CNN 2009-05-28

Good Morning, at the CNN center here in Atlanta, I m Melissa Long, with a look at some of the stories that are happening Now In The News on this Wednesday morning.

It's a big day for US automakers. Bankruptcy¹ appears all but certain for General Motors. Bondholders have rejected the plan for a reduced stake in the company. GM is now expected to file for bankruptcy by Monday, and the GM board directors will be meeting to discuss the automaker's next steps. And rival Chrysler heads before a federal judge today where the automaker's expected to ask to sell most of its assets to Italian carmaker Fiat².

A well coordinated³ attack involving gunmen and an explosive packed van in Pakistan. It's killed at least 23 people and left more than 250 others wounded. The attack happened in the eastern city of Lahore. The van broke through a security barrier and exploded just before reaching a police building. The building was reduced to rubble⁴. Police say 2 suspects have been arrested.

President Obama says he wants his pick for the Supreme⁵ Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor confirm as quickly as possible. If she gets the job, she will be the first Hispanic justice ever. Sotomayor's nomination⁶ also has a political impact; exit polls show 67 percent of Latinos, the fastest growing demographic voted for President Obama in the 2008 election. Republicans have promised tough questions for the judge during confirmation⁷ hearings.

Gay rights activists⁸ are getting ready to fight the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold the state's same-sex marriage ban. Attorneys representing 2 same sex couples say they will announce the federal court challenge to Proposition 8 later today. Critics of the ban argue denies gay couples' equal rights.

 A Minnesota doctors say a 13-year-old cancer has gotten worse since he and his mom left the state to avoid chemotherapy. Daniel Hauser has a round of chemotherapy schedule for tomorrow. A doctor who examined the 13-year-old boy on Monday says his cancerous tumor⁹ has grown.

And it's like math flash cards for your iPhone and two children, yeah kids developed it. The application is called Math Time, it does basic grades school math like addition, subtraction¹⁰ and multiplication¹¹. The app is 99 cents and the kids will get 70% of the profits when sales go over to 150 dollars. Creative kids!

Those are the headlines making news at this hour. Do stay with CNN and CNN. com for more on these stores and other news that develops today

1 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

2 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

3 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

7 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

10 subtraction   

n.减法，减去

参考例句：

• We do addition and subtraction in arithmetic.在算术里,我们作加减运算。
• They made a subtraction of 50 dollars from my salary.他们从我的薪水里扣除了五十美元。

11 multiplication   

n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法

参考例句：

• Our teacher used to drum our multiplication tables into us.我们老师过去老是让我们反覆背诵乘法表。
• The multiplication of numbers has made our club building too small.会员的增加使得我们的俱乐部拥挤不堪。