美联社新闻一分钟 2006-01-25

1. By week's end, Samuel Alito is expected to be on the US Supreme¹ Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-8 along party lines Tuesday to send his nomination² to the full Senate. That vote is expected by the end of the week.

2. A seven-year-old girl was shot at a Germantown Maryland day-care center Tuesday morning. Police say an eight-year-old boy had a gun in his backpack, and the girl was wounded when the gun went off accidentally.

3. A twin-engine business jet crashed and burst into flames near Carlsbad, California Airport Tuesday, killing³ all four people on board. The plane took off from an airport in Idaho, and was landing when it skidded⁴ off the end of the runway and hit a shack⁵.

4. They are the strangest bedfellows: a rat snake and a dwarf⁶ hamster, a pair that became fast friends at one Tokyo zoo. The hamster was originally intended to be dinner for the reptile⁷, but the four-foot snake decided⁸ to play nice and invited the furry⁹ creature to be his roommate. The hamster even climbs onto the snake's back to take naps

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. shack : noun [C]
a very simple and small building made from bits of wood, metal or other materials 小屋：简陋的小屋

2. bedfellow : noun [C]
a person connected with another in a particular activity: 伙伴，盟友
e.g. The priest and the politician made strange bedfellows in their campaign for peace.

3. hamster : noun [C]
a small furry animal with a short tail and large spaces in each side of its mouth which are used for storing food. It is often kept as a pet. 仓鼠

4. furry : adjective
covered with fur:
e.g. small furry animals

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 skidded   

v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区

参考例句：

• The car skidded and hit a lamp post. 那辆汽车打滑撞上了路灯杆。
• The car skidded and overturned. 汽车打滑翻倒了。

5 shack   

adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚

参考例句：

• He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前，他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
• The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。

6 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

7 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。