CNN 2008-04-08_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Good afternoon, I'm Naamua Delaney at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Here's a look at what's happening Now In The News.

A new survey of airline quality shows passengers are fuming¹. Consumer complaints against carriers jumped 60% last year. The most common complaints focused on lost bags, flight delays and higher ticket prices. Atlantic Southeast Airline scored lowest. AirTrain and Jet Blue had the highest customer satisfaction scores.

President Bush is pushing a free trade agreement with Colombia and he is trying to force Congress to back it. He signed a letter today, giving lawmakers 90 days to vote on the plan. Many leading Democrats² including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi oppose the agreement. They want provisions added that they say will protect US workers.

Officials in Louisiana are keeping a close eye on the state's levees as the swollen³ Mississippi river continues rising. The Mississippi is expected to crest⁴ next week in New Orleans at 17 feet. Heavy rain and flooding in the Midwest is swelling⁵ the river's water levels right now. The water is at its highest point in a decade.

Gas prices are up again. AAA is putting the average cost of a gallon of self-serve regular at about 3.34$, a new record. Premium⁶ costs 3.67 a gallon and diesel⁷ about 4 bucks⁸. Experts say more price hikes are on the way as refineries⁹ switch over to spring gas blends.

Yahoo once again says: "Thanks, but no thanks". The search engine giant is rejecting Microsoft's 44.6-million-dollar offer to buy the company. Yahoo's chairman and CEO said they are not opposed to a deal but say this offer price is too low. Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer sent a letter to Yahoo over the weekend, threatening to take his offer right to the shareholders¹⁰.

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 fuming
愤怒( fume的现在分词 )；大怒；发怒；冒烟
参考例句：
She sat in the car, silently fuming at the traffic jam. 她坐在汽车里，心中对交通堵塞感到十分恼火。 I was fuming at their inefficiency. 我正因为他们效率低而发火。

2 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》

3 swollen
adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀
参考例句：
Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。 A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

4 crest
n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖
参考例句：
The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。 He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

5 swelling
n.肿胀
参考例句：
Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。 There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

6 premium
n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的
参考例句：
You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。 Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

7 diesel
n.柴油发动机，内燃机
参考例句：
We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。 My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

8 bucks
n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃
参考例句：
They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。 They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。来自《简明英汉词典》

9 refineries
精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。 Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

10 shareholders
n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。 the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任