美联社新闻一分钟 2006-04-10

1. With American flags in hands, tens of thousands of demonstrators packed the streets in downtown Dallas. The massive crowd is urging federal lawmakers to pass immigration reform that will legalize an estimated 11 million undocumented workers. The protest is one of many being held today and tomorrow across the country.

2. Palm frond¹s and olive branches swayed in the springtime breeze as Pope Benedict led Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican. Palm Sunday is the start of the church’s Holy Week which concludes with the Easter Sunday celebration of Jesus's Resurrection.

3. A brief security scare Sunday afternoon at the White House. This screaming intruder made it onto the front lawn of the executive mansion³, while President Bush was at home. The man was yelling: “I’m a victim of terrorism and I have intelligence information for the president.” He was taken into custody⁴.

4. If you want to own a piece of sir Elton John memorabilia, now is your chance. Elton’s Closet opens in New York City this week. The Musician and his partner are putting nearly ten thousand pieces of their personal clothing on sale. All the proceeds are going to the Elton John AIDS Foundation

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. legalize :verb [T]
to allow something by law:
e.g. The Irish government announced it was to legalize homosexuality.

2. palm :noun [C]
a tropical tree which grows near beaches or in deserts, with a long straight trunk and large pointed⁵ leaves at the top

3. frond :noun [C] SPECIALIZED
a long thin leaf of a plant:

4. olive :noun [C]
a small bitter green or black fruit that is eaten or used to produce oil, or an evergreen⁶ Mediterranean⁷ tree on which this fruit grows:

5. sway :verb
to move slowly from side to side:
e.g. The trees were swaying in the wind.

6. conclude :verb
to end something such as a meeting, book, event, or speech by doing or saying one final thing
e.g. The concert concluded with a rousing chorus.

7. the Resurrection :noun
the return of Jesus Christ to life after his death on the cross, which is one of the main beliefs of the Christian⁸ religion

8. intruder :noun [C]
someone who enters a place without permission in order to commit a crime:
e.g. Intruders had entered the house through a back window.

9. memorabilia : plural⁹ noun
objects that are collected because they are connected with a person or event which is thought to be very interesting:
e.g. an auction¹⁰ of pop memorabilia

10. proceeds :plural noun
the amount of money received from a particular event or activity or when something is sold:
e.g. The proceeds of today's festival will go to several local charities.

1 frond   

n.棕榈类植物的叶子

参考例句：

• The weavers made a hat from palm fronds.织工用棕榈叶织成了一顶帽子。
• The village hut was thatched with palm fronds.乡村小屋用棕榈叶作顶。

2 fronds   

n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You can pleat palm fronds to make huts, umbrellas and baskets. 人们可以把棕榈叶折叠起来盖棚屋，制伞，编篮子。 来自百科语句
• When these breezes reached the platform the palm-fronds would whisper. 微风吹到平台时，棕榈叶片发出簌簌的低吟。 来自辞典例句

3 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

4 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 evergreen   

n.常青树；adj.四季常青的

参考例句：

• Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的，被叫做常青树。
• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。

7 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 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。

10 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。