NPR 2012-03-01

 A powerful storm that wreaked¹ chaos² across the Mid-western US is continuing its eastward³ march, bringing with it rain, powerful winds and possibly more tornadoes⁴. Kentucky residents say they have sighted twisters today. They are part of a large powerful system that have killed at least nine people in multiple states. Among the hardest-hit communities is Harrisburg, Illinois, where at least six deaths are reported. Jennifer Fuller is with WSIU Radio. She says not everyone may have been aware that the warning system in Illinois had gone off. 

 

There were warnings going out throughout the morning, and this storm system marched across southern Illinois from Mississippi River to the Ohio River. But there probably were people who had little or no notice, because it was nighttime and they were asleep. It's ironic⁵ that just this week the Illinois Emergency Management Agency was telling people to be ready for storm season in March and to have those weather radios handy. So hopefully there were a few people that they heeded⁶ that warning and had them.

 

Jennifer Fuller reporting.

 

Missouri is reporting three more deaths from the overnight storms. Samual Crowe from member station KSMU in Springfield says the damage there is widespread.

 

Houses are destroyed. Cars are destroyed. You know, trees are just uprooted⁷ all over the place. Just volunteers right now that are sorting downed trees and downed power lines all over the place. People can't get in. People can't get out. I believe over 6,000 people are without power and drinks in the area right now. 

 

Samual Crowe of KSMU.

 

In Syria, fighting has intensified⁸ in the embattled city of Homs. NPR's Kelly McEvers reports residents say the Syrian army is trying to enter one embattled neighborhood and opposition⁹ rebels are fighting back.

 

Activists¹⁰ inside the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs say the army which had been bombarding the area from afar is now surrounding it up close. They say armed rebels are fighting fierce clashes with the army. One Syrian official had threatened to clean the area by the end of the day. The neighborhood that has seen some of the most fierce resistance to the government has been under government siege for nearly a month. This latest fighting comes after a group of dozens of journalists and activists trying to flee Baba Amr was ambushed¹¹. That group managed to help British photo journalist Paul Conroy and several Syrian activists to flee the country. But as the humanitarian¹² crisis gets worse, many other activists, civilians¹³ and Western journalists remain. Kelly McEvers, NPR News, Beirut.

 

“Here we come.” Davy Jones, a former member of the 1960s made-for-TV pop band The Monkees, has died. A spokesperson for the actor and musician says Jones passed away this morning in Florida of an apparent heart attack. Davy Jones was 66 years old.

 

You’re listening to NPR News.

 

The Air Force's top general Norton Schwarz says the decision by a military mortuary to cremate¹⁴ and dump in landfill the remains¹⁵ of some people killed in the 9/11 attacks was in line with instructions from a top Pentagon official at the time. NPR's Craig Windham reports Schwarz says the guidance came from David Chu, who was the Pentagon's personnel chief during the George W. Bush administration.

 

A new Pentagon review has found the remains in question could not be tested or identified at the Dover Air Force Base mortuary, so they could have been from either victims or hijackers. But Air Force Secretary Michael Donley says the remains should not have ended up in a landfill.

 

“Prayer practices were not appropriate.”

 

And Retired¹⁶ General John Abizaid, who led the Pentagon probe, says the mortuary changed its practices in 2008.

 

“The fallen remains are taken out to sea, and they are buried at sea.”

 

Abizaid said that applies to unidentified remains and to partial remains of troops whose families give permission for burial at sea. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

A search continues for three people who onboard a US Coast Guard helicopter when it crashed on Alabama's Gulf¹⁷ Coast last night. Authorities say a fourth crew member has died. Divers¹⁸ were attempting to get inside the aircraft that submerged in Mobile Bay near Point Clear. Fog has hampered¹⁹ the air search.

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up six points at 13,011, in trading of about two billion shares. NASDAQ Composite Index down slightly at last glance at 2,986. And the S&P 500, well, that's up slightly at 1,373. 

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 wreaked   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• They have wreaked dreadful havoc among the wildlife by shooting and trapping. 他们射杀和诱捕野生动物，造成了严重的破坏。

2 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

3 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

4 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

5 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

6 heeded   

v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She countered that her advice had not been heeded. 她反驳说她的建议未被重视。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I heeded my doctor's advice and stopped smoking. 我听从医生的劝告，把烟戒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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》

12 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。

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 cremate   

v.火葬，烧成灰

参考例句：

• She wants Chris to be cremated.她想把克里斯的尸体火化。
• Laowang explains: "Combustion is cremate, degenerating is inhumation. "老王解释道：“燃烧就是火葬，腐朽就是土葬。”

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

17 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。

18 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

19 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。