CNN 2009-07-01

Good morning. I'm Melissa Long, at the CNN center here in Atlanta. It's Tuesday, June 30th. Here's a look at some of the stories that are happening NOW IN THE NEWS this morning.

So far, just one young child, the only known survivor¹ of a plane crash in the Indian Ocean. People were getting ready to search, of course, the waters when they found that one alone survivor. The plane went down this morning near the Island Nation of Comoros that's off Africa's east coast. 153 people were on board, an aviation official says the plane tried to land in heavy winds.

Today is a big day in Iraq as US troops turn over security to Iraqis. The government is naming June 30th National Sovereignty day. US troops have pulled back to bases outside the cities. While many are celebrating, some Iraqis worry that they might be less safe. More than 200 people were killed in bombings of the last 10 days.

Fans who purchased tickets for Jackson "This is it" concert, said London's O2 Arena², would get a full refund³ if they want it. Those who decided⁴ they'd rather have a souvenir of the icon⁵ will receive a ticket conceived by Jackson. There are designs that include holographic images of the entertainer. Bill Board Magazine is estimating that 85 million dollars in tickets were sold, for the 50 concert series that should have started July 13th.

A private funeral service will be held this afternoon in Los Angeles for Farrah Fawcett. The actress died Thursday after a 3-year battle with anal cancer. Fawcett's son will be allowed out of jail in order to attend that service. Redmond O'Neal is in a rehabilitation⁶ program following last year's drug arrest while on probation⁷. The icon was 62 years of age when she passed away on Thursday.

we have some mixed news to share on what may be your biggest investment--your home. Home prices in 20 major cities have tumbled more than 18% from April of last year. And now? A good news, that suggests that the housing market may finally be stabilizing⁸. Declines are actually slowing. It's a third straight month that the index did not record a record decline.

You are up to date. Those are the headlines at this hour. Do stay with CNN and CNN.com for more on these stories or other news that develops today.

1 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

6 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

7 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

8 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句