NPR 2010-09-02

Challenging Mideast leaders to seize what he called a fleeting¹ opportunity to end their differences, President Obama is playing host to the first Mideast peace talks in nearly two years. The president holding talks today with Israeli Prime Minister Banjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of the official start of discussions tomorrow. Also in town for the talks are Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Speaking through an interpreter, Mubarak's saying for too long the Mideast peace has remained illusionary.

"There is no doubt that this situation should raise great frustration² and anger among our people, for it is no longer acceptable or conceivable on the verge³ of the second decade of the third millennium⁴ that we fail to achieve just and true peace."

All the leaders pledged to work diligently⁵ towards peace, but they also indicated that their own national interests must be satisfied.

Leader of the Pakistani Taliban Hakimullah Mehsud has been charged in US federal court on terrorism charges. Mehsud is accused of being involved in the killing⁶ of seven US citizens last year at a military base in Afghanistan. NPR's Tom Gjelten says it's the first time a leader of the Pakistani Taliban has faced US terrorism charges.

Hakimullah Mehsud is the self-proclaimed emir of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He's believed to have been behind the suicide attack at a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan that killed seven Americans, all CIA agents or contractors⁷. The suicide bomber⁸ in that case was a Jordanian doctor. But before the attack, he appeared in a videotape, seated alongside Hakimullah Mehsud, and the two men discussed the upcoming attack. The US complaint cites that video in support of the charges against Mehsud. The Khost attack is believed to be the first time the Pakistani Taliban struck at US interests outside Pakistan. And until now, no Pakistani Taliban leader has faced US terrorism charges. Tom Gjelten, NPR News, Washington.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is promising⁹ US troops coming home from Iraq will get the services they need. More from Chuck Quirmbach of Wisconsin Public Radio.

Representative Pelosi spoke¹¹ at the American Legion convention in Milwaukee a day after President Obama talked about the end of the combat mission in Iraq during a nationally televised address. Pelosi told convention goers that as US troops come back from Iraq, they will be helped to make a smooth transition to life at home.

"Regardless of what you may have thought about going into the war, we separate the war and the warrior¹², and we will welcome them home as the heroes that they are."

A Legion member from Wisconsin says the Department of Veterans Affairs is getting better at providing services but may face tougher times helping¹³ more Iraq veterans who have battled stress, heat and other difficulties. For NPR News, I'm Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee.

Stronger-than-expected manufacturing numbers gave Wall Street a midweek boost. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 254 points.

You're listening to NPR.

A hostage drama in the Washington DC suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland ended with police shooting and killing the armed hostage. Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger confirming just before 5PM Eastern Time the gunman, also believed to a possible explosive canister strapped¹⁴ to whose body, was shot in the hostage's free. Police officials at the scene say the hostage taker had a history with the cable channel and was apparently¹⁵ upset with its programming. Police spent several hours negotiating with the man who entered the building around one o'clock today. Most of the other 1,900 people who work in the building along with a day care center had already been evacuated¹⁶.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's autobiography¹⁷ is out today. As Larry Miller¹⁸ reports, the 700-page memoir¹⁹ entitled "My Journey" spans events including the war in Iraq, the death of Princess Diana, and a fractious handover of power to Gordon Brown.

Blair says he cried for the civilian²⁰ and military victims of the Iraq War but has no regrets about the decision to go to war.

"The West has got to understand this is a generation on struggle and we've got to be in it."

Blair says leaving Saddam Hussein and his sons in power would be far worse than the war and its aftermath. Blair describes former US President George W. Bush as intelligent, "a true idealist" and a man of integrity, though he says Vice¹⁰ President Cheney and others wanted to extend military operations in the Middle East. Blair says his successor Gordon Brown was often "maddening", had tried to blackmail²¹ him and was a man with "zero" emotional intelligence. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

Hurricane Earl, again a powerful Category 4 storm, is continuing to churn to the waters of the Atlantic. Even though at last Earl will remain hundreds of miles away from land, governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland have ordered evacuations.

I'm Jack²² Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

2 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

4 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

5 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

6 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。

7 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

9 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。

10 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。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

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 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

16 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。

17 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

18 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

19 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

20 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

21 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

22 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。