美联社新闻一分钟 2006-02-02

1. The governor of West Virginia wants to shut down the state's coal mines, following the deaths of two more mineworkers Wednesday. Joe Manchin says the voluntary stoppage would allow the state to inspect all 544 mines as soon as possible.

2. President Bush is defending Exxon Mobile's huge quarterly profits as just the result of the current marketplace. Tuesday he called for Americans to break their dependency on foreign oil, now says consumers shouldn’t expect any price breaks.

3. Federal authorities say Colombian drug dealers¹ are using puppies to smuggle² in heroin³. They say they are surgically⁴ implanting the dogs with packets of the drugs, then fly them to the US.

4. And eating champion known as the Black Widow has claimed another title. Sonya Thomas devoured⁵ 26 grilled⁶ cheese sandwiches in ten minutes to claim the 8,000-dollar prize. However, she says she could have done better

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. stoppage : noun
when something stops moving or happening:
e.g. We had five minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half.

2. quarterly : adj
produced or happening four times a year:
e.g. The rent is payable⁷ quarterly.

3. marketplace : noun
the part of business activity that is concerned with buying and selling goods in competition with other companies:
e.g. Some retailers⁸ worry that new regulations will hurt their ability to compete in the marketplace.

4. puppy : noun [C]
a young dog:
e.g. Our dog has just had four puppies.

1 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

2 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

3 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

4 surgically   

adv. 外科手术上, 外科手术一般地

参考例句：

• Unsightly moles can be removed surgically. 不雅观的痣可以手术去除。
• To bypass this impediment an almost mature egg cell is removed surgically. 为了克服这一障碍，通过手术，取出一个差不多成熟的卵细胞。

5 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

6 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

7 payable   

adj.可付的，应付的，有利益的

参考例句：

• This check is payable on demand.这是一张见票即付的支票。
• No tax is payable on these earnings.这些收入不须交税。

8 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。