NPR 2012-07-09

 Foreign donors¹ have promised 16 billion dollars in aid to Afghanistan over the next four years. It's intended to help that country stabilize² after foreign troops leave in 2014. As NPR's Jim Hawk³ reports.

Secretary of State Hillary Radom Clinton is joining other nations and making pledges of assistance to Afghanistan. She says the four-year civilian⁴ assistance program is aimed at completing Afghanistan's recovery.

We know Afghanistan's security can not only be measured by the absence of war, it has to be measured by whether people have jobs and economic opportunity. 

Meeting in Tokyo, dozens of countries and organizations are pledging an estimated total of 16 billion dollars in civilian aid. The donors also want to set up a system to make sure the aid is used for development and that it isn't wasted by corruption⁵ and mismanagement. Jim Hawk, NPR News.

 

 

NATO says bombs and gunfire have killed at least 16 Afghan civilians⁶ and five Afghan police officers this weekend. The civilians including women and children, died in three explosions in a region along the country's border with Pakistan. The officers died when they responded to a firefight. NATO is now saying six NATO service members have been killed today by a roadside bomb.

 

 

The heat wave that's been gripping parts of the mid-West is expected to break today. Northeast Indiana Public Radio's Sean Bueter reports a clod front moving in from Chicago should give residents in the Huger state some relief.

The storms that sacked to northern Indiana a week ago buffeted⁷ ** temperatures in the week. For wind strong to get a record four days in a row of triple digit⁸ temperatures, leaving many residents without power at home, seeking other ways to keep cool. National Weather Service meteorologist Evan Bentley says relief is finally on the way.

The cold front that's coming through, will actually cool temperatures of pretty significantly ** 15 to 20 degrees. But with how warm we've been, that's going to get it back to normal. 

The weather service says Fort Wayne is still on track to have its warmest year on record. For NPR News, I'm Sean Bueter, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 

 

Democrats⁹ and Republicans are squaring over the economy. Appearing on Fox News' Sunday, Democratic Congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Florida says while more needs to be done, Americans are slowly seeing economic employment. 

We had 28 straight months of job growth in the private sector¹⁰, 4.4 million jobs created. The progress that we are making is moving us forward. We need to continue to make more progress obviously. And you know, we haven't gone far enough.   

But the chairman of Republican National Committee Reince Priebus was astonished at Wasserman Schultz's remarks. 

I don't know if she in on vacation in New Hampshire or on Mars, I can't figure it out, but the fact of the matter is, people are not better off today than they were three or four years ago and the statistics bear it out. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. 

 

The winner of this year's title at the Wimbeldon Tennis Championship is Roger Federer.

This is NPR.

 

Angry protesters continue to take to the streets in Mexico City to dispute the results of last Sunday's presidential elections. They accused the winner, the PRI Party's Enrique Pena Nieto a fraud including outright¹¹ vote vying¹². From Mexico city, NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

Shouting out Pena get out, tens of thousands of students and residents marched from miles through the capital. ** marched with his two-year-old daughter who held the sign that read my futures¹³ in danger, get out Pena. ** public at Mexico needs a transparent¹⁴ democracy, not a fraudulent one. The protesters say Enrique Pena Nieto and his PRI party bought votes with prepaid grocery cards and other expensive giveaways. Second place finisher Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador refuses to concede, he says he will sue to overturn the election results. Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Mexico city.  

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an investigation¹⁵ into this weekend's surprised and deadly flooding in the black sea region. Torrential rain perhaps as much as a foot fell on the area, about 750 miles south of Moscow. At least 150 people died as flooding engulfed¹⁶ homes and villages mostly overnight. Putin says investigators¹⁷ will check the work of emergency responders and how warnings were issued.

 

The National Hurricane Center is watching two named storms in the Pacific Ocean. Hurricane Daniel is far out to sees about a thousand miles off the tip of Baja California. Now tropical storm Emilia is gaining strength but it's more than 500 miles off the western coast of Mexico.  

 

I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News, in Washington.

1 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

3 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 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。

7 buffeted   

反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去

参考例句：

• to be buffeted by the wind 被风吹得左右摇摆
• We were buffeted by the wind and the rain. 我们遭到风雨的袭击。

8 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

12 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

13 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

14 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

16 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》