美联社新闻一分钟 2007-05-12

1. On California Santa Catalina Island, firefighters turned back flames threatening the island's main city. About 3,800 people have been evacuated¹. Wildfire worries are easing with the favorable forecast and the arrival of fire trucks and tankers².

2. No bail³ for the 6 Muslim men suspected of plotting to shoot US soldiers at Fort Dix. Prosecutors⁴ said the men are a flight risk all born outside the United States. Court documents say Fort Dix was a target because it was familiar. One of the men delivered pizzas there.

3. It's graduation day at Virginia Tech a month after a shooting spree left 32 students and faculty⁵ dead. Today's events kept some families of shooting victims away. Others say they had no choice but to come. Graduate students were the first to receive degrees.

4. On a farm in Wisconsin, a breeder is calling this calf⁶ a freak of nature. It's got 2 noses, one on top of the other and they both work. A breeding specialist says the calf is just fine with the bonus nose.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. favorable: adj
Favorable conditions make something seem more attractive.

2. spree: n-count
If you spend a period of time doing something in an excessive way, you can say that you are going on a particular kind of spree.

3. freak: n-count
If you refer to someone as a freak, you mean that they are physically⁷ abnormal in some way. This use could cause offence.

1 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

2 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

3 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

4 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

5 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

6 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。