美联社新闻一分钟 2005-09-15

1. Chief Justice nominee¹ John Roberts says he'll decide right-to-die cases using the law not his personal views as his guide.

2. Al-Qaida in Iraq claims responsibility for more than a dozen blasts in Baghdad, killing² at least 160 people, wounding at least 570.

3. At the UN, President Bush presses skeptical³ world leaders to crack down on terrorism and urges compassion⁴ for the needy⁵ .

4. Louisiana nursing home owners are charged with homicide for not evacuating⁶ elderly patients later killed by Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters.

5. And Indonesian police leave Aceh province, in the most delicate phase of accord to end one of Asia’s longest running wars.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. sceptical
sceptical
If you are sceptical about something, you have doubts about it.
Other archaeologists are sceptical about his findings.
...scientists who are sceptical of global warming and its alleged⁷ consequences...
The party has always had a cautious and sceptical attitude to Europe.
ADJ-GRADED: oft v-link ADJ about/of n (AM) skeptical
= dubious⁸
sceptically
I looked at him skeptically, sure he was exaggerating.
`What's your point?' demanded the old man sceptically.
ADV-GRADED: ADV after v
= dubiously⁹

2. crack down
crack down cracks down; cracking down; cracked down
If people in authority crack down on a group of people, they become stricter in making the group obey rules or laws.
The government has cracked down hard on those campaigning for greater democracy.
There has been a lot of drinking. We are cracking down now. Anyone who gets caught is fired.
PHR-V
= clamp down
See also crackdown.

3. needy
needy needier neediest
Needy people do not have enough food, medicine, or clothing, or adequate houses.
...a multinational¹⁰ force aimed at ensuring that food and medicine get to needy Somalis.
ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n
= impoverished¹¹
+ needy
The needy are people who are needy.
There will be efforts to get larger amounts of food to the needy.
N-PLURAL: the N

4. homicide
homicide homicides
Homicide is the illegal killing of a person. (mainly AM; in BRIT usually use murder)
The police arrived at the scene of the homicide.
N-VAR
= murder

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

4 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

5 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

6 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

9 dubiously   

adv.可疑地，怀疑地

参考例句：

• "What does he have to do?" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He walked out fast, leaving the head waiter staring dubiously at the flimsy blue paper. 他很快地走出去，撇下侍者头儿半信半疑地瞪着这张薄薄的蓝纸。 来自辞典例句

10 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

11 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》