美联社新闻一分钟 2005-12-21

1. A transit¹ strike in New York City forces millions of subway and bus riders to find new ways to get around at the height of the holiday shopping and tourist season.

2. In a huge courtroom fight over evolution, a federal judge rules a Pennsylvania school district cannot teach "intelligent design" in biology classes.

3. Traveling overseas, Vice² President Cheney defends the Bush administration's use of secret domestic spying and efforts to expand presidential powers.

4. Iranians shrug³ off their hardline president's ban on western music continuing to sell, buy and listen to everything from Hip-Hop to country rock.

5. And a Paris skyscraper⁴ climber who calls himself "Spiderman" scales a Paris tower, protesting what he calls unfair treatment by police in the US.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. shrug off
shrug off shrugs⁵ off; shrugging off; shrugged⁶ off
If you shrug something off, you ignore it or treat it as if it is not really important or serious.
He shrugged off the criticism.
He just laughed and shrugged it off.
PHR-V

2. scale
9 scale scales scaling scaled
If you scale something such as a mountain or a wall, you climb up it or over it. (WRITTEN)
...Rebecca Stephens, the first British woman to scale Everest...
The men scaled a wall and climbed down scaffolding on the other side.
VB
= climb

1 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

4 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

5 shrugs   

n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany shrugs off this criticism. 匈牙利总理久尔恰尼对这个批评不以为然。 来自互联网
• She shrugs expressively and takes a sip of her latte. 她表达地耸肩而且拿她的拿铁的啜饮。 来自互联网

6 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》