CNN 2011-01-19

I'm Carl Azuz and this is CNN Student News! We're back from the long weekend and ready to kick off 10 minutes of commercial-free headlines. We start in the U.S. state of Arizona.

U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords could be released from a hospital there in just days or weeks. Congresswoman Giffords was one of the victims of the shooting attack in Tucson, Arizona earlier this month. On Sunday, doctors upgraded her condition from critical to serious, so that's a step in the right direction. Hundreds of people took to the streets on Sunday to participate in a "Walk for Peace." Organizers said they wanted to honor the victims of the shooting and find a way to help bring the community together.

Some congressional leaders from both parties are trying to come together in their own way, starting with something small: sitting together at the State of the Union address. This is the speech that the president gives to Congress every year. And what you see in these pictures is last year's State of the Union address. You notice that one section is standing¹, while another is sitting? That's because Republicans and Democrats² usually don't sit together during these speeches. This year, though, you might see a different seating arrangement.

This weekend, here in Atlanta, a cast of thousands got together for the Junior Theater Festival. The event celebrates the performing arts. It takes place the same weekend as Martin Luther King Day. In recognition of his dream, students at the festival had the chance to talk about their dreams. Listen to what they had to say.

I have a dream that some day kids will have a bigger voice in their communities. I feel like kids have a lot to say, but it's often not heard by the adults around them.

My dream is to become an endangered species specialist and help save a kind that's dying off slowly.

A few of my dreams are to adopt a child from a foreign country and give them a home, a lot better home than they could've had.

One of my dreams is to possibly design and run lighting³ for large theatrical⁴ productions. Martin Luther King Jr. was a great man and inspired me and many other people for wonderful dreams.

Not the only way that people paid tribute to the civil rights leader this weekend. As Samantha Hayes reported yesterday, Americans all across the country took part in community service projects and honored Dr. King's legacy⁵.

At a Washington, D.C. middle school, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama worked with a mentoring⁶ program on a service project, a Martin Luther King Day tradition for the first family.

Michelle and I and the girls are extraordinarily⁷ proud that each year on Martin Luther King's birthday, this is how we celebrate, is making sure that we're giving a little something back to the community.

It's been nearly 43 years since the civil rights leader was assassinated⁸ at a hotel in Memphis before a protest march. In Atlanta, not far from King's childhood home, family members laid flowers at the gravesite where King and his wife Coretta Scott King are buried. Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Martin Luther King holiday. In 1994, Congress designated it a national day of service. Jesse Jackson, who was with King at the time of his death, says his dream has not been fully⁹ realized.

He would be delighted to know we've come to a higher level of socialization enough to vote for each other across lines of race, gender¹⁰ and religion. And so, President Barack Obama is in Washington today as head of state. He would find delight in that. But then on the other hand, the issue of violence, the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, it simply illuminates¹¹, we pray to God for her recovery, but it illuminates just how much more violent we've become.

Back in the nation's capital, a memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King is scheduled for completion later this year. For CNN Student News, I'm Samantha Hayes.

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

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 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

4 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

5 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

6 mentoring   

n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识，并用心支持mentee的职业（发展）。v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• One of the most effective instruments for coaching and mentoring is the "role rehearsal" . 辅导和教学的最有效的手段之一是“角色排练。” 来自辞典例句
• Bell Canada called their mentoring system a buddy-buddy system. 加拿大贝尔公司称他们的训导系统是伙伴—伙伴系统。 来自互联网

7 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

8 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

11 illuminates   

v.使明亮( illuminate的第三人称单数 )；照亮；装饰；说明

参考例句：

• The light shines on from over there and illuminates the stage. 灯光从那边照进来，照亮了舞台。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sun illuminates the sky. 太阳照亮了天空。 来自《简明英汉词典》