美联社新闻一分钟 AP NEWS 2007-12-24

1. Ice and snow are making for treacherous¹ travel this holiday weekend. Power is out to thousands of homes in the Midwest. At least five people have died from pileups in several states.

2. In an early morning tragedy, fire destroyed a Baptist church in Jacksonville, Florida. No one was injured.The flames lit up the sky. The sanctuary² burned to the ground, but the gymnasium was spared. Church officials say that is where they will hold Christmas services. An investigation³ is underway.

3. Roger Clemens is again denying he ever used steroids or injected anything into his body. The all-star pitcher⁴ posted a video on his website and Youtube. His name was prominent in the Mitchell Report that detailed⁵ baseball players' steroid use. Clemens says he plans to answer questions about allegations in the future.

4. Santa Claus is getting an early start to Christmas. He is greeting boys and girls at his home in Finland. The North Pole is too busy for guests at this time of year. Tomorrow night, Saint Nicolas will be off on his sleigh, delivering toys to children worldwide.

1 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

2 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。