美联社新闻一分钟 2006-02-04

1. An Egyptian security official says rescue ships are continuing to pull the dead from the Red Sea, following the sinking of a passenger ship Friday. Of the 1,500 people on board more than 200 escaped, but a government spokesperson says the ferry didn’t have enough life boats.

2. "The defense¹ will show that Mr. Libby is totally innocent." In Washington a trial date is set for Lewis Libby, the former vice² presidential chief of staff who's charged in the CIA leak case. A judge scheduled the trial to start in January of next year, two months after the congressional elections.

3. Severe thunderstorms Friday flooded streets and caused a store roof to collapse³ at a strip mall in St. Petersburg, Florida. Police say there's no reports of any serious injuries but the continuing rain hampered⁴ the rescue effort.

4. Police are taking no chances when it comes to securing the Super Bowl in Detroit Sunday. Almost 100 agencies are working in the crowds, with some easy to pick out, others undercover.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. strip mall : noun [C] American EnglishBBT
a row of shops built together, with a large area for parking cars in front of it

2. undercover : adjective
working secretly using a false appearance in order to get information for the police or government:
e.g. an undercover police operation

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。