美联社新闻一分钟 2006-12-27

1. At least 54 people have died in Iraq today following a string of coordinated¹ attacks. Meantime Iraq's former leader may soon face execution. Iraq's highest appeals court says Saddam Hussein could face execution in the next 30 days.

2. President Bush is spending some time in Crawford, Texas where he will be having a series of meetings about Iraq's future. A White House spokesman says the ruling concerning Saddam’s future marks an important milestone².

3. Residents and relief workers are cleaning up the Florida neighborhoods where Christmas celebrations were interrupted by a band of severe storms. At least 2 tornados³ touched down including one in the Daytona Beach area.

4. Doctors say California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of surgery. Schwarzenegger needed an operation today to fix the leg he broke while skiing in Idaho Saturday.

5. A day after the giving, it's a season of getting. Retail⁴ experts say shoppers are headed to retail stores and online sites to exchange gifts and used gift cards.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

touch down : PHR-V
When an aircraft touches down, it lands.
The first large contingent⁵ of troops touches down on American soil today.

1 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

3 tornados   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And the national weather service reports several tornados touch down. 国家气象中心报告预测龙卷风将来袭。 来自互联网
• They had stock footage of lightning, tornados, and hurricanes. 他们存有关于闪电、龙卷风和飓风的电影胶片。 来自互联网

4 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

5 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。