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1. The targets of Israeli bombing raids in Gaza now includes smuggling¹ tunnels, as well as a top Hamas security installation. Israel has called up 6,500 reserve soldiers, and moved tanks, infantry², armored units. But the country's foreign minister says there are no plans to occupy Gaza.

2. A top adviser³ to President-elect Barack Obama says the slowing economy makes it even more important to cut taxes for the middle class. David Axelrod says it's also necessary to let President George W Bush's tax cut expire. Axelrod says those tax cut are geared toward the wealthy and the nation can't afford them.

3. Police in California say they found no explosives in a second car rented by a man dressed as Santa Claus who on Christmas Eve killed nine people. One rented car Bruce Pardo had driven was rigged and exploded outside his brother's home. Police found the second car late Saturday in Glendale.

4. An unusually weak Dungeness crab⁴ harvest is compounding the financial woes⁵ of West Coast fishermen who were already struggling with depressed⁶ consumer demand and the unprecedented⁷ collapse⁸ of the Pacific Chinook salmon⁹ fishery. Commercial fishermen say the downturn could force fishermen who depend heavily on crab and salmon to leave the shrinking ranks of the region's fishing fleet.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. reserve: n.

an extra military force that a country has in addition to its usual army, navy etc which can be used if needed

2. infantry: n.

soldiers who fight on foot

3. armored: adj.

armoured vehicles have an outside layer made of metal to protect them from attack

4. gear: v.

If someone or something is geared to or towards a particular purpose, they are organized or designed in order to achieve that purpose.

5. woes: n.

[plural] formal
the problems and troubles affecting someone

6. compound: v.

to make a difficult situation worse by adding more problems

7. Dungeness crab: n. 邓杰内斯蟹

An edible¹⁰ crab common along the Pacific coast from Alaska to northern California.

邓杰内斯蟹得名于美国华盛顿州的老镇邓杰内斯。邓杰内斯蟹通常栖息于从阿拉斯加的阿流申群岛到美国加州的圣塔克鲁兹鳗草丛生的水底。该蟹肉质鲜美，是西北太平洋沿岸重要的商业蟹类。

8. Chinook salmon: n. 奇努克鲑鱼（也称王鲑）

A very large, commercially valuable salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) of northern Pacific waters, characterized by irregular black spots on its back. Also called king salmon, quinnat salmon.

王鲑是美国资源最少的一种鲑鱼，但又是五种太平洋鲑鱼中个体最大，价格最贵的品种。王鲑在北太平洋地区分布广泛。