美联社新闻一分钟 2006-02-13

1. The East Coast was blanketed by as much as 2 feet of snow over the weekend. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, and thousands were left without electricity.

2. While on a quail¹ hunting trip in Texas, Vice² President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a 78-year-old man. The victim is said to be alert and doing well.

3. A tenth church was set on fire in rural Alabama Saturday. Investigators³ say this fire in Beaverton is the work of arsonist⁴s. Investigators do not have a motive⁶ for the fire and aren’t sure if it's connected to the other fires that have been set in Alabama churches over the past few weeks.

4. Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan is withdrawing from the competition following a groin injury. Kwan has a silver and bronze metal and was hoping to capture a gold metal. Kwan will be replaced by alternate Emily Hughes

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. quail : noun [C or U] plural⁷ quail or quails
a small brown bird which is shot for sport or food, or the meat of this bird: 北美鹑

2. arsonist : noun [C]
someone who commits the crime of arson

3. groin : noun [C]
the place where your legs meet the front of your body:
e.g. He pulled a muscle in his groin.

4. alternate : adjective [before noun]
an alternate plan or method is one that you can use if you do not want to use another one

1 quail   

n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖

参考例句：

• Cowards always quail before the enemy.在敌人面前，胆小鬼们总是畏缩不前的。
• Quail eggs are very high in cholesterol.鹌鹑蛋胆固醇含量高。

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 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 arsonist   

n.纵火犯

参考例句：

• You're pretty sure you can identify a single arsonist?你确信你能鉴别出一个特定的纵火者？
• The arsonist confessed that he set fire to six businesses.那纵火犯承认他给6家商场纵过火。

5 arsonists   

n.纵火犯( arsonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The factory was destroyed in a fire started by arsonists. 工厂在纵火犯引起的火灾中烧毀了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Australian Attorney-General Robert McClelland said suspected arsonists could face murder charges. 澳大利亚总检察长罗伯特麦克莱兰说，怀疑纵火犯可能面临谋杀指控。 来自互联网

6 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

7 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。