美联社新闻一分钟 2006-10-08

1. Families are settling back in their homes after a fire at a North Carolina chemical plant forced them to evacuate¹. Authorities had asked more than 17,000 people to leave their homes. Investigators² are still looking into what caused the fire at the Apex³ industrial plant.

2. There is another E. coli concern, but this time, with ground beef. The government says an Iowa company is recalling 5,200 pounds of ground beef products distributed in 7 different states.

3. Farrah Fawcett says she has cancer. Her publicist says the actress has a fast-growing tumor⁴, but Fawcett is maintaining a positive attitude and expects to recover completely.

4. The 2 President Bushes were on hand today to help christen America's newest aircraft carrier. It's the 10th and last of the Navy's Nimitz-class carriers and it's named for George. H.W. Bush, a naval⁵ pilot in World War II.

WORDS IN THE NEWS


1. ground : adj
Ground meat has been cut into very small pieces in a machine. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use minced)

2. on hand : phrase
If someone or something is on hand, they are near and able to be used if they are needed.
The Bridal Department will have experts on hand to give you all the help and advice you need...= available

3. christen : verb
You say that you christen something new when you use it for the first time, especially if you do something special to mark the occasion. (INFORMAL)

1 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

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 apex   

n.顶点，最高点

参考例句：

• He reached the apex of power in the early 1930s.他在三十年代初达到了权力的顶峰。
• His election to the presidency was the apex of his career.当选总统是他一生事业的顶峰。

4 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

5 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。