美联社新闻一分钟 2005-10-15

1. Hundreds of Iraqi police and army troops fanned out across Baghdad， setting up checkpoints and fortifying² polling stations ahead of a historic constitutional referendum.

2. Thousands of birds were culled⁴ in Romania after poultry⁵ in the Danube delta⁶ tested positive for bird flu this week.

3. Russian security forces try to clear out the last pockets of rebel resistance after more than a day of fighting that killed at least a hundred and eight people.

4. Pakistan called off the search for survivors⁷ of last week's devastating⁸ earthquake to concentrate on helping⁹ the millions left homeless.

5. And Daniel Craig was introduced as the first blond James Bond and only the second Englishman to star as 007 in the film series.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. fan out
1 fan out fans out; fanning out; fanned out
If a group of people or things fan out, they move forwards away from a particular point in different directions.
The main body of British, American, and French troops had fanned out to the west.
We fanned out from the farmhouse¹⁰ in twos and threes.
PHR-V
= spread out

2. fortify¹
1 fortify fortifies¹¹ fortifying fortified¹²
To fortify a place means to make it stronger and more difficult to attack, often by building a wall or ditch round it.
...British soldiers working to fortify an airbase in Bahrain.
VB

fortified
He remains¹³ barricaded¹⁴ inside his heavily-fortified mansion¹⁵.
...fortified castles and villages.
ADJ-GRADED

3. cull³
2 cull culls¹⁶ culling¹⁷ culled
To cull animals means to kill the weaker animals in a group in order to reduce their numbers.
To save remaining herds¹⁸ and habitat, the national parks department is planning to cull 2000 elephants.
VB

+ cull culls
Also a noun.
In the reserves of Zimbabwe and South Africa, annual culls are already routine.
N-COUNT

culling
The culling of seal cubs¹⁹ has led to an outcry from environmental groups.
N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp

4. delta
delta deltas²⁰
A delta is an area of low, flat land shaped like a triangle, where a river splits and spreads out into several branches before entering the sea.
...the Mississippi delta.
N-COUNT: oft n N

5. pocket
4 pocket pockets
A pocket of something is a small area where something is happening, or a small area which has a particular quality, and which is different from the other areas around it.
Trapped in a pocket of air, they had only 40 minutes before the tide flooded the chamber²¹.
The newly established government controls the bulk of the city apart from a few pockets of resistance.
N-COUNT: usu N of n

1 fortify   

v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化

参考例句：

• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
• This treaty forbade the United States to fortify the canal.此条约禁止美国对运河设防。

2 fortifying   

筑防御工事于( fortify的现在分词 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品）

参考例句：

• Fortifying executive function and restraining impulsivity are possible with active interventions. 积极干预可能有助加强执行功能和抑制冲动性。
• Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, fortifying himself against still another disappointment. 文戈不再张望，他绷紧脸，仿佛正在鼓足勇气准备迎接另一次失望似的。

3 cull   

v.拣选；剔除；n.拣出的东西；剔除

参考例句：

• It is usually good practice to cull the poorest prior to field planting.通常在实践上的好方法是在出圃栽植前挑出最弱的苗木。
• Laura was passing around photographs she'd culled from the albums at home.劳拉正在分发她从家里相册中挑选出的相片。

4 culled   

v.挑选，剔除( cull的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The herd must be culled. 必须有选择地杀掉部分牧畜。 来自辞典例句
• The facts were culled from various sources. 这些事实是从各方收集到的。 来自辞典例句

5 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

6 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

7 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

8 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

11 fortifies   

筑防御工事于( fortify的第三人称单数 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品）

参考例句：

12 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 barricaded   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

15 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

16 culls   

n.挑选，剔除( cull的名词复数 )v.挑选，剔除( cull的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Big business culls the brightest from among college graduates. 大企业从大学毕业生中选拔最优秀的人材。 来自辞典例句

17 culling   

n.选择，大批物品中剔出劣质货v.挑选，剔除( cull的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mathematicians turned to culling periodic solutions. 数学家们转而去挑选周期解。 来自辞典例句
• It took us a week to find you, a week of culling out prejudice and hatred. 我们花了一个星期的时间找到你们，把偏见和憎恨剔除出去。 来自演讲部分

18 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

19 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 deltas   

希腊字母表中第四个字母( delta的名词复数 )； （河口的）三角洲

参考例句：

• Tidal channels, deltas, and washover fans are characteristically associated with offshore bars. 潮汐水道、三角洲和冲刷扇典型地与滨外砂洲伴生在一起。
• I know many of the early civilizations prospered on deltas. 我知道很多古老的文明都是在三角洲上蓬勃发展起来的。

21 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。