美联社新闻一分钟 2006-02-24

1. This White House report finds poor planning and lack of leadership led to widespread failures in dealing¹ with Hurricane Katrina. The Department of Homeland Security says it's taking steps to prepare for the 2006 hurricane season.

2. There's fear civil war will break out in Iraq following the attack yesterday on a sacred Shiite shrine². No one's claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell on Sunni extremist groups. In the past two days, at least 111 people have died, and nearly 175 Sunni mosques³ have been attacked.

3. Rescuers are digging through rubble⁴ searching for signs of life after the snow-covered roof of a Moscow market collapsed⁵. Emergency officials say at least 52 people were killed and 32 were injured.

4. A manhunt is underway in England for an armed gang who posed as police officers to pull off one of the biggest robberies in that country's history. The robbers allegedly kidnapped the bank manager, then tied up 15 employees at a cash center while they stole up to 50 million pounds or 87 million dollars. No one was hurt.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. rubble : noun [U]
the piles of broken stone and bricks, etc. that are left when a building falls down or is destroyed:
e.g. The bomb reduced the house to rubble.

2. manhunt : noun [C]
an organized search for a person, especially a criminal:
e.g. The police have launched a manhunt after the body of a six-year-old boy was found last night.

3. pull off : phrasal verb [M] INFORMAL
to succeed in doing something difficult or unexpected:
e.g. The central bank has pulled off one of the biggest financial rescues of recent years.

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

3 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

4 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。