美联社新闻一分钟 2006-10-19

1. A website is claiming that 7 NFL football stadiums will be hit with radiological dirty bombs this weekend. But the government is expressing doubts about the threat, telling the public to continue to go about their plans including going to football games.

2. In an effort to keep the pressure on North Korea, the US is reaffirming its commitments to allies in the region. On a trip to Tokyo, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said America has both the will and the capability¹ to defend Japan.

3. Prosecutors² in New York have secured plea deals with 7 funeral home directors who've been linked to a scheme to dig through corpses³ for transplantable body parts. The directors secretly pleaded guilty to charges in a plot to harvest bone and tissue and sell it to biomedical supply companies.

4. Paul McCartney's lawyers say he will vigorously defend himself against allegations made by his estranged⁴ wife. Heather Mills McCartney claims that she was mistreated during their 4 years of marriage.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. radiological : ADJ
Radiological means relating to radioactive materials.

2. dirty bomb : N-COUNT (脏弹)
A dirty bomb is a bomb made of conventional explosives, like TNT, with the addition of radioactive isotopes⁵, designed to spread over a wide area. Dirty bombs are less devastating⁶ than nuclear devices, but easier to create.

3. go about : PHR-V
If you go about in a particular way, you behave or dress in that way, often as part of your normal life.

4. funeral home : N-COUNT
A funeral home is a place where a funeral director (丧葬承办人)works and where dead people are perpared for burial or cremation⁷.

5. estranged : ADJ
An estranged wife or husband is no longer living with their husband or wife. [FORMAL]

1 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

2 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

3 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

4 estranged   

adj.疏远的，分离的

参考例句：

• He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。
• The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

5 isotopes   

n.同位素；同位素( isotope的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the many isotopes of carbon 碳的诸多同位素
• Tritium is one of the mildest radioactive isotopes. 氚是最和缓的放射性同位素之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

7 cremation   

n.火葬，火化

参考例句：

• Cremation is more common than burial in some countries. 在一些国家，火葬比土葬普遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Garbage cremation can greatly reduce the occupancy of land. 垃圾焚烧可以大大减少占用土地。 来自互联网