美联社新闻一分钟 2006-04-08

1. The finger-pointing continues after senators failed to pass an immigration bill Friday. Supporters of the measure received only 38 of the 60 votes needed to protect it from amendment¹s. The bill offered the hope of citizenship³ to millions of illegal immigrants.

2. President Bush hits new lows in public opinion. An Associated Press-Ipsos survey finds just 36% of the public approves of his job performance. And nearly 70% of Americans believe the nation has headed in a wrong direction.

3. "The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown and his publishing house were cleared of copyright infringement⁴ in London Friday. A judge rejected claims Brown stole ideas for the best-selling book from a nonfiction work. Next month a film version of "The Da Vinci Code" hits theaters.

4. There's a goose on the loose. Check out this grumpy bird swoop⁵ing in, attacking customers and employees of a Toys R Us store in Cherry Hill, New Jersey⁷. There are reports the mall-owner is filing paperwork for the USDA to have the goose removed

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. finger-pointing : noun [U]
accusations against someone:
e.g. There's the usual finger-pointing when mistakes are made.

2. amendment :noun [C]
a change to a law that is not yet in operation and is still being discussed:
e.g. An amendment to the bill was agreed without a vote.

3. approve of sth/sb :
to think that someone or something is good, right, or suitable
e.g. I don't approve of cosmetic⁸ surgery.

4. clear :verb [T]
to prove that someone is not guilty of something that they were accused of:
e.g. After many years in prison, the men were finally cleared of the bombings.

5. infringement :noun [U]
the behavior that is against a law or someone's legal rights
e.g. Even minor⁹ infringements¹⁰ of the law will be severely¹¹ punished.

6. grumpy :adjective INFORMAL
easily annoyed and complaining:
e.g. I hadn't had enough sleep and was feeling a bit grumpy.

7. swoop :verb
if a bird or aircraft swoops¹², it moves suddenly down through the air, especially in order to attack something
e.g. The eagle hovered¹³, ready to swoop at any moment.

1 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

2 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

3 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

4 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

5 swoop   

n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击

参考例句：

• The plane made a swoop over the city.那架飞机突然向这座城市猛降下来。
• We decided to swoop down upon the enemy there.我们决定突袭驻在那里的敌人。

6 swooping   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The wind were swooping down to tease the waves. 大风猛扑到海面上戏弄着浪涛。
• And she was talking so well-swooping with swift wing this way and that. 而她却是那样健谈--一下子谈到东，一下子谈到西。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

10 infringements   

n.违反( infringement的名词复数 )；侵犯，伤害

参考例句：

• It'seems to me we've got to decide on wider issues than possible patent infringements. 我认为我们不能只考虑侵犯专利可能性这一问题，要对更大的一些问题做出决策。 来自企业管理英语口语（第二版）(2)
• Wikipedia relies on its users to correct errors and spot copyright infringements. 维基百科主要依靠用户来纠正错误，并发现版权侵权行为。 来自互联网

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

12 swoops   

猛扑，突然下降( swoop的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He fixes his eyes on the greyish spine of the old wolf as he swoops down. 他两眼死死盯住老狼灰黑的脊背。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• An owl swoops from the ridge top, noiseless but as flame. 蓦地，山脊上一只夜枭飞扑直下，悄无声响而赫然如一道火光。

13 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。