CNN 2010-03-16

Good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for starting your day with us. It is March 13th. Got a lot going on, but first want to get you caught up on some of the top stories keeping our eye on for you, including this one. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger admitted to a hospital in Seoul, South Korea today for what's being described as minor¹ stomach troubles. Kissinger is 86 years of age. He is in Seoul for a security forum².

HOLMES: A Federal court says there's not enough evidence linking autism in children to mercury in vaccines⁴. This ruling means that families of children diagnosed with the illness won't be entitled to any compensation. Congress set up a special committee in 1986 to address claims over vaccine³ safety. Attorneys for the families say they will appeal this ruling.

BALDWIN: You are about to hear a whole lot more about this movement. This is a new political movement wanting you to wake up and join the Coffee Party. Heard of it? Organizers are launching this national kickoff day today. And they're holding it to coffee shops from coast to coast. Coffee party activists⁵ say their goal, to change Washington by pushing for civility and cooperation within the government.

HOLMES: Well, this morning, nine provinces in Iraq have announced early results in the voting for parliament. The vote count is a 24-hour process; it's been going on since the voting on Sunday. Our Arwa Damon tells us about the round the clock count.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behind the glass here is where the most important part of the process is taking place. It's the data entry center; 500 employees working in two shifts around the clock. The data is entered twice, so that should there be a discrepancy⁶, it will be flagged out.

In fact, there are all sorts of checks and balances put in to place to insure against fraud or any sort of manipulations. And also, the United Nations is keeping a very close eye on this entire process.

 

1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

4 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

5 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》

6 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。