美联社新闻一分钟 2006-02-19

1. Rescuers say all 10 troops whose helicopters crashed off the coast of Africa have been accounted for, but they won’t say if they survived. Officials say they will not release information until next of kin¹ is notified. The choppers crashed yesterday.

2. In the Philippines, darkness forced rescue crews to stop searching for any more survivors² of yesterday’s mudslide. Hopes are dim that any more people will be found alive. As many as 1,800 are feared dead. American warships³ and marines are heading to the region to help in the search.

3. The temperature dipped below zero in the Windy City and that doesn’t include the wind show. Across the country, frigid⁴ temperatures, ice and snow are wreak⁵ing havoc⁷. In the northeast at least 4 deaths have been blamed on a windstorm that knocked out power to thousands of homes.

4. And Powerball fever is rising. Tonight’s jackpot is a record 365,000,000 dollars. People are waiting in long lines for their chance to be a multimillionaire. Lottery⁸ officials in one state say sales reached 11,000 dollars a minute. Powerball is played in 28 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin⁹ Islands.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. nect of kin :noun [C] plural¹⁰ next of kin
the person or group of people you are most closely related to:
e.g. We cannot release the names of the soldiers who were killed until we having informed their next of kin.

2. chopper :noun [C]
INFORMAL FOR helicopter

3. dim :adjective dimmer, dimmest
not likely to succeed:
e.g. The company's prospects¹¹ for the future are rather dim.

4. wreak : verb [T] wrought¹² or wreaked¹³, wrought or wreaked
to cause something to happen in a violent and often uncontrolled way:
e.g. The recent storms have wreaked havoc on crops.

5. havoc : noun [U]
confusion and lack of order, especially causing damage or trouble:
e.g. The delay played (= caused) havoc with their travel arrangements.

6. jackpot : noun [C]
the largest prize offered in a competition:
e.g. We won the jackpot.

1 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

4 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

5 wreak   

v.发泄；报复

参考例句：

• She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
• Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。

6 wreaking   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Coal mining is a messy business, often wreaking terrible environmental damage nearby. 采矿是肮脏的行业，往往会严重破坏周边环境。
• The floods are wreaking havoc in low-lying areas. 洪水正在地势低洼地区肆虐。

7 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

8 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

9 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

10 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

11 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

12 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

13 wreaked   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• They have wreaked dreadful havoc among the wildlife by shooting and trapping. 他们射杀和诱捕野生动物，造成了严重的破坏。