CNN 2009-10-13

Hello everyone, I’m Catherine Callaway at the CNN center in Atlanta and here’s a look at what’s happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

Six people sentenced to death in China, all charged with murder and other crimes in connection with the July riots that killed 200 people. A seventh person received a life sentence. All seven charged are Uyghurs Muslims living in western China’s Xinjiang province. The riots in July were prompted by long-simmering resentment² between minority Uyghurs and majority Han Chinese.

Gay rights activists³ want president Obama to deliver on campaign pledges to end discrimination against gays. Thousands turned out for a marching and rally in Washington yesterday. They want the president to end the "Don’t ask, don’t tell" policy in the military. He promised to end it while speaking at the human rights campaign dinner in Washington this weekend. They are also pushing for equality for same sex couples.

A key week for health care reform, the Senate Finance Committee will vote tomorrow on its long awaited health care bill. The congressional budget office says the measure would cost an estimated 829 billion dollars over ten years, 25 million Americans would still be left uninsured.

"This is it, here I stand, I am the light of the world, I feel grand."
That is the brand new Michael Jackson’s song "This is it". It was officially released in midnight on his website. The song will be at the new Jackson movie and a new double CD coming up this month. Jackson’s brothers sing backup vocals⁴.

There are just 19 days left to pick up your Halloween costume. But instead of being a zombie or a vampire⁵, why not trick or treat dressed-up as Wall Street’s most infamous⁶ con¹ man. Thousands of Bernard Madoff masks have been shipped to stores all across the country, but one company that makes them says another famous face will probably be more popular, and that is Michael Jackson.

These are the headlines. Stay with CNN for more on these stories and other news of the day.

1 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

2 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

5 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

6 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。