美联社新闻一分钟 2005-09-12

1. Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Katrina's onslaught , relief workers in New Orleans show signs of making strides in cleanup efforts.

2. Families gather at the World Trade Center Site to mourn lost loved ones as America marks four years since the September Eleventh attacks.

3. In Tal Afar, many insurgents¹ use tunnels to escape the US-Iraqi sweep of the militant² stronghold near Iraq's border with Syria.

4. Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi gets a big political boost as his ruling party heads for a landslide³ win in the Lower House of parliament.

5. And the first Israeli army convoys⁴ leave the Gaza Strip, kicking off the final stage of a pullout, ending nearly forty years of military occupation.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. onslaught
1 onslaught onslaughts
An onslaught on someone or something is a very violent, forceful attack against them.
The attackers launched another vicious onslaught on their victim.
The rebels responded to a military onslaught against them by launching a major assault on an army camp.
...a media onslaught.
N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N on/against n, N by n
= assault

2. boost
2 boost boosts boosting boosted
If something boosts your confidence or morale⁵, it improves it.
We need a big win to boost our confidence.
Do what you can to give her confidence and boost her morale.
VB
= bolster⁶
+ boost boosts
Also a noun.
It did give me a boost to win such a big event.
N-COUNT: usu sing

3. landslide
1 landslide landslides⁷
A landslide is a victory in an election in which a person or political party gets far more votes or seats than their opponents.
He won last month's presidential election by a landslide.
The NLD won a landslide victory in the elections five months ago.
N-COUNT

4. kick off
2 kick off kicks off; kicking off; kicked off
If an event, game, series, or discussion kicks off, or is kicked off, it begins.
The shows kick off on October 24th.
The Mayor kicked off the party.
We kicked off with a slap-up dinner.
PHR-V-ERG

1 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

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。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

4 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

5 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

6 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

7 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。