美联社新闻一分钟 2006-12-05

1. President Bush has accepted the resignation of John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. The administration wanted to have Bolton's recess¹ appointment become permanent, but that was unlikely with the Democrats² taking over the Senate next month.

2. Two more locations in London are being tested for traces of radiation following the poisoning death of a former Russian spy. Investigators³ have now tested more than a dozen sites throughout the city.

3. Firefighters are battling a wildfire in California that has destroyed several homes and is threatening about 100 more in the area. Fire officials are hoping that decreasing winds will help crews contain the blazes.

4. Nearly 300,000 customers are still without power in Missouri and Illinois in the wake of an ice storm that hit the area last week. A utility official says it will be several more days before power is fully⁴ restored.

WORDS IN THE NEWS


1. recess appointment : NOUN
A recess appointment occurs when the President of the United States fills a vacant Federal position during a recess of the United States Senate.

2. utility : N-COUNT
A utility is an important service such as water, electricity, or gas that is provided for everyone, and that everyone pays for.

1 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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》

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。