CNN 2008-04-04_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

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Good afternoon I'm Naamua Delaney at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Here's a look at what's happening now in the news.

Authorities say at least 8 people are dead after a house fire in western Pennsylvania. Two people are still missing. Authorities are now sifting¹ through the charred² ruins of the home in rural Brock Way, that's about 18 miles northeast of Pittsburg. It's not clear how the fire started. Authorities say at this point, it does not look suspicious.

If you have a flight booked with ATA Airlines today, I'm afraid you are not going anywhere. The airline has filed for bankruptcy³ and immediately cancelled all flights. More than 2,200 employees are now being told they are out of job and they won't get any severance⁴. The company says this was unexpected and happened on because it just found out it lost major contracts for the military and FedEx.

"A collapse⁵ of investment bank Bear Stearns would have been fell on Main Street, not just Wall Street." That's what Fed Chair Ben Bernanke told the Senate Banking⁶ Committee this morning. In his testimony⁷, he defended the Fed's decision to loan JP Morgan Chase money, so it could buy Bear Stearns for pennies on the dollar. The Fed Chair says allowing Bear Stearns to collapse would have spelt disaster for the US economy. Critics of the deal say it amounts to a taxpayer⁸ back to bailout of Bear Stearns.

Some good news and bad news for President Bush today at the NATO Summit, convening⁹ in Romania, NATO leaders bow to pressure from Russia and deny earlier admission to the former Soviet¹⁰ states of Ukraine and Georgia. The alliance pledged the two countries eventually would be able to join. On the positive side of the White House ledger¹¹, NATO endorsed¹² President Bush's plan for European Missile Defense¹³ System over Russian objections. The President will also be pleased that NATO invited Croatia and Albania to become alliance members.

Southeastern Brazil is dealing¹⁴ with a medical crisis - an outbreak of dengue fever, and the situation gets worse by the day. More than 55,000 cases of the mosquito-born virus have been reported in Rio de Janeiro state over the last four months. The death toll¹⁵ is at least 67. In Rio de Janeiro, cases have overwhelmed the municipal hospital and it has run out of beds. Brazilian troops are helping¹⁶ health officials cope with the crisis.

Well, those are the headlines this hour. Stay with CNN for more on these stories and the other news of the day.

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收听单词发音

1 sifting
n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审
参考例句：
He lay on the beach, sifting the sand through his fingers. 他躺在沙滩上用手筛砂子玩。来自《简明英汉词典》 I was sifting the cinders when she came in. 她进来时，我正在筛煤渣。来自辞典例句

2 charred
v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦
参考例句：
the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸 The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。来自《简明英汉词典》

3 bankruptcy
n.破产；无偿付能力
参考例句：
You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。 His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

4 severance
n.离职金；切断
参考例句：
Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。

5 collapse
vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷
参考例句：
The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。 The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 banking
n.银行业，银行学，金融业
参考例句：
John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。 He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

7 testimony
n.证词；见证，证明
参考例句：
The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。 He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

8 taxpayer
n.纳税人
参考例句：
The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。 The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

9 convening
召开( convene的现在分词 )；召集；（为正式会议而）聚集；集合
参考例句：
When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without sounding an alarm. 民10:7但招聚会众的时候、们要吹号、不要吹出大声。 We warmly welcome the convening of Asia-Europe meeting in London. 热烈欢迎亚欧会议在伦敦召开。

10 Soviet
adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃
参考例句：
Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。 Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

11 ledger
n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿
参考例句：
The young man bowed his head and bent over his ledger again.那个年轻人点头应诺，然后又埋头写起分类帐。 She is a real accountant who even keeps a detailed household ledger.她不愧是搞财务的，家庭分类账记得清楚详细。

12 endorsed
vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品
参考例句：
The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。来自《简明英汉词典》 The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。来自《简明英汉词典》

13 defense
n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩
参考例句：
The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。 The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 dealing
n.经商方法，待人态度
参考例句：
This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。 His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 toll
n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)
参考例句：
The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。 The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

16 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的
参考例句：
The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。 By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。