美联社新闻一分钟 2006-03-06

1. More violence in Iraq after gunmen stormed a Sunni mosque¹ in Baghdad, killing² at least three people and wounding several others. The cause of the clash is not known.

2. Al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri released a tape criticizing western countries for cartoons lampoon³ing the Prophet Mohammad. Al-Zawahri also called for a continued holy war to reclaim⁵ Palestinian lands.

3. In California, a house exploded in a Los Angeles suburb early Sunday. Authorities say it was packed with fireworks and the explosion was strong enough to move the house off its foundation and break windows blocks away. One man was taken to the hospital with minor⁶ burns to his body.

4. And the premier⁷ 1,100-mile Iditarod begins for real on Sunday. The grueling race had its ceremonial start Saturday in Anchorage and ends in Nome, Alaska. 83 dog sled teams are competing in the race this year which could take more than 10 days to complete.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. lampoon :verb [T]
to criticize someone or something in a humorous way that makes them seem stupid:
e.g. The Prime Minister was frequently lampooned⁸ in political cartoons.

2. premier :adjective [before noun]
best or most important:
e.g. He's one of the nation's premier scientists.

3. Iditarod :Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
annual competition held in March, in which mushers (dogsled drivers) race teams of up to 16 dogs on a grueling course between the Alaskan cities of Anchorage and Nome. The dogsledding event, which covers about 1850 km (1150 mi), is called “The Last Great Race on Earth” and demands strength, endurance, and courage from mushers and their dogs. The difficult and challenging conditions of Alaska’s winter wilderness⁹ can include deep snow, unpredictable weather, and encounters with wild animals.

4. grueling : adjective
extremely tiring and difficult, and demanding great effort and determination:
e.g. He eventually won the match after five gruelling sets.

5. sled :verb [I or T]
to ride or travel on snow using a sledge

1 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

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 lampoon   

n.讽刺文章；v.讽刺

参考例句：

• His cartoon mercilessly lampoon the leading politician of the day.他的讽刺漫画无情地挖苦了当今的政界要人。
• He was lampooned for his short stature and political views.他的矮小身材和政治观点使他成了受奚落的对象。

4 lampooning   

v.冷嘲热讽，奚落( lampoon的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Larry Ellison is a prime choice for such lampooning because-married, thrice-divorced multimillionaire is larger than life. 拉里·埃里森写那么一篇讽刺性的文章的初衷是因为他生活无羁，且是一个三次结婚三次离婚的亿万富翁。 来自互联网

5 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

6 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

7 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

8 lampooned   

v.冷嘲热讽，奚落( lampoon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His cartoons mercilessly lampooned the politicians of his time. 他的漫画毫不留情地嘲讽了他那个年代的政治人物。
• He was lampooned for his political views. 他的政治观点使他成了受奚落的对象。 来自辞典例句

9 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。