美联社新闻一分钟 2006-07-11

1. A four-storey building on the East Side of Manhattan collapsed¹ after a thunderous explosion this morning. At least 15 people were injured, including 10 firefighters. Investigators² say the blast may have been caused by a suicidal doctor who lived in the building.

2. On May 10th, 2005 Northwest Airlines Flight 1495 bumped Northwest Airbus A319 as it was taxiing to the gate. One passenger, four crew members and two ground employees were injured. The plane was traveling about 15 miles an hour.

3. The jury selection is underway in the Florida case of a man accused of kidnapping, raping³ and murdering 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. A former neighbor and convicted sex offender⁴ John Couey allegedly buried the girl alive in garbage bags in March of 2005.

4. The president of Poland appointed his identical twin brother as the new prime minister during a ceremony at the presidential palace in the capital Warsaw. When they shook hands, they looked almost indistinguishable. Good thing, one was wearing a grey suit, and the other a black one.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. -storey : comb
-storey is used after numbers to form adjectives that indicate that a building has a particular number of floors or levels.

2. East Side : noun
A section of New York City on Manhattan Island east of Fifth Avenue. The northern part, approximately between 57th Street and 96th Street, is also known as the Upper East Side and includes many fashionable shops and residences. The Lower East Side, south of 14th Street, was long a home to immigrants from eastern Europe.

3. thunderous : adj
If you describe a noise as thunderous, you mean that it is very loud and deep.
= deafening

4. bump : verb
If you bump into something or someone, you accidentally hit them while you are moving.

5. taxi : verb
When an aircraft taxis along the ground, or when a pilot taxis a plane somewhere, it moves slowly along the ground.

6. jury selection : noun
the means by which a jury is chosen, with a panel of potential jurors called, questioning of the jury by the judge and attorneys (voir dire), dismissal for cause, peremptory⁵ challenges by the attorneys without stating a cause, and finally impanelling of the jury.

7. under way : adj
also underway. If an activity is under way, it has already started. If an activity gets under way, it starts.

8. indistinguishable : adj
If one thing is indistinguishable from another, the two things are so similar that it is difficult to know which is which.

1 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

4 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

5 peremptory   

adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的

参考例句：

• The officer issued peremptory commands.军官发出了不容许辩驳的命令。
• There was a peremptory note in his voice.他说话的声音里有一种不容置辩的口气。