NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-03-18

 From NPR News in Washington, I’m Windsor Johnston.

 

Russian officials say Crimeans have voted overwhelmingly to break away from Ukraine and join Russia. NPR’s Gregory Warner reports they are overjoyed at the prospect¹ of once again becoming a part of Russia.

 

A very joyous² crowd here gathered at Lenin Square in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea. People are waving Crimean flags, Soviet³ flags, Russian flags and celebrating what it seems to be an overwhelming victory for the Russia-vote in this referendum. Of course people who are pro-Ukrainian had organized a boycott⁴ of the referendum to try to inflate⁵ the numbers and show this referendum to be illegitimate. The government in Kiev does not recognize this referendum. They’ve called it a circus directed at gunpoint. The question now is what will the Ukrainian government do, how militaristic will be their response, and what will Russia do, will it annex⁶ the Crimean Peninsula and does bring economic sanctions on itself. Gregory Warner, NPR News, Simferopol.

 

The UN Refugee Agency reports thousands of refugees from Central African Republic are arriving in Cameroon, many of them sick and dying and having experienced unspeakable violence. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports many of the refugees have been on the road for up to seven weeks without food or clean water. 

 

The refugees recount stories about the atrocities⁷ being committed Christian⁸ anti-Balaka militia⁹ men targeting Muslims in revenge attacks in Central African Republic. UN spokeswoman Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba says many arrive in Cameroon deeply traumatized by the horrors they have experienced. Lejeune-Kaba says about 80% of the newest arrivals suffer from malaria¹⁰, diarrhea and respiratory infections and more than 20% of the children are malnourished. For NPR News, I’m Lisa Schlein in Geneva. 

 

The eight people that were killed in last week’s explosion that leveled two New York City apartment buildings were remembered today. Speaking at Bethel Gospel Assembly, Santos Mercado, the assistant pastor¹¹ at the Spanish Christian Church, which was destroyed in the blast, said he’s grateful another church opened its doors for them. 

 

“I feel wonderful because these people, you know, opened the doors and they offer all kinds of help we need. And they are dear for us.”

 

Emergency workers have gained access to the basements of the apartment buildings. They are focusing on gas pipes and meters in an effort to determine what caused the blast.

 

The search is continuing for the Malaysian jetliner that went missing over a week ago. Authorities say they are taking a closer look at a flight simulator one of the pilots had in his home. 239 passengers and crew were on board the plane which was headed to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.

 

This is NPR.

 

Honda will recall nearly 900,000 Odyssey¹² minivans. That’s according to a notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The company says model years 2005 to 2010 built in Alabama had a fuel-pump part that can crack, cause a fuel leak and pose a fire risk. In a filing with the agency, Honda says it has no reports of fires or injuries related to the issue.  

 

The US Navy’s Blue Angels are airborne again. NPR’s Nathan Rott reports the elite¹³ aviation team returned to action this weekend after being grounded for much of the last year because of spending cuts. 

 

Thousands of southern Californians watched the Blue Angels put on their first performance in almost a year Saturday. Many post in YouTube videos like this of the blue and gold jets criss-crossing, rolling and diving. The Navy’s best precision pilots usually do about three dozen performances every year. Last year they did two, citing government cutbacks that brought about “budget realities”. Navy officials say the program cost about $40 million annually¹⁴. This year they are not expecting any cutbacks for their aerial acrobatics¹⁵. The team is scheduled to appear at more than 30 shows for the rest of the calendar year. Nathan Rott, NPR News.

 

A piece of sports history dating back to the 1867 meeting that marked the beginning of institutionalized racial segregation¹⁶ in baseball is up for sale. A main auction¹⁷ company on Wednesday will offer a ticket to the National Association of Base-Ball Players convention in Philadelphia, where the rule’s committee voted to ban teams with black players. 

1 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

2 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

5 inflate   

vt.使膨胀，使骄傲，抬高（物价）

参考例句：

• The buyers bid against each other and often inflate the prices they pay.买主们竞相投标，往往人为地提高价钱。
• Stuart jumped into the sea and inflated the liferaft.斯图尔特跳到海里给救生艇充气。

6 annex   

vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物

参考例句：

• It plans to annex an England company in order to enlarge the market.它计划兼并一家英国公司以扩大市场。
• The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。

7 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

10 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

11 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

12 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

13 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

14 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

15 acrobatics   

n.杂技

参考例句：

• Acrobatics is hard to learn but beautiful to watch.杂技不好学，但很好看。
• We watched a performance which included a puppet show and acrobatics.我们观看了一场演出，内容有木偶和杂技。

16 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

17 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。