NPR 2010-12-20

The Senate is in session today to discuss whether to ratify¹ START, a new arms control treaty signed by President Obama and Russian President Medvedev earlier this year. Treaties require the approval of a two-thirds majority. Vice² President Joe Biden says he thinks there's enough support in the Senate, although he knows that some members won't accept it.

"There've been 18 hearings, 1,000 questions we've answered and, but another is they just simply are against any arms control agreement."

Biden was interviewed on NBC's "Meet the Press". The treaty would limit the US and Russia to 1,550 strategic warheads down from 2,200. It would also establish a way to monitor and verify compliance³.

The UN Security Council is meeting in an emergency session today to discuss growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea has planned a live-fire drill this weekend. North Korea is threatening military action if that exercise takes place.

Twenty-two people are dead and several injured after a huge oil pipeline⁴ exploded in the central Mexican state of Puebla. Scores of homes and cars were damaged. James Blears reports authorities there may already know the cause.

Puebla state spokesman Noe Torres says the explosion happened because thieves were trying to siphon oil from a Pemex pipeline duct. The predawn massive blast was followed by four smaller explosions. This pipeline is in the city of San Martin Texmelucan, 50 miles from Mexico City. Emergency services are dumping down the immediate⁵ area to prevent any more explosions. And federal officials are investigating the charred⁶ site. For NPR News, I'm James Blears in Mexico City.

Wintry weather is making it difficult to get around Europe by air, land or rail. The busiest airport in Europe, Heathrow in London, stopped accepting arriving flights today. The subways in London are also crowded with stranded⁷ travelers in the search of hotel rooms. British weather forecasters say the nation has experienced the heaviest snowfalls in December in decades.

Southern California is bracing⁸ for more heavy rain today. Corey Moore reports that forecasters are predicting another big storm and a greater potential for flooding.

Officials report no big incidents of flooding or mudslides from storms that have already hammered the area. Stuart Seto with the National Weather Service says he expects more rainfall in Southern California will make some hillside areas vulnerable in the next couple days.

"Somewhere holds about two to five inches for coastal⁹ and valley areas, and five to ten in the foothills and mountain areas. The burn areas definitely have flash flood watches out through midnight Sunday."

Officials are advising residents in some areas of LA County to move their cars off streets in case of flooding. Forecasters say they expect the rain to continue through Wednesday. For NPR News, I'm Corey Moore in Los Angeles.

This is NPR News from Washington.

A tour bus skidded¹⁰ off an icy highway in central Colorado last night. The state police say the bus apparently¹¹ failed to negotiate a curve, rolled off the road and onto its right side. Eight people were injured, two seriously. The bus was carrying members of a Texas church group to a winter resort when it crashed near the town of Gunnison.

The US-based classified ads website, Craigslist, has pulled prostitution ads from its Canadian website. Dan Karpenchuk reports the move came after months of political pressure.

By Saturday, the San Fransisco-based internet company was no longer running an erotic services section on its Canadian website. Until this weekend, the site featured ads with blatant¹² sex listings, including prices and explicit¹³ pictures. Canadian and US lawmakers have complained to the company for months that the ads promoted the illegal sex trade. Canada's Justice Minister Rob Nicholson was pleased with the ads being pulled, saying the government was concerned they could facilitate serious criminal offenses¹⁴, such as living on the avails of child prostitution and trafficking. The issue made headlines last month when police in British Columbia arrested a 14-year-old girl and charged her not only with prostituting herself, but with promoting other underage girls through ads on Craigslist. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

In women's basketball, No. 1 University of Connecticut is playing No. 11 Ohio State at Madison Square Garden. The Huskies have won their last 87 games in a row. If their streak¹⁵ holds, they'll match the record set by the UCLA men in 1974. And then they try to win No. 89 and the record Tuesday against No. 15 Florida State. Right now, the Huskies are leading 21-15.

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

1 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

4 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

8 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

9 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

10 skidded   

v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区

参考例句：

• The car skidded and hit a lamp post. 那辆汽车打滑撞上了路灯杆。
• The car skidded and overturned. 汽车打滑翻倒了。

11 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

12 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

13 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

14 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

15 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？