CNN 2011-02-28

Let's go "Cross Country," see what's happening in Orange County, California. Search is on for this bumbling robber who police say spent 6 minutes searching for his gun before he held up a convenience store. Surveillance cameras caught him digging through his backpack. Police say the robber had apparently¹ forgotten where he put his gun. But eventually, he found it in his pocket, then he demanded the money.

All right, Hampton, Connecticut, where age is just a number for this 103-year-old polka-dancing nun². Sister Cecilia Adorni teaches her fancy polka steps to elderly residents at an adult daycare center. On Tuesday, she spent her 103rd birthday doing what she does best. That's right, the polka. So, what's her secret to longevity³? It's simple. Joy.

And finally, in Big Lake, Minnesota, a man's home is his ice castle. For the 4th straight year, Roger Hanson has built a massive ice structure in his backyard, 64 feet high, 85 feet wide, it's twice as big as his own house. Hanson says his only concern, now, is that it's starting to melt.

And extradition⁴ order for WikiLeaks founder⁵, Julian Assange and money problems for his whistle-blowing Web site. That tops on our "Morning Passport".CNN's Zain Verjee is all over it for us from London. Zain, what do you know?

Hey， there Kyra, Julian Assange is going to be extradited to Sweden to face allegations of rape⁶ and sexual assault. Now he has said that he is going to appeal that ruling and if it fails, though, he is going to have only about ten days before he is sent off to Sweden.One thing that I just want to focus on a little bit here Kyra is that WikiLeaks is having a major cash problem. They are putting out t- shirts and mugs and even dinner with Julian Assange to try and raise some money because he's got legal fees of something around $200,000 and things like PayPal and Visa and MasterCard are refusing to even process any of his payments.So he's in a major jam financially. We'll see what happens with the appeal.

I want to focus a little bit more on the royals, Kyra. I know you always love a good Will and Kate story. And let me show you some pictures that have just come out.They are actually in Wales, and they poured some champagne⁷ over a life boat, and named it the "Hereford Endeavour". This is actually a little bit bigger than some of the life boats and dinghies that you'd have in the U.S. But the royal couple-to-be, out there, and so many people were very excited.

You know, we've also had a heavy news cycle with a lot serious news, Kyra. So I got this story for you. Monkeys in hot tubs in Nagano, Japan. We just need to chill out a little bit and look at these monkeys, ok.

Reynolds,Reynolds likes it, too. He's getting excited over here, nothing like monkeys chilling out in a hot tub.

Yes, you know, you and I don't get to do that, but in Nagano, Japan there they are soaking it up. Because you know, the thing is they've been stealing food and attacking tourists and basically being a royal pain.So what they decided⁸ to do is build them their own little park with their own hot springs, so they can lie there in the tub and sip⁹ a little champagne and cheese and strawberries and whatever else they're doing.

What do you think, Reynolds?

I mean --

Champagne, strawberries --

I think it looks like monkey soup. It does. It's hot water, you throw in your monkeys, and then boom, voila.

Oh boy. Now -- now Pete is going to be all over us.

I prefer monkey business, Kyra. Right.

Yes, I don't know, it looks like fun. I don't know if I'd want to jump in there with them. But you know, that's a whole another story.All right, thank you, Zain, I always love to wrap it up with something warm, and yes, fun.

These are some other stories we're talking about. Budget protests planned today in Wisconsin could actually be the biggest so far. State workers are calling for the largest day of demonstrations¹⁰ outside of Madison. Workers are outraged¹¹ saying the governor's plan to fix the budget could cause them to lose their collective bargaining rights.

And Hawaii is the seventh state in the country to recognize civil unions for same-sex couples. The governor signed the bill into law yesterday It gives partners in civil union the same rights and benefits that spouses¹² in a marriage enjoy. That bill takes effect in January.

Mexican authorities made 10 arrests in the fatal shooting of a U.S. immigration agent earlier this month. One suspect presumed leader of a drug cartel allegedly behind the hit. Agent Jamie Zapata was killed in an ambush¹³ while on a Mexican highway. Five other men, three women and a minor were also arrested

1 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。

2 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

3 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

4 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

7 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

10 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

11 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

12 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

13 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。