CNN 2011-03-13

Here are some of the other stories we are watching this hour. It's a rough start on Wall Street, unfortunately, this morning. Just after the opening bell, the Dow plunged¹ 150 points, and the view hasn't gotten much better from there. Investors² are reacting to disappointing reports on jobless claims and the U.S. trade deficit³.

And the number of homeowners filing for foreclosure has hit its lowest point in three years. Good news, right? But some of last month's falloff may be due to a new banking⁴ rule that's slowing the flow of paperwork, of all things.

And in Tucson, the man accused of gunning down Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has entered a not guilty plea to dozens of new charges. Witnesses say Jared Lee Loughner was smiling as he entered the packed courtroom. He's accused of killing⁵ six people and wounding 13 others.

Time now for a quick trip "Cross Country" for a check of the stories that our affiliates⁶ are covering.

In Vermont, a high school girl a breaking gender⁷ barriers as a member of the boy's basketball team. Hanna McNulty petitioned state officials to play with the boy's team after the girls' team disbanded because it didn't have enough players.

And a bungling⁸ criminal is caught on tape in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The suspect is struggling to put on his ski mask -- you see him trying to put it on, several times. But do you know what? He can't do that because of the 9-millimeter pistol in his hand. Never thought to put it down. The so-called robber left with nothing.

And surveillance cameras were also rolling in Lauder Lakes, Florida, when an angry customer jumped across a Burger King counter to confront workers. Police say the woman was upset because she thought someone had spit in her sandwich.

Let's get you up to speed so far on these controversial hearings. You were hearing right there from Congressman⁹ Keith Ellison testifying. These are hearings on radical¹⁰ Islam in America. They're happening now on Capitol Hill. Peter King of the Homeland Security Committee, the chairman, he wants to know more about how Muslims in the U.S. are being turned into radical - into dangerous radicals¹¹. Listen here.

1 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 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。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

7 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。

8 bungling   

adj.笨拙的，粗劣的v.搞糟，完不成( bungle的现在分词 )；笨手笨脚地做；失败；完不成

参考例句：

• You can't do a thing without bungling it. 你做事总是笨手笨脚。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 'Enough, too,' retorted George. 'We'll all swing and sundry for your bungling.' “还不够吗？”乔治反问道，“就因为你乱指挥，我们都得荡秋千，被日头晒干。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

11 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句