美联社新闻一分钟 2006-06-26

1. Arizona firefighters are making good progress against a blaze that has scorch¹ed 4,200 acres. Some residents of Oak Creek³ Canyon⁴ were able to return home Saturday night, but hundreds more homes are still in danger. Crews hope to have the entire fire contained by Wednesday.

2. Iraq's prime minister has presented a plan to put his country on the road to reconciliation⁵. Nouri al-Maliki offered an olive branch and amnesty to insurgents⁶ who have not been involved in terrorist activities. He also wants a timetable for Iraqi police and military to take over security.

3. Nearly 2,000 police officers are walking the streets of Stuttgart, Germany, hoping to prevent a repeat from English fans at the World Cup. Police arrested 500 English soccer fans for throwing bottles and chairs in the streets yesterday. England beat Ecuador today 1-0, so far no violence

4. It's just another weekend of sheep riding for pint-sized cowboys in Greeley, Colorado. Kids ages five to seven tried their hand in named Mutton Bustin' competition. Like the bronco riders, kids competed to see who could hang on for dear life and stay on the animal the longest.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. scorch : verb
To scorch something means to burn it slightly.
e.g. The bomb scorched² the side of the building.

2. olive branch : n-count
If you offer an olive branch to someone, you say or do something in order to show that you want to end a disagreement or quarrel.
e.g. Clarke also offered an olive branch to critics in his party.

3. amnesty : n-var
An amnesty is an official pardon granted to a group of prisoners by the state.
e.g. Activists⁷ who were involved in crimes of violence will not automatically be granted amnesty.
= pardon

4. walk the streets : idm
to walk around the streets of a town or city
e.g. Is it safe to walk the streets alone at night?

5. pint-sized : adj
If you describe someone or something as pint-sized, you think they are smaller than is normal or smaller than they should be. (INFORMAL)
e.g. Two pint-sized kids emerged from a doorway⁸.

6. try one's hand : phrase
If you try your hand at an activity, you attempt to do it, usually for the first time.
e.g. After he left school, he tried his hand at a variety of jobs–bricklayer, cinema usher⁹, coal man.

7. bronco : n-count
In the western United States, especially in the 19th century, a wild horse was sometimes referred to as a bronco.
e.g. two cowboys riding bucking¹⁰ broncos

8. for dear life : phrase
If you say that someone does something for dear life or for their life, you mean that they do it using all their strength and effort because they are in a dangerous or urgent situation. (INFORMAL)
e.g. I made for the life raft and hung on for dear life.

1 scorch   

v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕

参考例句：

• I could not wash away the mark of the scorch.我洗不掉这焦痕。
• This material will scorch easily if it is too near the fire.这种材料如果太靠近炉火很容易烤焦。

2 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

3 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

4 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

5 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

6 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

9 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

10 bucking   

v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马
• That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句