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1．Consumer confidence soars in November as declining gas prices and an improving job market contribute to a stronger-than-expected reading.
2．Former US attorney Ramsey Clark says he’s met with deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and found him in "extremely good spirits".
3．Newly released photos show a blindfolded German woman being led away by armed captors in the latest kidnapping of a westerner in Iraq.
4．Canadian opposition party seizes upon a corruption scandal to bring down the minority government of Prime Minister Paul Martin in a no-confidence vote.
5．And the Rolling Stones will take a brief break from their North American tour to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show.
WORDS IN THE NEWS
1. soar
confidence soars = 信心回升. soar -> 常用于 soring + price / number of death toll
2. blindfolded
To cover the eyes of with or as if with a bandage.
To prevent from seeing and especially from comprehending.
3.seize upon抓住, 利用
4. no-confidence
n [U] vote of no-confidence/no-confidence vote/motion of no-confidence etc// an official vote where people can say if they no longer think someone or something is good enough// --fears that he may lose a vote of no-confidence in parliament// --The chairman has survived four no-confidence motions.//
5. halftime show
A halftime show is a performance given between the first and second halves or the 2nd and 3rd quarters of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of divisions (such as baseball or boxing), or for sports that don't stop, like soccer.
A halftime show can consist of cheerleader performances, marching bands playing music or other spectacle performances.
补充一些背景知识:
The Superbowl:
In the United States, the halftime show for the Superbowl is a highlight of the event and can cost millions to stage.
On February 1 2004, the live halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVIII, produced by music video giant MTV, sparked outrage among many viewers when Justin Timberlake, one of the performers, accidentally exposed Janet Jackson's right breast. Since it was broadcast live, the exposure was seen by millions when it happened. While this wouldn't cause a stir in most European nations, where partial nudity is more or less ignored, it caused an uproar in the U.S. where most cases of even partial nudity aren't tolerated in the least.
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