美联社新闻一分钟 2007-03-17

1. A mid-March winter storm is grounding flights on the East Coast with airlines canceling hundreds of flights. The storm promises a mix of heavy snow, sleet¹, and rain, all coming after several days of balmy weather.

2. Lawyers say a grand jury has indicted² at least three of five New York City police officers in the case of Sean Bell killed on his wedding day in a 50-shot barrage³. Speaking for the victim's family, the Rev⁴. Al Sharpton called the charges an important step for justice.

3. A man who jumped off a cruise ship is rescued in Florida about eight hours later by the Coast Guard. A witness said the man was drunk when he left the balcony in his room.

4. And may be coming to a corner near you a post office box looking a little like R2-D2 that chirpy character from Star Wars. The U.S. Postal⁵ Service is giving hundreds of boxes a makeover to promote a new stamp commemorating⁶ the film.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. balmy: adj.
Balmy weather is fairly warm and pleasant.

2. grand juror: n-count
A grand juror is a jury, usually in the United States, which considers a criminal case in order to decide if someone should be tried in a court of law.

3. Rev.: n-title
Rev. is a written abbreviation for Reverend which is a title used before the name or rank of an officially appointed religious leader..

4. chirpy: adj.
If you describe a person or their behavior as chirpy, you mean they are very cheerful and lively. (INFORMAL)

5. makeover: n-count
If a person or room is given a makeover, their appearance is improved, usually by an expert.

1 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

2 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

3 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

4 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

5 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

6 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网