美联社新闻一分钟 2006-10-27

1. Fires raging near the Palm Springs area are now to blame for the deaths of four firefighters, another is in critical condition. They were battling the blaze which is sweeping¹ through parts of southern California. Hundreds of people have been driven from the area and at least three homes have been severely² damaged.

2. One day after President Bush answered questions about the ongoing³ war in Iraq, Defense⁴ Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday that critics should "just back off" and stop demanding specific deadlines for progress in Iraq.

3. An unmanned Russian supply ship has now docked securely with the International Space Station following an earlier unsuccessful attempt. NASA officials say the vessel⁵ was bringing needed supplies to the crew living in space.

4. A powerful snowstorm dumped a foot and a half of snow in parts of the Colorado mountains. Thursday traffic in much of the area was brought to a halt and many schools were closed. The National Weather Service said snow was falling at a rate of about 3 inches an hour.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. back off: phrase
If you tell someone to back off, you are telling them to stop interfering⁶. (INFORMAL)

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 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。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。