美联社新闻一分钟 2006-01-29

1. The 7 Challenger astronauts who died 20 years ago Saturday have been remembered by friends, relatives and NASA officials. The wife of commander Dick Scobee says the families' lives were shattered, but they persevere¹. She says the greatest risk is to take no risk. Challenger blew apart shortly after takeoff.

2. Fatah activists² are calling for the resignations of Palestinian leaders in the wake of election losses that gave a slim margin³ to the Islamic militant⁴ group Hamas. Hamas is responsible for dozens of suicide bombings on Israelis, and has long called for the destruction of the Jewish state.

3. A young Russian soldier tortured so badly that his legs and genitals have been amputated, set the center of a growing call for resignations and changes in the Russian army. Hundreds of people joined a rally to show support for the younger soldiers who are often subjected to brutal⁵ abuse by their military elders

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. slim : adjective slimmer, slimmest
very small in amount or number
e.g. There's only a slim chance that anyone survived the crash.

2. genitals : plural⁶ noun (ALSO genitalia)
the outer sexual organs, especially the penis or vulva

3. amputate : verb [I or T]
to cut off a part of the body:
e.g. They had to amputate his foot to free him from the wreckage⁷.

4. subject sth/sb to sth :
to make someone or something experience an unpleasant or worrying thing:
e.g. The inquiry⁸ found that they had been subjected to unfair treatment.

1 persevere   

v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• They are determined to persevere in the fight.他们决心坚持战斗。
• It is strength of character enabled him to persevere.他那坚强的性格使他能够坚持不懈。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

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。

5 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

6 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

7 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

8 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。