美国国家电台 NPR 2012-08-13

 Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi announced today he’s replacing his defense¹ minister and head of the armed forces Hussein Tantawi as well as his deputy. From Cairo, the BBC’s Yolande Knell² reports.

 

The dramatic changes concerning Egypt’s two top generals were announced by the president’s spokesman in a news conference carried live on state television. Field Marshal Tantawi, who took control of the reigns³ of power after the former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted⁴ last year, is being forced to retire, along with his chief of staff. The new defense minister is now another senior general, Abdel-Fatah El-Sissi. A constitutional declaration which the military issued as the presidential election was underway in June was also canceled. It had sought to limit presidential powers.

 

The BBC’s Yolande Knell reporting from Cairo.

 

The interior minister in Iran says at least 227 people died in yesterday’s earthquakes. Another 1,300 people were injured. Two powerful quakes struck within 11 minutes of each other in the northwestern part of the country. Several villages were destroyed. 

 

The new team of Romney and Ryan is on the road this weekend. Mitt⁵ Romney and running mate Paul Ryan on a bus tour in North Carolina today. Here’s how they were greeted in Mooresville, about 50 miles outside Charlotte. Romney told the crowd that voters have a clear choice to make between competing visions of the nation. He reiterated⁶ the president’s idea that businesses owe some of their success to the government.

 

“If a young person works hard to make the honor roll, they study and study and prepare for the exams and take those exams and tests and do well, they make the honor roll. Now I know that to get to school, they have to go on a bus, and they have to have a bus driver. But if they get the honor roll, I don’t give the credit to the bus driver, I give it to the kid.”

 

After stops in North Carolina, Romney and Ryan will fly to a rally in Wisconsin, Ryan’s home state.

 

Democrats⁸ in Hawaii held a primary yesterday to determine who will run for Senate in the fall. Wayne Yoshioka of member station KHPR has more.

 

Democrat⁷ Mazie Hirono won the primary race, getting 60% of the vote over Ed Case, a moderate two-term congressman⁹. Hirono, among the most liberal members of Congress, will now face Republican Linda Lingle in November. Lingle, a popular two-term governor and mayor of Maui, is running as a moderate Rupublican and will need at least 35% of the Democrats to vote for her to win. Lingle beat Hirono in the 2002 gubernatorial election. Hawaii’s open Senate seat was occupied for 22 years by Daniel Akaka, who is retiring. For NPR News, I’m Wayne Yoshioka in Honolulu.

 

This is NPR News in Washington.

 

Several major wildfires are burning in Spain. Thousands of people out of their homes after officials ordered more than a dozen towns and villages evacuated¹⁰. Many of the fires are burning on islands off Spain’s southwestern tip, making them difficult to fight. It can take a day for firefighting planes to reach the sites. One blaze is raging in a national park, where woodlands have survived for 11 million years.

 

Today is the final day for the 2012 Olympics in London. In men’s basketball, the United States beat Spain 107:100 for the gold medal. Kevin Durant led the scoring with 30 points. The closing ceremony is to get underway in about an hour. Vickie Walton-James reports it’s to feature a celebration of British music.

 

More than 4,000 people will perform in the closing ceremony, most of volunteers. An hour-long section of the show devoted¹¹ to British music will feature the London Symphony Orchestra. And Elton John, Adele and George Michael are reported to be among the stars who will appear. Artistic¹² Director Kim Gavin has said he wants the ceremony to be the best aftershow party that has ever been. The closing ceremony is about the celebrations of athletes’ achievements and a handoff to the next host city. In a nod to the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, eight minutes of the show will be devoted to performers from Brazil. The ceremony also features the extinguishing of the Olympic torch, signaling the end of the games. Vickie Walton-James, NPR News, London.

 

As if the first responders in London didn’t have enough to worry about, they had to put out a fire which broke out at a recycling center about seven miles east of Olympic Park. London Fire Commissioner¹³ Ron Dobson said it was the biggest in the city in years. Later the fire service tweeted the fire was contained, thanks to an Olympic effort by its crews.

1 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。

2 knell   

n.丧钟声；v.敲丧钟

参考例句：

• That is the death knell of the British Empire.这是不列颠帝国的丧钟。
• At first he thought it was a death knell.起初，他以为是死亡的丧钟敲响了。

3 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

6 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 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》

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

11 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。

12 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

13 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。