美联社新闻一分钟 2006-12-28

1. Officials are making preparations for President Gerald Ford¹'s body to lie in state this weekend at the Capitol Rotunda². A funeral service is expected to take place at the National Cathedral after the New Year. The 93-year-old Ford passed away Tuesday night at his home in California.

2. The body of a US climber missing for more than a month has been found on a remote mountain in southwestern China. A second climber is still missing and presumed dead. The body discovered was partially³ buried and had not yet been positively⁴ identified.

3. A federal appeals court ruled today that names and urine samples of about 100 Major League Baseball players can be used by government investigators⁵ in their ongoing⁶ probe of steroid use in sports. The government's perjury⁷ case against San Francisco Giant slugger Barry Bonds could be bolster⁸ed if his name is on the list of players who tested positive.

4. Preparations are being made in Times Square where hundreds of thousands of people are expected to ring in the New Year. The dropping of a giant ball at Times Square has counted down the final seconds of every calendar year since 1906.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. rotunda : N-COUNT
A rotunda is a round building or room, especially one with a round bowl-shaped roof.

2. perjury : N-UNCOUNT
If someone who is giving evidence in a court of law commits perjury, they lie.

3. bolster : VERB
If you bolster something such as someone's confidence or courage, you increase it.

4. calendar year : N-COUNT
A calendar year is a period of twelve months from January 1 to December 31. Calendar year is often used in business to compare with the financial year.

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 rotunda   

n.圆形建筑物；圆厅

参考例句：

• The Capitol at Washington has a large rotunda.华盛顿的国会大厦有一圆形大厅。
• The rotunda was almost deserted today,dotted with just a few tourists.圆形大厅今天几乎没有多少人，只零星散布着几个游客。

3 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

4 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

5 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》

6 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。

7 perjury   

n.伪证；伪证罪

参考例句：

• You'll be punished if you procure the witness to commit perjury.如果你诱使证人作伪证，你要受罚的。
• She appeared in court on a perjury charge.她因被指控做了伪证而出庭受审。

8 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

9 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句