NPR 2011-06-19

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Raum.

The British Foreign Office is urging Britons in Syria to leave that country immediately. The warning comes as violence escalates¹ between anti-government protesters and Syrian security forces. Larry Miller² reports.

The statement posted on the Foreign Office website says those who disregard its advice do it at their own risk, that they should watch the developing situation closely, take responsibility for their own safety and make contingency⁴ plans. It also says the British embassy in Damascus would be highly unlikely to help if the situation deteriorates⁵ further. It also warns that because evacuation options will be limited, UK nationals should leave now by any commercial means possible. Travel to Syria has been discouraged for some time, but this advice goes significantly further that if you stay, you're on your own. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

Gunmen dressed as Afghan soldiers stormed a police station today near the presidential palace in Kabul. Officials say at least nine people were killed. The attack occurred shortly after President Hamid Karzai spoke⁶ at the palace. He said his government and the US have begun peace talks with the Taliban. The US will neither confirm nor deny that talks are under way. Richard Kemp once commanded the British troops in Afghanistan. He told the BBC perhaps the best strategy would be to persuade more moderate members of the Taliban to break away from their leaders.

"The Americans or British, other nations as well, have been doing everything they can to try and get some kind of reconciliation⁷ going. I think the emphasis has normally been, I believe, to try and split away the less hard-core members of the Taliban from Mullah Omar's core."

But Kemp said he doesn't think Taliban leaders will agree to support the current Afghan constitution.

Fire crews are battling several wildfires in the South. The governor of Arizona has declared an emergency. NPR's Allison Keyes reports high winds are expected to be a problem for the largest wildfire in that state's history.

The wildfire in eastern Arizona has burned more than 500000 acres, and while it's now 38% contained, public information officer Tommy Rogue⁸ says forecast[s] of winds rising to 50 miles an hour by tomorrow mean critical fire weather conditions.

"Right now, we have calm winds, but, you know, we expected red flag warnings with wind increasing throughout the day."

He says the long battle is beginning to take its toll⁹ on the more than 4000 firefighters on the scene.

"This is almost two weeks now, and the firefighters are what they call timing¹⁰ out. So they come up on their 14 days, getting replaced by new ones."

Fires are also burning in New Mexico, along the Colorado border, and in Florida, Georgia and Texas. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

United Airlines say a computer glitch¹¹ has been fixed¹², and its operations are getting back to normal. A problem grounded flights across the US last night, stranding¹³ passengers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago.

This is NPR News.

There's been another milestone¹⁴ for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head during a community event in January. Andrea Kelly of member station KUAZ in Tusan reports.

Just days ago, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was discharged from a rehabilitation¹⁵ hospital in Houston where she's been recovering from an assassination¹⁶ attempt. This weekend, she's visiting her hometown Tusan for the first time since January. Her spokesman C.J. Karamargin says she's been working toward this goal for a long time.

"Tusan is Gabrielle's home. This is where she'd been born. This is where she grew up. She is a child of the desert, and this is where her heart is. So this trip means a lot to her, means the world to her, and we are hopeful that this would be the first of many visits until she's able to return home permanently¹⁷."

Gifford's staff says the trip will be private, no public appearances or interviews. For NPR News, I'm Andrea Kelly in Tusan, Arizona.

President Obama says that sometimes his hardest job is being a father. He said it's also the most rewarding. The president devoted¹⁸ his weekly address today to being a dad. He said he's learned that children need their parents' unconditional¹⁹ love and their time.

"All of us can encourage our children to turn off the video games and pick up a book. All of us can pack a healthy lunch for our son, or go outside and play ball with our daughter. And all of us can teach our children the difference between right and wrong, and show them through our own example the value in treating one another as we wish to be treated."

The president spent the day before Father's Day on the links playing golf with House Speaker John Boehner. Vice³ President Joe Biden and Ohio Governor John Kasich rounded out the foursome. So far, the White House has not announced who won.

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

1 escalates   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的第三人称单数 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
• I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 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。

4 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

5 deteriorates   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• After a few years' planting, the quality of the potato crop deteriorates. 土豆种了几年之后就会退化。
• Virus activity deteriorates in plasma stored at room temperature. 在室温下储藏的血浆中病毒活动逐渐衰退。

6 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。

7 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

8 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

9 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

10 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

11 glitch   

n.干扰；误操作，小故障

参考例句：

• There is a glitch in the computer program somewhere.这个计算机程序中的某个部分有点小问题。
• It could just be a random glitch that can be solved by restarting the machine.可能只是一个小故障，重新启动主机就能解决了。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

13 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

14 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

15 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

16 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

17 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

18 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

19 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。