one of the systems failed. It took two spacewalks to remove the old pump, but only one to install the new one. Initial indications are the new pump is working. It will take several days to bring the cooling system back to normal operation. Joe Palca, NPR News, Washington.

The photographer Herman Leonard has died in Los Angeles. He was 87 years old. NPR's Zoe Chace has this appreciation¹⁴.

Herman Leonard took many of his famous pictures in the crowded clubs where jazz was made.

"That's where I could hear the music, and that's where it happened. It happens in the clubs; it doesn't happen in a photo studio. And I wanted to record image-wise to make a visual diary, if you wish, of what I was experiencing."

Leonard documented the heyday¹⁵ of jazz. He improvised¹⁶ techniques to increase the sensitivity of the film to light the artists in the dark, smoky rooms. Though we lost thousands of prints in Hurricane Katrina, his negatives were safe. Zoe Chace, NPR News.

And Robert Wilson, the man behind the funky¹⁷ bassline for Gap Band, has died. He was 53

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 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。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 succumb   

v.屈服，屈从；死

参考例句：

• They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
• Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

8 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。

9 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

10 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。

11 shrines   

圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。
• Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。

12 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。

13 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

14 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

15 heyday   

n.全盛时期，青春期

参考例句：

• The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
• She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。

16 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

17 funky   

adj.畏缩的，怯懦的，霉臭的；adj.新式的，时髦的

参考例句：

• The kitchen smelled really funky.这个厨房有一股霉味。
• It is a funky restaurant with very interesting art on the walls.那是一家墙上挂着很有意思的绘画的新潮餐馆。