美联社新闻一分钟 2005-12-15

1. Campaigning halts and Baghdad streets are quiet on the eve of Thursday's parliamentary election which will decide who will govern Iraq for the next four years.

2. Iran's president escalates² his anti-Israeli rhetoric³ , calling the Holocaust⁴ a myth used by Europeans to create a Jewish state in the heart of the Islamic world.

3. John McCain and White House officials meet, but fail to reach a compromise on the Senators' proposed ban on mistreatment of foreign terror suspects.

4. British police talk to a tanker⁵ driver who may have accidentally ignited a fuel depot⁶ explosion that injured 43, damaged buildings, and sent black smoke into the air.

5. Doctors present Peru's "miracle baby" to the public six months after surgery to separate her legs fused by a congenital defect known as "mermaid⁷ syndrome⁸".

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. escalate¹
escalate escalates escalating⁹ escalated¹⁰
If a bad situation escalates or if someone or something escalates it, it becomes greater in size, seriousness, or intensity¹¹. (JOURNALISM)
Both unions and management fear the dispute could escalate.
The protests escalated into five days of rioting.
Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.
V-ERG

2. rhetoric
1 rhetoric
If you refer to speech or writing as rhetoric, you disapprove¹² of it because it is intended to convince and impress people but may not be sincere or honest.
The change is largely cosmetic¹³, a matter of acceptable political rhetoric rather than social reality.
The harsh rhetoric had so soured officials that the two sides were barely speaking.
N-UNCOUNT disapproval¹⁴

3. holocaust
1 holocaust holocausts¹⁵
A holocaust is an event in which there is a lot of destruction and many people are killed, especially one caused by war.
A nuclear holocaust seemed a very real possibility in the '50s.
N-VAR

4. fuse
4 fuse fuses fusing fused
When things fuse or are fused, they join together physically¹⁶ or chemically, usually to become one thing. You can also say that one thing fuses with another.
The skull¹⁷ bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.
Conception occurs when a single sperm¹⁸ fuses with an egg.
Manufactured glass is made by fusing various types of sand.
Their solution was to isolate¹⁹ specific clones of B cells and fuse them with cancer cells.
The flakes²⁰ seem to fuse together and produce ice crystals.
V-RECIP-ERG

5. congenital
1 congenital
A congenital disease or medical condition is one that a person has had from birth, but is not inherited. (MEDICAL)
When John was 17, he died of congenital heart disease.
ADJ: usu ADJ n

1 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

2 escalates   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的第三人称单数 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
• I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网

3 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

4 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

5 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

6 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

7 mermaid   

n.美人鱼

参考例句：

• How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起，那个女孩会有多受欢迎！
• The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴，因为她等不及了。

8 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

9 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

10 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

11 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

12 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

13 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

14 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

15 holocausts   

n.大屠杀( holocaust的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They have been able to keep on cheerfully plotting their holocausts right into their senescene. 他们都还能津津有味地继续策划他们的大暴动，直至他们的垂暮之年。 来自辞典例句
• The down sides to our inventions-the wars, weapons, holocausts, pollution-these too define our being. 发明的阴暗面——战争、武器、屠杀、污染——同样也定义了我们。 来自互联网

16 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

17 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

18 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

19 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

20 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。