美联社新闻一分钟 2006-09-05

1. "But at least he died 'doing something that he loved.'" Fans spoke¹ fondly of Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter", at the National Zoo in Washington D. C. Monday. The 44-year-old Australian was killed when a stingray's barb² pierced him during the filming of a documentary of the Great Barrier Reef.

2. A Jordanian gunman opened fire at a crowd of foreign tourists Monday in the center of Jordan's capital. A man from Britain was killed and 6 other people were wounded near the city's Roman amphitheater, a popular tourist destination.

3. Iran said Monday it had tested a new air defense³ system to counter missiles and aircraft. The new test came just one day after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan met with Iran's president.

4. A surveillance camera at a Providence⁴, Rhode Island laundromat captured a startling robbery, a grown man stealing a 20-dollar bill from a 7-year-old girl. Fortunately, the child was not hurt during the ordeal⁵ and officers eventually tracked down the suspect and arrested him.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. stingray: n-count
A stingray is a type of large flat fish with a long tail which it can use as a weapon.

2. barb : n-count
A barb is a sharp curved point near the end of an arrow or fish-hook which makes it difficult to pull out.

3. amphitheatre : n-count
An amphitheatre is a large open area surrounded by rows of seats sloping upwards⁶. Amphitheatres were built mainly in Greek and Roman times for the performance of plays.

4. counter : verb
If you do something to counter a particular action or process, you do something which has an opposite effect to it or makes it less effective.

5. laundromat : n-count
A laundromat is a place where people can pay to use machines to wash and dry their clothes.

6. ordeal : n-count
If you describe an experience or situation as an ordeal, you think it is difficult and unpleasant

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 barb   

n.（鱼钩等的）倒钩，倒刺

参考例句：

• The barb of his wit made us wince.他那锋芒毕露的机智使我们退避三舍。
• A fish hook has a barb to prevent the fish from escaping after being hooked.鱼钩上都有一个倒钩以防上了钩的鱼逃走。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

5 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

6 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。