NPR 2011-03-18

President Obama says the US military is working around the clock to help Japan in quake relief efforts and in an attempt to soothe¹ radiation concerns here at home.

"We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the United States, whether it's the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska or US territories in the Pacific."

Earlier today, Mr. Obama stopped by the Japanese embassy and signed a condolence book.

The chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko, says US experts in Japan have begun measuring radiation releases from that country's crippled nuclear plant. As NPR's Dan Charles reports, US officials say those measurements have not turned out any big surprises.

In his latest remarks, Jaczko avoided any criticism of Japan's response to the nuclear crisis. Japan's actions so far, he said, had been responsible and prudent², even though the US government has urged American citizens to evacuate³ in much larger area, anywhere within 50 miles of the plant. Jaczko says the evacuation is consistent with policies for any similar situation in the US. But nuclear-safety advocates at the Union of Concerned Scientists say in reality American officials have refused to do any advanced planning for such large-scale evacuations around nuclear plants in the United States. Dan Charles, NPR News, Washington.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the UN Security Council is debating now how best to stop Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's troops from overrunning the opposition⁴. And as NPR's Michele Kelemen reports, that's likely to include a no-fly zone.

Secretary Clinton has made clear that the US wants to see Arab nations play a role in international action in Libya. At a news conference in Tunisia, she said that a no-fly zone requires the use of force.

"It is important to recognize that military experts across the world know that a no-fly zone requires certain actions taken to protect the planes and the pilots, including bombing targets like the Libyan defense⁵ systems."

Secretary Clinton also praised Tunisia for stepping up to help with the humanitarian⁶ crisis as people flee to Tunisia from Libya. It comes at a time when Tunisia is going through its own transition, the Arab uprisings began here. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Tunis.

Congress is buying some time before having to make the tough decisions on the budget. The Senate came up with enough votes this afternoon to pass a sixth stopgap bill that would keep the government running until April 8th. It calls for $6 billion in spending cuts, and the House has passed a bill that bars the use of federal funds by public radio stations to pay NPR dues and by produced radio content from any source.

The Dow was up 161 points.

This is NPR News.

Honda is recalling its newest models of the Honda Civic⁷ to check for leaking from the car's fuel tank. The company says about 18,000 2011 models are involved. The company found that during assembly a valve inside some fuel pump modules⁸ may have been damaged. No crashes or injuries have been reported from the problem.

New York City is awash with green today for the 250th annual St. Patrick's Day parade. NPR's Robert Smith reports only the mayor of New York is creating controversy⁹.

Irish from toe to head. But not every eye was smiling. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was still in trouble for a joke he made last month about drunk Irishmen. Dennis Dunn held up a sign along the parade route just for the mayor. Marching along Fifth Avenue, Bloomberg shrugged¹⁰ off the controversy. Perhaps as penance¹¹, Bloomberg attended Mass at St. Patrick's and later took the microphone at a party. No boo. Robert Smith, NPR News, New York.

It will have to fight the gravitational pull of the sun. But a small NASA spacecraft, the size of a desk, will try to enter Mercury's orbit tonight. If the Messenger spacecraft succeeds, it would be the first man-made object to orbit the tiny planet. The plan is to have the spacecraft circle for a year, taking measurements of the surface of Mercury.

1 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

2 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

3 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

4 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。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 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。

7 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

8 modules   

n.模块( module的名词复数 )；单元；（宇宙飞船上各个独立的）舱；组件

参考例句：

• The course consists of ten core modules and five optional modules. 这门课程包括十个必修单元和五个选修单元。
• Our English course is divided into modules on poetry, drama, and novels. 我们的英语课分为诗歌、戏剧和小说等单元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

10 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 penance   

n.（赎罪的）惩罪

参考例句：

• They had confessed their sins and done their penance.他们已经告罪并做了补赎。
• She knelt at her mother's feet in penance.她忏悔地跪在母亲脚下。