美联社新闻一分钟 2006-05-12

1. President Bush has neither confirmed nor denied a newspaper report that the National Security Agency was collecting phone records of tens of millions of Americans. USA Today reports AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth began turning over records to the NSA shortly after the 9/11 terror attacks. Today some members of the Senate Judiciary Committee call for closer scrutiny¹ of the domestic spying program.

2. An Ohio priest has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for stabbing a nun² to death in 1980. Rev³. Gerald Robinson was convicted today of killing⁴ Sister Margaret Ann Pahl at a Toledo hospital.

3. A 12-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Florida is closed due to wildfires. Authorities say the stretch of interstate between Port Orange and Edgewater could be closed for several days.

4. And a retired⁵ New York City police officer recently found about 79 million extra dollars in his online bank account. Tom Gillan told his bank and they fixed the error. Gillan says he couldn't keep what wasn't his.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. turn over : phrasal verb
If you turn something over to someone, you give it to them when they ask for it, because they have a right to it.
e.g. I would, indeed, turn the evidence over to the police.
= hand over

2. stab : verb
If someone stabs you, they push a knife or sharp object into your body.
e.g. Stephen was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack nearly five months ago.

3. nun : n-count
A nun is a member of a female religious community.
e.g. Mr. Thomas was taught by the Catholic nuns⁷ whose school he attended.

4. Reverend : n-title
Reverend is a title used before the name or rank of an officially appointed religious leader. The abbreviation Rev. or Revd. is also used.
e.g. The service was led by the Reverend Jim Simons.

5. Sister : n-count, n-title
Sister is a title given to a woman who belongs to a religious community.
e.g. Sister Francesca entered the chapel⁸.

6. wildfire : n-count
A wildfire is a fire that starts, usually by itself, in a wild area such as a forest, and spreads rapidly, causing great damage.
e.g. a wildfire in Montana that's already burned thousands of acres of rich grassland⁹.

7. fix : verb
To correct or set right; adjust.
e.g. fix a misspelling; fix the out-of-date accounts

1 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

2 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

3 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

4 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。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

7 nuns   

n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句

8 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

9 grassland   

n.牧场，草地，草原

参考例句：

• There is a reach of grassland in the distance.远处是连绵一片的草原。
• The snowstorm swept the vast expanse of grassland.暴风雪袭击了辽阔的草原。