美联社新闻一分钟 2006-06-21

1. The U.S. military says the bodies of two soldiers found in Iraq are believed to be those of 23-year-old Kristian Menchaca and 25-year-old Thomas Tucker. The remains¹ were found amid explosives. An Internet statement claims the soldiers were slaughter²ed by the new leader of al-Qaeda-in-Iraq.

2. The Houston-area floods appear to be over, but potential flood dangers remain following Monday's torrential rains. Parts of Houston had sporadic⁴ rain Tuesday, but no storms like the ones that swamped the area the day before.

3. "I'm bleeping mad, yes". AirTran Airways⁵ passengers experienced major delays in Atlanta Tuesday because the airline switched computer systems. Passengers waited in line for hours while agents processed their tickets by hand.

4. A young calf⁶ made a run for it on a Texas highway, but its bid for freedom was short-lived with the animal's owner managing to lasso the runaway⁷ in the parking lot of a shopping center

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. slaughter : verb
If large numbers of people or animals are slaughtered³, they are killed in a way that is cruel or unnecessary.
e.g. Thirty four people were slaughtered while queuing up to cast their votes.

2. sporadic : adj
Sporadic occurrences of something happen at irregular intervals⁸.
e.g. a year of sporadic fighting over northern France

3. swamp : verb
If something swamps a place or object, it fills it with water.
e.g. A rogue⁹ wave swamped the boat.

4. airways : n-plural
The airways are all the routes that planes can travel along.
e.g. How does a private pilot get access to the airways?
AirTran Airways
AirTran Airways is a low-cost airline based in Orlando, Florida, USA and is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings. AirTran operates over 500 daily flights throughout the eastern USA and the Midwest, including over 130 daily departures from Atlanta. It is the world's largest Boeing 717 operator. Its main base is Orlando International Airport, with a principal hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

5. calf : n-count
A calf is a young cow.

6. make a run for it : phrase
If you make a run for it or if you run for it, you run away in order to escape from someone or something.
e.g. A helicopter hovered¹⁰ overhead as one of the gang made a run for it.

7. bid : n-count
A bid for something or a bid to do something is an attempt to obtain it or do it. (JOURNALISM)
e.g. The Government has already closed down two newspapers in a bid to silence its critics.
= attempt

8. short-lived : adj
Something that is short-lived does not last very long.
e.g. Any hope that the speech would end the war was short-lived.

9. manage : verb
If you manage to do something, especially something difficult, you succeed in doing it.
e.g. Somehow, he'd managed to persuade Kay to buy one for him.

10. lasso : n-count
A lasso is a long rope with a loop at one end, used especially by cowboys for catching¹¹ cattle.
lasso : verb
If you lasso an animal, you catch it by throwing a lasso round its neck and pulling it tight.
e.g. Cowboys drove covered wagons¹² and rode horses, lassoing cattle.

11. runaway : adj
(of an animal or a vehicle) not under the control of its owner, rider or driver
e.g. a runaway horse/car

12. parking lot : n-count
A parking lot is an area of ground where people can leave their cars. (AM; in BRIT, use car park)
e.g. A block up the street I found a parking lot.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

3 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

5 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

6 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

7 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

8 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

9 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

10 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

11 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

12 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。