美联社新闻一分钟 2007-03-30

1. A tornado¹ as wide as two football fields carved a devastating² path through eastern Colorado. Initial report said five homes were destroyed and dozens were severely³ damaged.

2. Senate Democrats⁴ ignored a veto threat and pushed through a bill requiring President Bush to start withdrawing troops from Iraq, the goal to end combat operations by the end of next March.

3. This is the scene near Memphis where a tanker⁵ truck burst into flames after being struck by an SUV. Luckily, both drivers got out safely.

4. And after searching high and low, the world's tallest man has married a woman two-thirds his height. The record breaker is 7-foot-9 and his bride just 5-foot-6.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. push through: phrase
If someone pushes through a law, they succeed in getting it accepted although some people oppose it.

1 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。