CNN 2009-07-28

Good morning, I'm Melissa Long here at the CNN center in Atlanta. It's a Monday morning. It's the 27th of July. Here is a look at some of the stories making news this morning.

And an American who joined Al Qaeda and then plotted to kill former President George W.Bush is due back in court today for resentencing. Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was convicted in Federal Court room in Virginia. This was back in 2005 but last year Appeals Court ordered that he'd be resentenced, ruling that his original 30-year sentence was too lenient¹.

Sarah Palin has officially stepped down as the governor of Alaska. She gave her farewell address on Sunday. She talked about how much she loved her state and looked back at her accomplishments² in office. Palin also lashed³ out at her critics in the media on how she's been portrayed⁴ since becoming a national figure.

"You represent what could and should be a cornerstone of our democracy. And that is why, that's why our troops are willing to die for you. So how about, in honor of the American soldier, you quit making things up."

A second Chicago area cemetery⁵ is being investigated after a human bone was found lying on the ground. The owner denies doing anything wrong. The cemetery is already facing a lawsuit⁶ from a family for allegedly reselling a plot where two relatives are buried. Recently workers at another Chicago area cemetery were charged with double-stacking bodies and running a scheme to resell plots.

Space shuttle astronauts are on their fifth and their final space walk of this mission. Two astronauts are rearranging a few power cable hookups and also fixing some insulation⁷ at the International Space Station. NASA will be closely watching for possible carbon dioxide build-up in the astronauts' space suits. That problem cut short space walk last week. Space Shuttle Endeavour will leave the space station tomorrow.

And those are headlines for you at this hour today. Do stay with CNN, CNN.com for more on these stories or other news that develops.

1 lenient   

adj.宽大的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。
• It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。

2 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

7 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。