美联社新闻一分钟 2006-12-13

1.It's been hailed as a major announcement regarding US policy in Iraq. But President Bush isn't giving any hints about the plan he is working on. He welcomed Iraq's vice¹ president to the White House today as part of an ongoing² fact-finding study about the war.

2. A pair of blasts killed at least 63 and wounded more than 200 people today in Baghdad. Government officials believe Sunni extremists are to blame. Many day laborer³s were killed while waiting for work in today's explosions.

3. With 2 more storms expected this week including one tomorrow, rescuers are racing against the clock to find 3 climbers missing on Oregon's Mount Hood⁶. More searchers are heading up the mountain today and the National Guard will send a helicopter.

4. And how about this for a thrill? These 2 astronauts, part of Discovery's crew, have started a spacewalk to help install a new component⁷ on the International Space Station.

WORDS IN THE NEWS


1. hail : VERB
If a person, event, or achievement is hailed as important or successful, they are praised publicly.

2. fact-finding : ADJ
A fact-finding mission or visit is one whose purpose is to get information about a particular situation, especially for an official group.

3. laborer : N-COUNT
A laborer is a person who does a job which involves a lot of hard physical work.

4. race against time : PHR
You descrbe a situation as a race against time when you have to work very fast in order to do something before a particular time, or before another thing happens.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 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。

3 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

4 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

5 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

6 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

7 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。