NPR 2011-05-18

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

The Mississippi River at Natchez is now closed to shipping¹ traffic. The Coast Guard made the move to avoid putting more stress on the swollen² river's levees, but it also closes off the major artery³ for transporting grain from the Midwest to the Gulf⁴ of Mexico. Meanwhile, residents of Vicksburg, Mississippi are struggling to keep floodwaters at bay, but NPR's Carrie Kahn tells us not everyone is succeeding.

I'm sitting right in front of a corn and wheat field that looks like a beautiful lake right off the road here, and I was just talking with a farmer. This is—he had 150 acres here; they're just filled with water. We saw a boat go by, and there are geese sitting on top of this field right now. He's lost everything.

NPR's Carrie Kahn in Vicksburg.

President Obama is intensifying⁵ Middle East diplomacy⁶ as he prepares to deliver a major policy speech on the region Thursday. Today, he hosted Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House. As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, the two not only talked about the major changes sweeping⁷ the Middle East, they also talked about something that hasn't changed: the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

President Obama says the Israeli-Palestinian problem has been nagging⁸ the region for many years. King Abdullah calls it the area's "core issue." Mr. Obama says it's particularly important to address it now, at a time when neighboring countries, like Egypt and Syria, are experiencing extraordinary changes.

"It's more vital than ever that both Israelis and Palestinians find a way to get back to the table and begin negotiating a process whereby they can create two states that are living side by side in peace and security."

The president's said to deliver a major speech on the Middle East on Thursday and meet with Israel's prime minister the following day. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

Pakistan's military says NATO helicopters violated Pakistani airspace early this morning, and the country's lodging⁹ what it calls a "strong protest." Pakistan charges NATO aircraft crossed the border from Afghanistan into an area believed to be a haven¹⁰ for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.

US industrial output slipped last month. The Federal Reserve says manufacturing production was down 0.4% from March, but much of it is blamed on Japan's reduced output of auto¹¹ parts because of the earthquakes and tsunami¹² in March, and National Association of Manufacturers Chief Economist¹³ Chad Moutray says the supply disruption won't last.

"And we continue to move into May and June. You'll see the supply issues start to work themselves out. I think you—that if the auto manufacturers themselves are already starting to increase some production, even the Japanese automakers."

Excluding the drop in auto manufacturing, factory production rose 0.2% in April.

On Wall Street just before the close, the Dow was down 77 points at 12,470; the NASDAQ was off one at 2,781.

This is NPR.

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger admits he fathered a child with a member of his household staff. The child is now more than ten years old. Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver announced last week they'd separated after 25 years of marriage. The former governor says he told Shriver about the child after he left office earlier this year.

The head of the International Monetary¹⁴ Fund is spending another day in jail at Rikers Island and facing mounting pressure to step down. Dominique Strauss-Kahn is remanded in custody¹⁵ after being arrested for attempted rape¹⁶. Finance ministers in Austria and Spain are calling on him to consider the welfare of the IMF. The 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn denies the charges.

Former Minnesota Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew is dead at age 74. He had esophageal cancer and died today at his Arizona home. As NPR's Paul Brown reports, Killebrew hit homers on and off the field.

Harmon Killebrew's 573 career home runs rank him 11th in Major League Baseball. He was nicknamed "Killer¹⁷" and "Hammerin' Harmon" for his powerful hitting with the Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royal, but the nicknames didn't extend to his behavior on or off the field. He was known as a good-humored articulate gentleman. He said in an interview that until he was recruited as a teenager, he never intended to play Major League ball.

"I had to make a decision there where which way to go. Like Yogi Berra said, when you come to a fork in the road, take it. So I took the road that I wanted to play baseball."

And that road led Harmon Killebrew to become an 11-time all-star. Paul Brown, NPR News.

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

3 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

4 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。

5 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

6 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

7 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

8 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

10 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

11 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

12 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

13 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

14 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

15 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

16 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

17 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。