CNN 2011-04-12

Hi, I'm Carl Azuz and this is CNN Student News, where Fridays are awesome¹! But you already knew that. Your 10 minutes of commercial-free headlines start right now!

First up, government shutdown. That term is dominating² conversations around the U.S. Capitol right now. Quick recap on the background: The U.S. government does not have a budget in place. It needs one to keep running. If Congress³ can't pass a deal -- or an extension⁴ -- by midnight tonight, parts of the government will shut down. We produced this show on Thursday evening, and at that time, there was no deal. Congressional leaders met with the president earlier in the day at the White House. They were expecting to head back for more meetings later Thursday night.

We've talked a little bit this week about what might be affected⁵ if the government shuts down. You can check out our archives at CNNStudentNews.com to review that. If this happens -- and again, that is an if -- wouldn't be the first time. Between 1977 and 1980, there were six shutdowns. Nine more between 1981 and 1996. They've been as short as three days, as long as 21 days. Again, the deadline to make a deal is midnight tonight, so you'll want to check out CNN.com for the latest details.

1 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

2 dominating   

adj.有领导作风的；统治的，独裁的v.控制( dominate的现在分词 )；在…中占首要地位；在…中具有最重要（或明显）的特色；在…中拥有最重要的位置

参考例句：

• He is dominating and active in manner. 他有领导作风而且能采取主动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gradually commodity production becomes the dominating form. 商品生产逐渐地成了统治的形式。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

3 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

4 extension   

n.伸长，扩大，伸展；延长，延期；延长部分，扩大部分；电话分机

参考例句：

• The pupils disliked the extension of the term.小学生们不愿延长学期。
• Our extension is nearly finished.我们的扩建部分已接近完工。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。