NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-08-04

 The State Department has closed 21 embassies and consulates¹ around the world. The New York Times reports this is based on intercepted² communications between senior al-Qaeda members. Joint³ Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey says the threat now was more specific than in previous times. 

Zimbabwe's Election Commission has declared President Bobert Mugabe, the winner of Wednesday's disputed election, with 61% of the vote. From the capital, Harare, NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports his main opposition⁴ challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai, is contesting the results. He claims he's won and is calling for a fresh election.

Outgoing Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, says Zimbabwe's elections have been stolen by President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, which's officially won and outcried majority in parliament as well as victory for the veteran leader. Tsvangirai angrily told a news conference that his movement for democratic change is preparing a formal legal challenge to the outcome of the vote. 

We did not lose this election, it is the imaginary of ZANU-PF that they have won it.

As he painted a grim and gloomy picture for the future of Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai warned that Zimbabwe has been plunged⁵ back into a constitutional and political crisis. His opposition party will not be participating in what he described as fraudulent institutions. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Harare.

Time Warner Cable customers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas are still without CBS programming as the two sides continue to fight over how much the cable company will pay to carry the network. NPR's Dan Bobkoff has more. 

It's getting nasty. Now Time Warner has cut off CBS-owned channels including Showtime and Flix. CBS retaliated⁶ by blocking Time Internet customers from watching its shows on its website. And both sides have taken the fight public, with ads like this one from CBS.

Say no to Time Warner Cable.

It's only been in recent years that over the air broadcast channels have demanded fees from cable providers. Even though the channels are free with an antenna⁷. CBS argues that less popular channels get far more in fees from Time Warner. But the cable company says CBS's demands are out of sight and will lead to higher cable bills. Negotiations⁸ are ongoing⁹. Dan Bobkoff, NPR News, New York.

Five spectators were hurt today as they watched workers implode¹⁰ an old steam power plant in Bakersfield, California. Lieutenant¹¹ Scott Tunnicliffe of Bakersfield Police Department says the spectators were standing¹² where they have been told to, so they could see the buildings come down. 

The buildings that were being imploded¹³ were kind of an icon¹⁴ of the area. The small power plants had been here for almost 40 years. 

But Tunnicliffe says the safety zone wasn't far enough away. The injuries were severe, including one person who lost a leg. 

The Boston Global newspaper is going to get a new owner. It's the principal owner of the Boston Red Socks baseball team, John Henry.

You are listening to NPR News from Washington.

The massive explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant a few months ago is prompting a federal response. As NPR's Daniel Zwerdling reports President Obama is ordering top administration officials to figure out how to make the nation's chemical plants safer. 

Public health groups and security specialists have been pressing the government for years to crack down on the chemicals industry. They want the government to require industry executives to do everything they can to redesign their plants, so the plants use smaller amounts of dangerous chemicals. It called inherently safer design and the chemicals industry has managed to block most of those efforts. But President Obama's executive order suggests his administration will revive the idea. He's told APA and Homeland Security and other agencies to come up with new rules and guidelines that will reduce the risk of catastrophic chemical incidents in the future. The executive order does not give them a deadline. Daniel Zwerdling, NPR News.

The Food and Drug Administration has traced the cause of a stomach illness outbreak to a farm in Mexico. Hundreds of people have gotten sick from eating salad chain restaurants in Iowa and Nebraska. The FDA is also trying to learn whether other reported illnesses in 14 states are also linked to the same farm.

Workers in China have laid the last beam on the tallest building in that country. The Shanghai tower measures 2,073 feet, making it the second tallest building in the world behind one in Dubai. That one is more than 2,700 feet tall. But it may not keep that title. Workers in the southern Chinese city of Changsha are constructing a building that would be 40 feet taller than the Dubai tower. 

I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.

1 consulates   

n.领事馆( consulate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Consulates General of The People's Republic at Los Angeles. 中华人民共和国驻洛杉矶总领事馆。 来自互联网
• The country's embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions stationed in other countries. （七）家驻外使馆、馆和其他外交代表机构。 来自互联网

2 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 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。

5 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

6 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

7 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 implode   

v.内爆，剧减

参考例句：

• The engine imploded.发动机内爆了。
• He has nightmares about the tanks imploding.他老是做油箱爆炸的噩梦。

11 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 imploded   

v.（使）向心聚爆( implode的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The economies of Brazil and Russia imploded in 1998. 巴西与俄罗斯的经济在1998年宣告破裂。 来自互联网
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

14 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。