美联社新闻一分钟 2005-09-16

1. New Orleans mayor says large sections of the city will reopen next week, and the French Quarter the week after that.

2. In a prime-time speech from New Orleans, President Bush will outline a new federal aid package for Hurricane Katrina victims.

3. Hurricane Ophelia stalls off North Carolina's outer banks, soaking the barrier islands as the mainland avoids severe floods.

4. Amid new deadly blasts in Iraq, the US military calls the spiking¹ violence there predictable as the vote on the new constitution nears.

5. And Britain's Prince Harry² turns 21 years old at his military academy but says he won't tone down his wild child image.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. quarter
7 quarter quarters
A particular quarter of a town is a part of the town where a particular group of people traditionally live or work.
We wandered through the Chinese quarter.
N-COUNT: supp N

2. soak
2 soak soaks soaking soaked
If a liquid soaks something or if you soak something with a liquid, the liquid makes the thing very wet.
The water had soaked his jacket and shirt.
Soak the soil around each bush with at least 4 gallons of water.
VB

3. tone down
1 tone down tones down; toning down; toned down
If you tone down something that you have written or said, you make it less forceful, severe, or offensive.
The fiery³ right-wing leader toned down his militant⁴ statements after the meeting.
The forecasts have since had to be toned down, as the economy has exhibited unmistakable signs of slowing.
We have had to ask the agency and their client to tone their ads down.
PHR-V

1 spiking   

n.尖峰形成v.加烈酒于( spike的现在分词 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。 来自辞典例句
• We could be spiking our own guns. 我们可能要遭到失败。 来自辞典例句

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

4 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。