美联社新闻一分钟 2007-01-03

1. Former President Ford¹ is now resting in Michigan. His body arrived Tuesday afternoon after a mourning memorial service in the nation's capital. His body was greeted by the University of Michigan marching band, Ford's alma mater.

2. Enraged² supporters of Saddam Hussein took to the streets to protest his execution. Now the Iraqi prime minister has ordered an investigation³ into the way the hanging was conducted. He also wants to know who leaked cell phone video of Saddam's death to the media.

3. The big dig-out has started in the Plains states. Thousands are still without power in Kansas and Nebraska from the weekend storm. About 3 feet of snow and ice fell on the states, closing highways and stranding⁴ motorists.

4. Talk about your unwanted houseguests. A landlord in Florida got quite a shock when she opened a closet of her rental⁵ property, a gigantic albino python. Seems the former tenants⁶ left the pet behind. Luckily the Animal Control was able to round up the snake before it did any damage.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. alma mater : N-SING
Your alma mater is the school or university which you went to.

2. enraged : ADJ
If you are enraged by something, it makes you extremely angry.

3. houseguest : N-COUNT
A person who stays in a home as a guest.

4. albino : N-COUNT
An albino is a person or animal with very white skin, white hair, and pink eyes.

5. python : N=COUNT
Any of various nonvenomous snakes of the family Pythonidae, found chiefly in Asia, Africa, and Australia, that coil around and suffocate⁷ their prey⁸.

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 enraged   

使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤

参考例句：

• I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令，我极为恼火。
• The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

5 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

6 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

7 suffocate   

vt.使窒息，使缺氧，阻碍；vi.窒息，窒息而亡，阻碍发展

参考例句：

• If you shut all the windows,I will suffocate.如果你把窗户全部关起来，我就会闷死。
• The stale air made us suffocate.浑浊的空气使我们感到窒息。

8 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。