美联社新闻一分钟 2007-04-05

1. British sailors once held captive by Iran are greeted by the country's president who offered handshakes. He says the release of the 15 sailors is an Easter gift. Their sudden release defused a growing crisis between Iran and the West over the capture.

2. Barack Obama raked in during the first three months of the year, raising 25 million dollars to fuel his presidential aspirations¹. The cash puts him on a par² with Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.

3. New documents show one doctor prescribed all 11 prescription³ medications found in Anna Nicole Smith's hotel room. More than 600 pills were missing from prescriptions⁴ no more than five weeks old. It's unclear if the centerfold took all of them.

4. An Alabama woman was arrested for riding under the influence. That's right. She was riding a horse while under the influence of controlled substances, allegedly using the animal to ram⁵ a police car. The horse is being treated at home by a deputy.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. rake in
If you say that someone is raking in money, you mean that they are making a lot of money very easily, more easily than you think they should. (INFORMAL)

2. on a par with
If you say that two people or things are on a par with each other, you mean that they are equally good or bad, or equally important.

3. centerfold: n-count
A centerfold is a picture that covers the two center pages of a magazine, especially a photograph of a naked or partly naked woman. (AM)

4. under the influence
If someone is under the influence, their mind is affected⁶ by alcohol or drugs. (INFORMAL)

5. ram: verb
If a vehicle rams⁷ something such as another vehicle, it crashes into it with a lot of force, usually deliberately⁸.

1 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

2 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

3 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

4 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

5 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 rams   

n.公羊( ram的名词复数 )；(R-)白羊（星）座；夯；攻城槌v.夯实（土等）( ram的第三人称单数 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• A couple of rams are butting at each other. 两只羊正在用角互相抵触。 来自辞典例句
• More than anything the rams helped to break what should have been on interminable marriage. 那些牡羊比任何东西都更严重地加速了他们那本该天长地久的婚姻的破裂。 来自辞典例句

8 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。