美联社新闻一分钟 2006-05-03

1. The lawyer for one of the Duke Lacrosse players accused of rape¹ says these pictures prove his client is innocent. Reade Seligmann's lawyer says the photos from an ATM surveillance show his client was doing something else at the time the attack allegedly happened.

2. An emotional day in West Virginia, a hearing is under way into the Sago Mine disaster. Family members had a chance to talk about the 12 men who died when the mine exploded. The owner of the mine says some answers may never be known.

3. Jurors have now spent 6 days deliberating the fate of Al-Qaeda conspirator² Zacrias Moussoui. They must decide whether he will live or die for his role in the September 11th attacks. Jury consultants³ say the longer the deliberations go on, the chances of a death sentence go down.

4. Magician David Blaine is spending his first full day inside a human aquarium⁴. For the next week, he will live in the 8-foot tank, breathing and getting nourishment⁵ through a tube. At the end of the stunt⁶, he plans to try to hold his breath for 9 minutes, or trying to escape from chains and handcuffs.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. deliberate :verb
to think about something very carefully
e.g. The jury deliberated for four days before acquitting⁷ him.

2. magician :noun[C]
an entertainer who performs magic tricks

3. aquarium :noun[C]
a clear glass or plastic container for fish and other water animals

4. nourishment :noun[U]
the food and other substances that people and other living things need to live, grow, and stay healthy
e.g. The soil provides nourishment for plant roots.

5. stunt :noun[C]
a dangerous action that is done to entertain people, especially in a film
e.g. Not many actors do their own stunts⁸.

1 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

2 conspirator   

n.阴谋者，谋叛者

参考例句：

• We started abusing him,one conspirator after another adding his bitter words.我们这几个预谋者一个接一个地咒骂他，恶狠狠地骂个不停。
• A conspirator is not of the stuff to bear surprises.谋反者是经不起惊吓的。

3 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

4 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

5 nourishment   

n.食物，营养品；营养情况

参考例句：

• Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。
• He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。

6 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

7 acquitting   

宣判…无罪( acquit的现在分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• Meanwhile Ms Sotomayor is acquitting herself well enough. 另一方面，Sotomayor女士正在完成自己的任务。
• It has the following characteristics: high speed of data acquitting and data processing. 固件程序具有较高的采集响应速度和数据处理速度。

8 stunts   

n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
• The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》