NPR 2011-10-19

 "Now the hard work begins," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's message in Tripoli today to Libya's interim¹ leaders as they face a transition to democracy.

 

"Democracy takes time. It will not be easy or quick. But we are filled with admiration² for what you have already accomplished³ and confident in your ability to move forward."

 

Clinton is heard on al-Jazeera. In her previously⁴ unannounced trip to Libya, Clinton also said the US hopes Libya's ousted⁵ dictator Muammar Gaddafi can be quickly captured or killed.

 

An Israeli soldier returns home to a scene of waving flags and chants of celebration after spending more than five years in captivity⁶. Linda Gradstein reports that Gilad Shalit was released today by Hamas militants⁷ in exchange for the freedom of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

 

Looking pale and thin, Gilad Shalit was reunited with his family, who had waged a ceaseless battle for his release for more than five years. After crossing into Israeli territory along the Egyptian border, Shalit was flown to a base in central Israel, where he underwent extensive medical checks after saying he did not feel well. He saluted⁸ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then embraced him. Shalit flew home in an army helicopter accompanied by an army doctor and his family. In the small town of Mitzpe Hila, hundreds of friends and neighbors cheered and cried as the 25-year-old soldier returned. His father Noam said Gilad was suffering from a few minor⁹ injuries. For NPR News, I'm Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem.

 

In Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian prisoners are also greeted with a hero's welcome. Today, more than 450 Palestinians were released from prison in Israel. More than 500 others are expected to be released in two months.

 

The embattled Greek government faces a 48-hour general strike tomorrow and Thursday in protest of a plan to retire 30,000 government workers and lower pay for others. More from John Psaropoulos in Athens.

 

Prime Minister George Papandreou called on Greece's private sector¹⁰ to behave patriotically¹¹ and help save the country from bankruptcy¹². The business community, he said, should stop siphoning off its profits to overseas accounts and banks should stop withholding¹³ liquidity¹⁴ from healthy enterprise. In his comments to his Socialist¹⁵ Party members of parliament, he also called on opposition¹⁶ parties to stop consciously cultivating hate, lawlessness and violence by battling the government with conspiracy¹⁷ theories. Papandreou is urging his MPs to vote for a controversial bill to cut back the costs of government. In response, he faces a 48-hour general strike in the public and private sectors¹⁸. For NPR News, I'm John Psaropoulos in Athens.

 

This is NPR.

 

Britain's Treasury¹⁹ has frozen the assets of five men linked to an alleged²⁰ Iranian-supported plot to assassinate²¹ Saudi Arabia's envoy²² to the United States. The US has taken similar action against the suspects, two of whom are charged with conspiring²³ to hire a Mexican drug cartel member to murder Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir in a bomb attack. Last week, the Obama administration said the highest levels of the Iranian government had to be held accountable. Tehran's dismissing the charges as nothing more than a propaganda campaign.

 

Carl Lindner, the former billionaire CEO of Major League Baseball Cincinnati Reds, has died. Maryanne Zeleznik with member station WVXU has this appreciation²⁴.

 

Carl Lindner Jr.'s family business grew into United Dairy Farmers. Lindner was chairman of Cincinnati-based American Financial Group, a publicly traded financial holding company that had more than $17 billion in assets. In 2009, Forbes magazine estimated Lindner's personal wealth at nearly $2 billion, placing him among the 400 richest Americans. Lindner became controlling partner and chief executive officer of the Cincinnati Reds in a 1999 deal that ended Marge Schott's rocky 15-year reign²⁵ as owner. Carl Lindner Jr. was 92. For NPR News, I'm Maryanne Zeleznik in Cincinnati.

 

On Wall Street, we've been seeing a rally in the major indexes with the Dow gaining 1.5% before the close at 11,577, NASDAQ up 1.6% at 2,657.

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

3 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

6 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

7 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。

8 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 patriotically   

爱国地；忧国地

参考例句：

• Patriotically, he buys only U.S.-made products. 他很爱国，只买美国生产的商品。
• What follows is a guide to spending and saving, both sensibly and patriotically. 下面是既聪明又爱国的有关消费和储蓄的指导。

12 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

13 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

14 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

15 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

17 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

18 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 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。

20 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

21 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

22 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

23 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

24 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。

25 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。