NPR 2010-09-19

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Barbara Klein.

President Obama is due to address the Congressional Black Caucus¹ annual awards dinner this hour. NPR’s Allison Keyes reports the president is working to energize² African-American voters for the upcoming midterm elections.

The president’s relationship with the Black Caucus seems somewhat tense lately. Though caucus members have supported him publicly, there have also been complaints from caucus members such as House Judiciary Chair John Conyers, who has said White House officials aren’t listening to black lawmakers. Some black voters in Washington DC, who said they voted against the District’s outgoing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, say neither Fenty nor Mr. Obama were doing enough to solve issues including high unemployment in African-American communities. The NAACP has spearheaded a call for a march on Washington next month to push for more jobs. This week, President Obama hosted a reception for black college officials and also appeared on a syndicated black radio talk show, telling the host he knows unemployment has been “brutal”, especially for blacks, but the economy is recovering. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

BP’s broken oil well in the Gulf³ of Mexico will undergo a major pressure test in a few hours to determine whether the well is finally dead. The cement pumped into the bottom of the well yesterday to plug it has dried. And as NPR’s John Burnett reports, engineers want to be sure it holds.

Offshore⁴ crews have pumped 74 barrels of cement into the bottom of the “nightmare oil well” off the coast of Louisiana, the final procedure to kill the well. Tonight, engineers will exert 15,000 pounds of pressure against the cement plug to make sure it will hold. If it does, it will be the first time BP can tell beleaguered⁵ Gulf Coast residents once and for all, the well will not leak any more oil. Crews lost control of the wild well five months ago and it gushed⁶ nearly five million barrels of crude into the Gulf, creating the worst offshore oil spill in US history. A relief well, 2.5 miles beneath the ocean floor, punctured⁷ the well on Thursday, allowing crews to pump in cement. An offshore official told the Associated Press once the well is officially killed, they’re going out for prime rib⁸. John Burnett, NPR News.

Pope Benedict today met privately⁹ in London with victims of sexual abuse by priests. And at a Mass afterward¹⁰, he issued one of his strongest apologies.”

“I also acknowledge with you the shame and humiliation¹¹ which all of us have suffered because of these sins."

Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of London, protesting the Pope’s handling of sex abuse allegations as well as his views on homosexuality and the ordination¹² of women.

Taliban forces killed at least 14 people, mostly civilians¹³, in election-related violence today. Insurgents¹⁴ launched several rocket attacks at polling stations and security forces as voters cast ballots¹⁵ for parliament. Turnout was relatively¹⁶ low. Meanwhile, accusations¹⁷ of vote rigging are reported across the country.

This is NPR News.

Hurricane Igor’s on a course toward Bermuda. Ed Thompson reports the Category-2 storm is about 400 miles south of the island and could reach it as soon as tomorrow.

Igor is a very large hurricane with tropical storm-force winds extending 345 miles from its center. That means Bermuda will start feeling the early effects of the hurricane later today. Many buildings in Bermuda are constructed to withstand a hurricane such as Igor, but the island is taking no chances. Most stores and restaurants in the capital, Hamilton, are boarded up and residents are hurriedly stocking up on supplies. Bermuda’s International Airport and the causeway leading to the airport are shutting down. The private weather service, AccuWeather, is predicting the island could be in for a “several-day siege of damaging winds and waves”. The storm surge and large and destructive waves could produce flooding along Bermuda’s southern coast and increasing swells¹⁸ from Igor are already causing dangerous rip currents and waves of seven to nine feet off the Carolina coast. For NPR News, I’m Ed Thompson.

Hurricane Karl, meanwhile, has weakened to a tropical depression over southern Mexico, but it’s still wreaking¹⁹ havoc²⁰, triggering floods and landslides²¹. At least two people are dead. The Mexican military is using helicopters to try to rescue people stranded²² and to look for others who may have been washed away.

Mexican police say they found the bodies of two officers who were among nine state police kidnapped by an armed gang in southern Mexico. The others are still missing. The group of policemen had gone to identify a body in the area when they were ambushed²³ in an area that’s at the center of a turf war between rival drug gangs. Drug traffickers have killed more than 1,000 police officers over the past three years of Mexico’s escalating²⁴ drug war.
 

1 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

2 energize   

vt.给予(某人或某物)精力、能量

参考例句：

• It is used to energize the city.它的作用是为城市供给能量。
• This is a great way to energize yourself and give yourself more power!这种方法非常棒，可以激活你的能量，让你有更多的活力！

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 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

5 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 gushed   

v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• Oil gushed from the well. 石油从井口喷了出来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Clear water gushed into the irrigational channel. 清澈的水涌进了灌溉渠道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 punctured   

v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气

参考例句：

• Some glass on the road punctured my new tyre. 路上的玻璃刺破了我的新轮胎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A nail on the road punctured the tyre. 路上的钉子把车胎戳穿了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 rib   

n.肋骨，肋状物

参考例句：

• He broke a rib when he fell off his horse.他从马上摔下来折断了一根肋骨。
• He has broken a rib and the doctor has strapped it up.他断了一根肋骨，医生已包扎好了。

9 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

10 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

11 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

12 ordination   

n.授任圣职

参考例句：

• His ordination gives him the right to conduct a marriage or a funeral.他的晋升圣职使他有权主持婚礼或葬礼。
• The vatican said the ordination places the city's catholics in a "very delicate and difficult decision."教廷说，这个任命使得这个城市的天主教徒不得不做出“非常棘手和困难的决定”。

13 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。

14 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

15 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

17 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

18 swells   

增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
• A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。

19 wreaking   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Coal mining is a messy business, often wreaking terrible environmental damage nearby. 采矿是肮脏的行业，往往会严重破坏周边环境。
• The floods are wreaking havoc in low-lying areas. 洪水正在地势低洼地区肆虐。

20 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

21 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

22 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

23 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句